Which Course is Best For You? A Comparison of App Academy’s Software Engineering Programs

The tech industry is projected to grow faster than any other over the next decade. That means the opportunities and jobs within it are only going to grow, too.

Honestly, there’s never been a better time to consider a career in tech, and with the world moving as quickly as it is, a bootcamp can offer you the same educational experience you’d get in a traditional collegiate classroom at a fraction of the cost (and time).

Not just any bootcamp, either: App Academy is the most respected bootcamp in the space because of our selectivity. We admit less than 8% of our applicants because we vet for those who are serious about joining, so our core student body is made up of really talented folks.

We believe our students aren’t just seeking an education; they’re looking to change their lives, and we’re committed to helping them do just that.

We get a lot of questions about the differences between our our immersive bootcamp programs, so we’ve created deep dives for each program to help you learn more about them:

Campus-based Software Engineering Programs

Online Software Engineering Program — Full-Time

Online Software Engineering Program — Part-Time

All three courses are similar in that they have the same intended outcome: Get our students hired as full-stack software engineers. Regardless of which program you take, if you’re not hired at the end of it, we haven’t succeeded.

So although the goal for each program is the same, there are a few key differences to consider.

You may prefer the Campus-based Software Engineering Programs if you:

• Want to complete your learning faster and dive right into the job search (16 weeks to complete).
• Want a more intimate classroom experience (30 students per cohort) with a higher student:teacher ratio (8:1).
• Want to learn a more beginner friendly coding language (Ruby).
• Want to land a job in San Francisco or New York City (companies like Airbnb, Github, Zendesk, Bloomberg, and Kickstarter are all built on Ruby on Rails).
• Want to pay less in total tuition (17k upfront, or 28k deferred due only when you’re hired).
• If you live in New York (our Online programs are currently not available to New York residents).

You may prefer the Online Software Engineering Program — Full-Time if you:

• Want to learn at a slower pace with the curriculum spread out over 24 weeks.
• Want to learn Python (in place of Ruby) to build apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, and Spotify.
• Prefer an ISA tuition model with a $0 deposit. The cost of the 24-week program is slightly higher than the 16 week program due to the length and total hours of the program.
• Prefer a mastery-based learning model. This means that if you don’t fully grasp the topics taught in a given week, you’re allowed to re-do that week at no extra cost.

You may prefer the Online Software Engineering Program — Part-Time if you:

• Are a working professional and would like to continue working during the course of your study or want to learn at a slower pace with the curriculum spread out over 52 weeks.
• Want to learn Python (in place of Ruby) to build apps like Instagram, Pinterest, Reddit, and Spotify.
• Want the same commitment to industry-leading outcomes as our full-time programs without the full-time commitment.
• Prefer an ISA tuition model with a $0 deposit. As of April 2023, we are no longer requiring a deposit for first time enrollees in our Part-Time Online Software Engineering Program. The cost of the 52-week program is slightly higher than the 16 and 24 week programs due to the length and total hours of the program.
• Prefer a mastery-based learning model. This means that if you don’t fully grasp the topics taught in a given week, you’re allowed to re-do that week at no extra cost.

Conclusion

For beginning coders, either program is great to help you build the foundational skills required to get hired as  a software engineer. Consider the pace at which you’d like to complete the course (and some of the other factors noted above) to decide which program is best for you!

For even further information, join one of our info sessions, free of charge.