Coding bootcamps are a fast and proven way to up-skill for a tech job. These programs equip aspiring technology professionals with the experience they need to compete for the best tech jobs. But to improve your chances of getting in, it’s a good idea to enroll in a coding bootcamp prep program.
Coding bootcamps have a reputation for intensity. After all, they don’t call it a ‘bootcamp’ for nothing. These programs expose students to a massive amount of technical information in a short timeframe, which is why it’s essential to prepare yourself effectively.
Coding bootcamp prep programs offer students a chance to learn the basics before diving head-first into tech. Pre-course students complete relevant pre-work covering the basics of coding languages like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These activities help students build a solid foundation before enrolling in a coding bootcamp.
Prep courses also help students tackle the coding bootcamp application and interview process. Among other things, coding bootcamp interviews weed out unmotivated students; completing a prep course shows dedication, thereby increasing your chances of acceptance. Plus, coding bootcamp prep course practice helps students take on interview coding challenges with confidence.
The Best Bootcamp Prep Courses in 2020
App Academy Prep
- Cost: $2,999
- Course Length: 4 Weeks (40 Hours)
- Locations: San Francisco, New York City
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App Academy offers a prep course connected with its full-scale bootcamps. Students who complete this pre-course are guaranteed a spot in App Academy, Galvanize, Actualize, Hack Reactor, Flatiron School, or Fullstack Academy. The bootcamp prep course costs $2,999 total, which is deducted from tuition if students choose to continue into an App Academy bootcamp.
Curriculum
During the first week, App Academy’s prep course covers an introduction to web development and JavaScript fundamentals. Week two continues with JavaScript concepts, debugging, functions, and coding bootcamp practice problems.
During the last two weeks, students attend intermediate JavaScript lessons. At the end of the program, students work on bootcamp applications. App academy prep is a great choice for anyone focused on learning JavaScript.
Fullstack Academy Prep
- Cost: $175 to $250
- Course Length: 40 Hours, 1 Week, 1 Month
- Locations: Online, San Francisco, New York City
Fullstack Academy offers a flexible prep course with several scheduling options. The week- and month-long in-person programs cost $250, and the 40-hour online program costs $175. Students enrolled in the week-long course attend classes from 6:40 PM to 9:40 PM on weeknights, and 10 AM to 5 PM on two weekends. Classes in the month-long course run on weeknights from 6:40 PM to 9:40 PM for 3 and a half weeks.
The week-long immersive program is an accelerated version of the month-long course. Fullstack Academy’s online prep course covers the same material using videos and coding challenges. Online students complete the course on a self-paced schedule.
Students who attend the prep course are 2.5 times more likely to be accepted to Fullstack Academy’s main programs. Also, students who complete more than 90% of the prep course have their tuition deducted from the cost of a Fullstack Academy bootcamp.
Curriculum
Fullstack Academy’s bootcamp prep focuses on a wide range of topics to provide a well-rounded general pre-course. The program covers functions, data types, loops, objects, arrays, coding languages, and popular developer tools. Fullstack Academy’s coding bootcamp prep course is designed to help students prepare for virtually any bootcamp.
Hack Reactor Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: 60 to 90 Hours
- Locations: Online
Hack Reactor offers a software engineering bootcamp prep course designed to prepare aspiring software developers for an immersive program. The online bootcamp prep course features 60 to 90 hours of material on the subject, making it one of the most comprehensive bootcamp prep programs available. Hack Reactor’s prep course mirrors the bootcamp experience with one-on-one mentorship and instructor feedback. The self-paced program also features on-demand instructor assistance.
Roughly 75% of prep course students get accepted into Hack Reactor’s selective full-time bootcamps.
Curriculum
Hack Reactor structured its prep course with 4 modules, starting with JavaScript fundamentals and a self-demonstration. In the second module, students use their new coding skills on a series of basic JavaScript coding challenges. Students move on to challenging coding problems in the third module, followed by timed real-world coding challenges in the final module.
