Thinkful vs BrainStation

BrainStation Reviews and Key Information

When you’re weighing your coding bootcamp options, you can trust ones with an established reputation and a large community. BrainStation has made its name with years of quality in-person and online live bootcamps. Although it is a tech bootcamp, it offers many job training programs and professional development courses. BrainStation offers full-time bootcamps and part-time courses in a variety of popular tech fields. You can choose between UX/UI Design, software engineering, data science, marketing, and more. BrainStation also offers career services that can turn you from a beginner to a job expert.

BrainStation at a Glance

Cost of Tuition	$2,450 - $15,000
Financing Options	Income Sharing Agreements, Upfront Payment, Scholarships, Payment Plans
Courses Offered	Full Stack Web Development, Data Science, Design, Digital Marketing, Product Management, Business
Career Services and Job Assistance	Career Coaching, Network of Industry Partners

What Can You Learn at BrainStation?

At BrainStation, you can learn full stack web development, data science, design, digital marketing, project management, and business skills. Some topics have full-time bootcamp options, and others only offer part-time certificate courses. Below are some of BrainStation’s course highlights to give you a feel for what it offers.

Data Science Bootcamp

BrainStation offers a full-time data science program with a comprehensive curriculum. It also offers several portions as standalone courses in data analytics, data science, machine learning, and Python programming. In this program, you will learn everything you need to work as modern data scientists. You will study the fundamentals of collecting and storing data with relational databases. You can also learn data visualization with Tableau and machine learning concepts. This course also teaches Python and Hadoop.

UX Design Bootcamp

BrainStation’s UX design bootcamp covers both UX and UI design principles. Each course has its own standalone certificate course available as well. No matter the path you choose, you’ll be learning the job skills you need to succeed in the modern industry. You will learn the fundamentals of design with Sprint methodology and tools like Sketch and InVision. After that, you’ll move onto design research and strategy. You will also learn how to conduct effective research on project and user needs before formulating a responsive design.

Web Development Bootcamp

BrainStation offers a full stack web development bootcamp. It teaches budding software engineers everything they need to know to build fast, responsive websites. You also have the option of taking the shorter part-time web development course and an iOS development course separately. This program can teach you HTML, CSS, and JavaScript along with the React framework, custom APIs, and server-side programming. The part-time coding bootcamp only teaches HTML and CSS for front end development. The iOS development course can help you learn Swift, Apple’s new programming language of choice.

Digital Marketing Bootcamp

The digital marketing course is the last option with both full-time and part-time options. The program covers digital marketing, social media marketing, search engine marketing, and more. The part-time program separates those three aspects into one course each. You can learn how to do market and user research, tailor a brand strategy, build a digital marketing funnel. You will also learn how to add email and social media aspects to those campaigns. This program will also teach you SEO principles and how to analyze campaign performance.

Admissions: How Do You Get Accepted to BrainStation?

You can get accepted into BrainStation by demonstrating your desire to learn. These courses are suitable for beginners, so you can access an advisor to help you make decisions. The application process is fairly straightforward. This bootcamp offers rolling admissions throughout the year. The part-time courses are all open enrollment, but the immersive programs have a longer process. BrainStation wants only the most committed candidates to enroll in the program.

BrainStation Application Process

The application process starts when you book a phone appointment with an advisor. After speaking with them, you can submit an online application and receive an invitation to interview. If the interview goes well, you can complete the admissions challenge. The admissions challenge varies depending on the program. For UX students, the challenge focuses on organizing information. The data science challenge looks for experience with data in any subject. BrainStation recommends that data science applicants have some sort of post-secondary or coding experience before applying. The BrainStation blog has articles on the application process for each program. You should investigate that segment of the site to see what the school recommends.

BrainStation Interview

BrainStation is looking for qualified students who are committed to making a change. In your interview, you should demonstrate your passion for the subject, any experience you may have, and your reason for choosing BrainStation.

Paying for BrainStation

BrainStation offers different payment options depending on your program. The scholarships, payment plans, and upfront payment options apply to all programs. You should always do your research to see which financing option works best for you.

Upfront Payment

Students in the part-time and full-time programs can pay for courses upfront. This is the fastest and least expensive option for paying for all of the courses. If you get your tuition out of the way, you can focus on learning.

Income Share Agreement

As of 2019, BrainStation offers ISAs for students on its Canadian campuses. The agreements feature a 96-month payment term with a payment cap at one and a half times your tuition. This is a great option if you can’t afford upfront payment.

Payment Plans

Part-time students have three interest-free payment plan options. You can personalize your payment plan according to your needs. The three, six, and 12-month options all add up to the regular cost of tuition.

Scholarships

BrainStation offers several scholarships. Some of the population segments eligible for scholarships include women and other underrepresented groups, recent college grads, veterans, entrepreneurs, and non-profit professionals.

What Makes BrainStation Unique?

BrainStation offers a wide variety of courses in digestible and affordable formats. With 11 campuses on two continents and online live courses, there’s bound to be an option for you regardless of timezone. The part-time schedule options are also perfect if you want to hold a job while you learn. The course content consists of industry-standard tools that are bound to accelerate your career. If you want to take a course from a highly-respected name in the bootcamp space, BrainStation may be the option you’ve been looking for.