Hi, I’m Brian, a former senior software engineer and now software engineering mentor at Pathrise. I have worked with hundreds of software engineers to help them land their dream job. Check out this article where I compare General Assembly vs App Academy.
- Similarities and differences between General Assembly vs App Academy
- Courses offered on General Assembly vs App Academy
- Prices for General Assembly vs App Academy
- Ratings and reviews of General Assembly vs App Academy
- Alternatives to General Assembly vs App Academy
- How do General Assembly and App Academy compare to Pathrise?
Similarities and differences between General Assembly vs App Academy
General Assembly and App Academy are tech bootcamps with courses in software engineering and other subjects.
Similarities
- People can take their software engineering bootcamps onsite in New York City and San Francisco.
- In addition, both offer software engineering bootcamps online.
- Students in both programs receive 1-on-1 support from career coaches on multiple aspects of the job search, including resumes, interview prep, and more.
- General Assembly & App Academy have courses that prepare people for full-time bootcamps at places such as Flatiron School, Lambda School, and Rithm School.
- Those who participate in full-time bootcamps are able to finance their tuition through loans or an ISA (income share agreement).
Differences
- App Academy only has courses in software engineering.
- Besides software engineering, General Assembly offers one-day, part-time, and full-time programs in UX design, data science, digital marketing, and product management.
- People can participate in App Academy Open, which grants them access to the bootcamp’s entire curriculum so that they can learn at their own pace for free.
- General Assembly offers courses on more specific topics, including Python basics, advanced WordPress, and social media strategy mapping.
Courses offered by General Assembly vs App Academy
Both General Assembly and App Academy offer courses for software engineers that teach the following topics and more:
- SQL
- JavaScript
- Ruby on Rails
- Algorithms
- Data structures
- Object-oriented programming
- HTTP & API
- Cookies
General Assembly also has courses that teach other topics, including:
- Content strategy
- Tableau
- UX design
- Google Ads
- Agile & Scrum
- User research
- E-commerce
- SEO (search engine optimization)
- Python
Prices for General Assembly and App Academy
For people who pay App Academy tuition upfront, the cost is $17k. However, those who defer tuition through an ISA owe $28k and start making payments once they are earning at least $50k. Students can also choose a hybrid option, which allows them to pay $9k upfront and $14 after landing a job.
App Academy’s online immersive program costs $20k upfront. But, the ISA option is 17% of 2 year’s salary with a cap of $30k. Those who select the hybrid option pay $10k upfront and then 12% of 2 year’s salary. Moreover, the maximum for this option is $27k.
App Academy bootcamp prep courses vary in price and range from $995-$3795.
Full tuition for General Assembly’s full-time bootcamps is $16,450. Students who pay upfront get a $450 bootcamp. Part-time courses cost $4,050 and students can choose to pay this upfront (with a $250 discount) or with loans. Discounts and scholarships are also available. Through our partnership with general assembly, you can get access to a series of exclusive program offerings, including $1500 off any of their bootcamps or short-courses. If you’re interested in launching a career in tech, schedule a call with the GA Admissions team and ask them for the free workshops, events and discounts.
General Assembly offers a wide variety of payment options. Probably their highest profile option is the “income share loan” (ISL) — this option allows full-time bootcamp students to pay once they land a job. Made possible via Edaid, students pay only $500 upfront. Then they pay nothing until they land a job paying at least $40,000.
A simpler option might be paying installments. General Assembly allows students to divide tuition into two, three, or four easy payments while in the program. Interest free loans are available as well via Climb. Students can choose to start paying immediately (over 18 or 24 months), or pay 12 months later over 36 months with $500 down payment. Students can also take out interest loans through Ascent, Climb, or Meritize. Students who pay via loans can choose to repay immediately, defer payments, or choose an interest-only option. Interest rates range from 6.5-15%, with terms from 3-5 years. While Launch Academy invites some of their hundred hiring partners to free networking events, General Assembly connects students with 19,000+ hiring partners including top tech companies like Facebook, Microsoft, and Google.
Ratings and reviews of General Assembly and App Academy
App Academy reviews are generally positive. One grad (now employed by Google) said that the curriculum was fast-paced and noted that students are responsible for reviewing topics and seeking out extra help, when necessary. Echoing this, others said that App Academy students must be self-motivated and prepared to work hard, beginning with the pre-work. While most grads landed jobs after graduation, some mentioned that it took them 4-9 months to secure their first role.
