Initially I chose to attend Fullstack for two reasons:
1. By requiring students come in with a baseline of knowledge, you are able to move more quickly and spend the limited time of the bootcamp covering more advanced topics (side note: I took the Bootcamp Prep course and was more than ready for to apply for the immersive by the end).
2. The idea of focusing on only one language/stack also leaves more time for honing skills and going deeper into concepts instead of learning different syntax for essentially the same things.

After completing the program, I still agree with both of those statements. However, they are only the beginning of what sets Fullstack apart…

Before attending Fullstack, I was a middle school math and science teacher. Coming from a background in education, I was very impressed with the curriculum and overall educational experience Fullstack provides for a variety of reasons, including:
• Each lecture is followed by a workshop in which students get to actually practice using the new information.

• The curriculum builds incrementally on itself, introducing concepts in a logical order. While new topics are introduced in quick succession (there is a TON to learn in not a lot of time), the nature of the workshops and projects requires students to continue using all of the skills they have previously covered. This not only provides additional practice, but also helps students understand how the various pieces fit together.

• Fullstack has found a good balance between explaining the most important ideas, while still requiring students to figure out how to implement them on their own. I think the most important thing I learned at Fullstack Academy is how to read documentation and teach myself to use new technologies.
This is then revisited in the second half of the program (see comment above) by asking students to choose new technologies/tools they are interested in learning about and using them to build a project of their own design.
When applying to jobs, I was able to tell interviewers that I was confident I could teach myself whatever languages and tools they use. (In fact, for one job application I taught myself an entire new language and became very comfortable using it in about one week!)

• It feels like the staff really cares about each student and their success. I saw this play out in two main ways:
1. Support: the instructors and teaching fellows are genuinely happy when students ask them questions or request office hours.
2. Assessment: it is made very clear that the purpose of assessments is to ensure that students have made an appropriate amount of progress, or to find out what they might need more help with. During the immersive portion of the program, there are no “passing” or “failing” scores — assessments are looked at holistically to determine what each student needs at that point to be successful.

• Fullstack purposefully crafts a supportive, collaborative environment by explicitly teaching in the first week such topics as why pair programming is important and how to do it well, how to combat implicit biases, and how to give clear, helpful feedback.

• The instructors elicit and actually respond to feedback! Not only do they make small tweaks if requested during a specific cohort, but they are constantly looking for ways to improve upon the curriculum and program as a whole and then implement them!

• On the topic of instructors: each of the instructors is extremely knowledgeable and brings examples from their own experience to highlight what they are teaching!

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As someone who has tremendous anxiety around applying for jobs, I particularly took advantage of the Career Success team. During the bootcamp, I appreciated the guidance on such topics as creating a technical resume or harnessing LinkedIn. Then, during my job search I consistently referred back to the materials they provided us. But most importantly, I felt like I could always reach out to Holly, our Career Success counselor, for answers to even the most inane questions! She was beyond helpful in my search for that first job out of bootcamp, which I can’t wait to start next week!

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TL;DR Fullstack Academy provides a well-designed curriculum, supportive and knowledgeable instructors, and personalized career support. I couldn’t recommend it more!

Coming out of Fullstack, I can confidently say that enrolling here as a student was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself. The program offers high quality instruction, and the staff and instructors are dedicated to creating the best possible experience for students. My fellow cohort-mates as well as the alumni I’ve met have also all been incredibly supportive. After about 6 weeks of job searching, I’m now gearing up to start my new job, and couldn’t be more excited for my future!

The curriculum, the staff, and the other students are all incredibly dedicated and hardworking. I feel as though I have gained lifelong friends and mentors.

If you’re considering a coding bootcamp, no matter if you’re considering Fullstack or a lesser camp, take Fullstack’s Bootcamp Prep to experience the deeply supportive culture and supreme curriculum. Who knows, maybe 8 months later you’ll be crushing it as a software developer at a major international company just like me!