Lorenz Menendez
To get accepted into elite coding bootcamps, aspiring coders look to prep programs to learn the fundamentals they need to get accepted. But only the best prep courses are worth your time.
According to independent bootcamp reviewer CourseReport, students need real teaching to fully-grasp programming nuances, so taking a cheap or free prep program that only offers online questions and an answer key is not going to get students where they want to go. Without lectures, structure, and live support, students are not likely to make it into selective bootcamps.
If you want to get into a top-rated coding bootcamp and earn up to six-figures in your first role, skip the free prep courses and take one that actually guarantees success. Here are the top four reasons why App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep is a no-brainer if you want to get into a selective program.
1. The cost of Bootcamp Prep is subtracted from your initial deposit!
If you’re accepted into App Academy and choose one of their bootcamp courses, your Bootcamp Prep tuition will be subtracted from your initial deposit (if applicable) for the Deferred Plan. This will allow you to allocate more money towards living expenses during the program rather than a hefty upfront payment.
2. It’s flexible: Bootcamp Prep is available online or in-person
Bootcamp Prep caters to students with different learning styles. The online program works well for people who want a self-paced environment where they can hop in or out of instruction when they have time.
“Instructors are typically available to answer questions consistently between 9:00AM and 6:00PM.” says Bootcamp Prep Online instructor Alvin Zablan. Students also don’t need a very fast computer or internet connection. “If you have enough bandwidth to watch videos on YouTube, you’ll be fine,” says Zablan.
For students who prefer a course with a more social and structured environment, our part-time Bootcamp Prep program is available in-person at our San Francisco and New York campuses. This course meets Monday through Friday from 6:30PM to 9:00PM for four weeks. Class sizes range from 10-to-20 people and are supported by one instructor and at least one teaching assistant.
A recent student on SwitchUp touches on the value of App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep: “That being said, no one has put more effort into their prep course than at App Academy. If you go through Bootcamp Prep and do the work, you will be ahead of the curve come interview time. It costs more because it gives more.”
3. It’s industry-tested and bootcamp-agnostic
App Academy is committed to student success — period. Whether a student’s goal is to get into App Academy or another program, App Academy’s prep program supports you on your path to becoming a developer. To achieve this, the curriculum is made to be bootcamp agnostic, and has continued to adapt with the changing requirements of different bootcamps.
Course details have been meticulously developed to turn students into competitive candidates in the bootcamp admissions process. App Academy continuously surveys the admissions processes of other programs and tailors the education for you depending on your program of interest. If you want a mock-interview in the style of Hack Reactor, then you will be given questions related to that type of interviewing style. And if you want to get into App Academy, there’s no better place to learn as you’ll be trained on the specific details needed to pass the admissions process.
4. It turns self-teaching into deep learning
Bootcamp Prep teaches you more than just basic programming concepts. Bootcamp Prep graduate Axel Larson speaks to this.
From Oakland, California, Axel (right) was once a dock manager in the logistics and transportation sector. After deciding he could have a better long-term career as a programmer, Axel applied to and then graduated from App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep in 2016. In an interview, he told us his experience exceeded his expectations.
“After the first three days [of Bootcamp Prep] it was apparent that my skills were growing at a rate I hadn’t had while I was self-teaching for months” he says. Axel ended up attending the App Academy bootcamp course and now is a developer at EDA technologies, using the NodeJS RESTful API and React-Native framework, working on a mobile dating app targeted at gamers.
According to other alumni testimonials, “App Academy’s prep program is exactly as advertised — a comprehensive, well thought out program devised to get you accepted into the top bootcamps”.
Ultimately, student success in a coding prep course comes down to attention and structure and free or reduced-price online programs can’t afford to offer students that amount of attention. More importantly, they can’t make the same promise of success. At App Academy, software engineering is achievable for everyone.
Click here to learn about App Academy’s Bootcamp Prep in-person option or their self-paced online coding bootcamp prep option.
