JumpStart Logistics

Course Structure

Here's what the average day will look like:

Attendance

We will take attendance every day; your record will be considered when making admission decisions. You must be present for attendance on assessment days.

Code Demo

During the code demo, we will demonstrate solving a challenging coding problem that was assigned as homework the night before. Here, we will focus more on problem-solving architectures and design techniques. Code demos give you the opportunity to observe how an experienced developer would approach solving problems.

Warm-up

You will have a different warm-up partner every day. Pairs will be assigned via email at the beginning of the day. After meeting your pair, the two of you will solve two sets of problems and answer the discussion questions together. Warm-ups allow you to practice engaging in dialogue about code. You will develop your coding vocabulary and will get better at asking the right questions.

Independent Work

The majority of your time in JumpStart will be spent working independently. You don't have to work alone, but you can chose how to spend your time. You may decide to write code with a partner, discuss something with your mentor, or work by yourself. The independence will allow you to go through the curriculum at your own pace, but will also require some intrinsic motivation.

You will be grouped into pods with other students at similar levels, and each pod will have a TA mentor. You are strongly encouraged to discuss problems with your fellow pod members and to ask your TA mentor for help.

Homework

You will have one homework problem every night. If your time is limited during JumpStart, feel free do the homework problem during independent work time. Don't spend more than 20 - 30 minutes on it (unless you want to!). We'll do the problem together in class (the next day) during the code demo.

Assessments

You will have 2 opportunities to take assessments. Both of the assessments are opt-in, meaning if you're not ready, you don't have to take it! Assessments are on Monday, W2D1, and Thursday, W2D4.

Assessments are 1 hour in length, and strictly closed-notes.

Note that for Step 2, there is an in-class assessment (mainly for practice), but to pass Step 2, you must pass an at-home technical interview via Skype.

Possible Outcomes

Attend Step 2

Step 2 is meant to help prepare you for the technical interview. On the first day of JumpStart Step 2, you will schedule an at-home technical interview for the end of the following week.

If you pass the technical interview

Your application will be forwarded to our admissions team for a final evaluation, and you will schedule a non-technical interview.

If you fail the technical interview

Your next step will depend on your previous application history.

If you pass assessment 1

You're half way there! You should continue to work on the step 2 curriculum at home and then schedule a Skype technical interview with us whenever you feel ready. Alternatively, you could return for a second round of JumpStart!

If you do not pass assessment 1

Not passing an assessment will not hurt your chances of getting into App Academy. You should continue to work on the step 1 curriculum and take our at-home assessment 1 whenever you feel ready.

How to approach JumpStart

Everyone who clears our bar passes. There is no limit to the number of accepted students. This means you should be helping your fellow JumpStarters. You are not competing with each other.

You're all at different levels and will work at different paces. Don't worry if someone moves faster than you or solves problems faster than you. What's important is that you get the most out of this investment of your time.

Remember that passing our assessment can speed up your application process, but failing it will not hurt your chances of getting into a/A. Jumpstart is a small, small piece of your journey to becoming a developer. Its outcome pales in comparison to your intrinsic motivation.