Like App Academy alums, General Assembly grads generally found roles related to what they studied in their bootcamp. On CourseReport, students rated the school highly, but some students had issues with the speed of the curriculum as well as frustrations surrounding frequently changing and inexperienced instructors. The general consensus is that GA works best for self-starters who are motivated and willing to put in the work.
Alternatives to General Assembly and App Academy
If you decide not to enroll in General Assembly or App Academy, you might consider one of the alternatives listed below instead:
- Aspiring software engineers and UX designers can check out Kenzie Academy, a full-time tech bootcamp that offers in-person and online courses. Learn more about Kenzie Academy in our review.
- Tech bootcamps, BrainStation, Thinkful, allWomen Academy, Eleven Fifty Academy, Clarusway, GW Bootcamps, and Flatiron School offer programs in software engineering, data science, and other fields.
- People who are thinking about financing their software engineering bootcamp tuition through an income share agreement (ISA) can check out Lambda School and Holberton School.
- Other options for software engineering bootcamps include Rithm School, Hack Reactor, Codesmith, Redwood Code Academy, and The Software Guild.
- Aspiring web developers can look into CodeX Academy, a self-paced coding bootcamp with 1-on-1 mentorship opportunities. Read more about CodeX Academy in our program review.
- If you’re interested in taking an online product design bootcamp that is self-guided or instructor led, take a look at DesignerUp. Read about DesignerUp in our program review.
- Another option for aspiring designers is Designlab, an online bootcamp that teaches the necessary skills to land an entry-level UX designer job. See if Designlab meets your needs by reading our program review.
- Metis has part-time introduction courses as well as onsite and online bootcamp options. Learn more about Metis in our review.
More alternatives
- An online bootcamp, GrowthX Academy has courses for people who are interested in growth marketing and UX design, as well as sales and business development.
- If you are interested in taking classes through an online learning platform, check out Springboard or Udacity, both of which offer courses in marketing and a variety of other topics. Discover how Springboard and Udacity can help you advance your current tech skills in our program reviews.
- The hugely popular Codecademy platform hosts free hands-on coding courses. Students can learn web development, dozens of programming languages, and even data science. They offer $20-40 monthly membership options for greater course options and more support. Learn more about Codeacademy in our review.
- Similarly, Coursera, Pluralsight, and Simplilearn are online learning tools with hundreds of courses.
- Finally, people interested in university courses can check out edX. Their platform hosts thousands of self-paced university courses from top schools like Harvard and MIT, and even top tech companies like Microsoft. Students can choose to focus on fundamentals or take a deep dive into specific topics, like web development or digital marketing with social media. Read more about edX in our review.
How do General Assembly and App Academy compare to Pathrise?
Both General Assembly and App Academy are tech bootcamps with courses that teach people the necessary skills to land a job as a software engineer from scratch. General Assembly also offers programs for current and aspiring digital marketers, web developers, UX designers, data scientists, and product managers. At Pathrise, fellows should enter the program with some background in their field of interest so that they can fully benefit from our industry workshops, pair programming sessions, and 1-on-1s, which prepare students for the questions they will see in their technical interviews. We have tracks in software engineering, as well as product design, data science, digital marketing, sales, and product, strategy & ops.
A full service organization, Pathrise helps people land their dream job in tech. Our mentors, who have years of experience on both sides of the hiring table, provide 1-on-1 assistance on every component of the job search. Besides placing a great deal of emphasis on technical interview preparation, we support job-seekers on resume & portfolio building, cold emailing & reverse recruiting strategies, behavioral interview preparation, salary negotiation, and more. Fellows learn skills that can benefit them in future job searches as well.
While we require fellows to have technical skills, we don’t necessarily require them to have job experience. You may benefit from completing a program like General Assembly first, then joining Pathrise to get placed at a job. To help you get the skills you need to join our program, we offer $1500 off any General Assembly bootcamps or short-courses, as well as other exclusive offerings to get you up to speed. Schedule a call with the GA Admissions team and ask them for the free workshops, events and discounts.
Both App Academy and General Assembly ISA offer an income share agreement (called an income share loan at General Assembly). So does Pathirse. Our income share agreement (ISA) is 5-9% and fellows don’t pay anything until they land a job they love and start working. Plus, we never require upfront payments or deposits.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. With our tips and guidance, we’ve seen our fellows interview scores double.
If you are interested in working 1-on-1 with any of our mentors to optimize your job search, become a Pathrise fellow.
Apply today.
