Courtney Grace
Tech is booming. This year alone, it’s slated to reach $5 trillion, making it the largest industry in the world.
Despite that success, the tech talent pool isn’t large enough to fill the number of roles available. This is especially true for software engineering.
Bootcamps solve for that gap in the market by creating industry-ready software engineers. With App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program, graduates have working knowledge of Ruby on Rails, Javascript, and HTML & CSS, among other desirable skills. In four months, you’ll center the job market armed with a portfolio of projects and a resume stacked with skills that could land you the one of the world’s most sought-after job titles.
In addition to our on campus course, we have two remote programs (one full-time, one part-time) that cover a lot of the same material with some key differences. No matter the program you choose, we encourage all prospective students to apply or talk with an admissions specialist. You don’t have to have anything figured out such as start date or payment plan prior to applying; our admissions team will help you hammer out details along the way!
If you are interested in applying to App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program, there are a few considerations to make prior to beginning the admissions process:
- You must have a high school diploma (or equivalent)
Due to private higher education institute regulations, all students must be 18 years or older and have a high school diploma or similar.
- You must be available Monday through Friday, 9am-6pm EST or PST
With classes being virtual until further notice, students have the option of joining our West Coast time zone lecture or our East Coast time zone lecture.
- You must have a computer (not a tablet or Chromebook)
You’ll also need strong internet connection as well as a webcam and microphone. Your computer will need to use Apple’s OS X operating system (from at least 2010), Windows 10, or a variant of Linux such as Debian or Ubuntu. We now support Ubuntu on Windows 10 using the Windows Subsystem for Linux.
For additional information around tuition or qualifications, particularly for international students, check out our FAQ page.
If you’re ready to apply to App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program, continue reading. It’s helpful to know what is expected of applicants at each step in the admissions process.
Applying to App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program
Apply online.
You’ll start the process by applying online. It’s free to apply!
At this point, you can also apply for multiple programs if you’re not sure exactly what you want to do yet. You’re not tied to a start date or a payment plan. If you think this is something you may be interested in, we encourage you to apply.
That being said, part of the admissions process includes a technical coding challenge. While we give you training materials before, having knowledge of the software engineering industry and knowing why this is something you might want to do is really helpful prior to applying. If you can’t quite answer that yet, we encourage you to try our bootcamp prep courses or trying your hand at coding — for free — with App Academy Open.
Talk to an admissions specialist.
Next, we’ll assign you an admissions specialist. This is someone you can talk with about tuition, life in the classroom, expectations for the course, and anything else that’s on your mind. Our Admissions team is here to make the process as smooth as possible.
Complete our aptitude test.
Similar to the non-technical assessment in our 24-week admissions process, this portion of the process includes a reading and logic quiz, which has 50 questions. You complete as many of them as you can. They include verbal questions, math and logic, and spatial reasoning.
It also includes a typing test. We want to determine if you can type quickly enough to keep up with the pace of the course, which naturally includes a lot of typing. There are tons of free online typing tests to gauge where you’re at.
Receive your study material.
As aforementioned, a portion of the admissions process in applying to App Academy’s 16-week course does include a technical bar.
If you don’t have experience ahead of time, that’s okay — you will be given about 20 hours’ worth of material in Ruby to complete the coding challenge. If you’re familiar with Python or Javascript already, you can also complete the technical challenge in either language.
One thing we offer our applicants (that’s unique to App Academy) is a program called Jumpstart. It’s a free workshop that teaches you the coding material you’ll need to know to successfully complete the technical portion of your application. Jumpstart also works on mock interviews with you for the technical and fit interview portions of the process.
Your Admissions Specialist can tell you more about Jumpstart if you want additional support as you’re studying the material.
Complete the coding challenge.
Once you’ve completed the study material, you’ll complete our coding challenge. It consists of three problems that you have 60 minutes to complete. You’ll also receive feedback as well as a few opportunities to pass this coding bar.
At this point, we also host mock interviews to help students feel better prepared for the technical interview. We understand a 5% acceptance rate can be daunting, but our admissions process is designed to help those who are willing to work hard.
Complete a technical interview.
Typically conducted by graduates of our program, you’ll spend one hour completing two more solo coding prompts and one paired programming prompt during the technical interview. You will also be given more advanced Ruby study material beforehand if you’re new to programming, but those proficient in Python or Javascript can again complete this portion of the process in either of those languages.
We select Ruby for prospective students who are new to coding because Ruby is the primary language you’ll learn during App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program. Everything we do throughout the admissions process is designed to help you be successful not only in the program, but as a software engineer with a career.
Complete a fit interview.
At the core, the fit interview is a job interview. What we’re looking for at this stage is whether or not you can get a job at the end of the program. Do you interview well? Do you support diversity? Can you get along with others well?
This 25-minute interview will be conducted by one of our alumni and include five to six behavioral questions. It’s on a recorded Zoom call, too, so you’ll get to watch yourself back and receive feedback from it.
Get accepted and select your cohort date!
Congrats! If you pass our technical bar and we find that you’re a good fit for the program, , you’ll be officially accepted into App Academy’s Campus Software Engineering Program. Your Admissions Specialist will now help you decide on a start date and determine the best payment plan for your needs. Logistical details do not need to be worked out prior to acceptance.
Conclusion
We encourage you to apply to our Campus Software Engineering Program or any of our programs, for free, with no strings attached. You can refer to our regulatory information to find our school catalog or find frequently asked questions + answers here.
Committing to a full-time bootcamp is a huge undertaking mentally, financially, and personally. If you’re not quite ready to make the commitment, we understand. Our entire curriculum is available online, for free, at App Academy Open if you’d like to try your hand at coding first prior to applying for a bootcamp. It’s a great self-paced option for learning, too. App Academy Open is identical to this course’s curriculum.