LearningFuze Root Prep Classes
- Cost: $95
- Course Length: 2 Weeks (40 hours)
- Locations: Irvine, CA
LearningFuze offers prep courses to prepare students for its full-time development bootcamp. LearningFuze Root prep courses are available in-person at its Irvine, CA campus and online. The course runs on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM on location, and on Monday and Wednesday from 7:00 PM to 8:30 for online students. In-person classes run for two weeks, and online classes run for 40 hours total.
LearningFuze offers an additional JavaScript prep course called RootJS. Students at RootJS attend classes on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, or on Saturday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM. At the moment, RootJS is only available in-person.
Curriculum
LearningFuze Root students begin with a fundamental introduction to HTML, JavaScript, CSS, and Bootstrap. The program also covers industry best practices and essential development concepts. RootJS students focus on JavaScript in greater detail, working on projects, core concepts, and skill-building activities. All LearningFuze programs focus on preparing students for its full coding bootcamp course curriculum.
One Month Prep Courses
- Cost: $299 (Annual Membership)
- Course Length: 5+ Hours
- Locations: Online
One Month offers 4 prep courses for coding bootcamps, covering several widely-used coding languages. These prep courses run for 5 to 6 hours, though some programs include additional content. Students watch video lectures and engage in activities designed to equip them with the coding skill necessary to succeed in a bootcamp. Students can access these courses through a $299 annual membership. One Month also offers several other non-bootcamp courses, covering everything from WordPress to Ruby.
Curriculum
One Month offers four bootcamp prep courses. The introductory ‘Programming for Non-Programmers’ course covers the basic coding concepts. One Month also offers a Python prep course, which is useful for aspiring software engineering and data science students. 2 additional courses cover HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for web developers.
DevLeague Web Development Prep
- Cost: $735
- Course Length: 4 Weeks
- Locations: Honolulu, HI
DevLeague offers a web development bootcamp prep course in Honolulu, Hawaii. The in-person program runs for 1 month on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM. DevLeague’s bootcamp prep program is designed for beginners and covers the fundamentals of web development. The course costs $735 upfront.
Curriculum
DevLeague’s web development bootcamp prep program covers HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in a beginner-friendly lesson plan. Students with no prior coding experience learn the fundamentals of these essential web development languages in just 4 weeks.
Codesmith CS Prep
- Cost: $750
- Course Length: 2 Weeks
- Locations: Online
Codesmith CS Prep is a two-week online coding bootcamp preparation course. The program costs $750 and features live instructor-led lessons and multiple coding challenges. Students receive feedback and assistance from real people during course hours. During the first week, classes run Monday through Wednesday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, Saturday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Week 2 courses run on Monday and Wednesday from 5:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
Curriculum
The course focuses on JavaScript fundamentals, intermediate JavaScript, computer science fundamentals, engineering skills, and project building. Students learn a wide range of topics to prepare them for the intense and varied curriculum of a software engineering or web development bootcamp.
General Assembly Dash
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Online
General Assembly offers a free online-only bootcamp prep course called General Assembly Dash. This web development bootcamp prep course offers a strong coding curriculum, hands-on project opportunities, and more.
Curriculum
General Assembly Dash focuses primarily on HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. These languages are essential to any web development or software engineering curriculum, so the course is helpful for a range of potential bootcamp students. During the course, students put their skills to work designing landing pages, website features, and other hands-on projects.
Codeworks Intro to JavaScript
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: 2 Weeks
- Locations: Online
Codeworks offers a JavaScript bootcamp prep course for free. The online program is helpful for web development and software engineering students. The course runs for 2 weeks, and there aren’t any prerequisites—students with no coding experience are free to apply and learn.
Curriculum
The course covers introductory JavaScript concepts and provides practice material. During the program, students learn coding concepts, data types, syntax, operations, classes, strings, and other JavaScript essentials.
Hackbright Academy Software Engineering Prep Course
- Cost: $450-$1,500
- Course Length: 5 Weeks
- Locations: San Francisco
Hackbright Academy, a San Francisco Bay Area-based women’s coding bootcamp, offers a five-week prep course with a part-time schedule. Hackbright Academy’s prep course costs $1,500 total, but $450 discounted courses are sometimes available.
First Step Coding Bootcamp Prep Course
- Cost: $1,999 to $2,499
- Course Length: 8 weeks
- Locations: Boston, San Francisco, Online
First Step Coding offers an in-person and online coding bootcamp prep course with locations in San Francisco, California, and Boston, Massachusetts. Students attend classes from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM on two weeknights. 6 additional hours of homework should be expected each week, and students have access to weekly one-to-one sessions with an instructor. Students who later attend Rithm School or Startup Institute bootcamps receive a $1,500 tuition deduction for completing the First Step Coding prep course.
Curriculum
First Step Coding focuses on HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in its bootcamp prep course. These languages, while primarily useful for web development, are also helpful for software engineering students. The curriculum focuses on hands-on activities and coding challenges.
Flatiron School Bootcamp Prep Online
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: 75+ Hours
- Locations: Online
Flatiron School offers a free online coding bootcamp prep program. The course is self-paced and no-obligation; students can complete this web development prep course whenever they want. Also, students who complete the program receive priority status for Flatiron School admissions. The program also offers coaching, admissions support, and interview prep.
Curriculum
Flatiron School’s bootcamp prep program covers HTML, CSS, Ruby on Rails, and JavaScript. The course also covers interview prep strategies and provides support from instructors on-demand. The curriculum is primarily designed to help students prepare for a web development course.
QuickStart Cybersecurity Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: $2,000
- Course Length: 8 Weeks
- Locations: Online
QuickStart offers a bootcamp prep course designed to help students ready themselves for a cybersecurity bootcamp. The course costs $2,000 and runs 8 weeks. QuickStart’s cybersecurity prep course is comprehensive and requires a 20-hour commitment each week.
Curriculum
During the QuickStart bootcamp prep course, students learn the fundamentals of cybersecurity. The curriculum covers hardware architecture, network security, system security, operating systems, network management, and vulnerability assessments.
LEARN Academy Jumpstart
- Cost: $499
- Course Length: 2 Days
- Locations: San Diego
LEARN Academy Jumpstart is a 2-day coding bootcamp prep course located in San Diego. Students spend 1 weekend at the in-person course learning the fundamentals of web development. The program is designed to prepare students for a full-time immersive web development bootcamp.
Curriculum
The LEARN Academy Jumpstart bootcamp prep course covers the fundamentals of JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. These primary web development languages are essential in the field, so students spend the weekend mastering the skills they need to be successful in an advanced course.
QuickStart Full Stack Web Development Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: $2,000
- Course Length: 8 Weeks
- Locations: Online
QuickStart offers multiple bootcamp prep programs, including a full stack web development course. In the web development prep program, students work on assignments over a period of 8 weeks. Each week, students spend around 20 hours on coursework.
Curriculum
The QuickStart course curriculum focuses on the ‘core concepts’ of web development, including HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and Python. Students also focus on front end development concepts and responsive design.
Vendition Sales Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: 1 Week
- Locations: Online
Vendition sales bootcamp prep is a one-week tech sales training program. The course offers a comprehensive sales training curriculum at no cost. After completing the program, students have the opportunity to pursue a fellowship with a Vendition hiring partner.
Curriculum
Vendition covers a large number of topics during the program, starting with an introduction to sales. Later, students learn best practices, prospecting, buyer profiles, networking, cold calling, and more. Toward the end of the course, students learn vital soft skills including time management.
Viking Code School Prep Work
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: 3-4 Weeks
- Locations: Online
Viking Code School offers a comprehensive software engineering bootcamp prep course. The program is online-only and tuition-free, allowing students to attend with no obligations. During the program, students work on parts of Viking Code School’s full bootcamp curriculum. Through the course, Viking Code School aims to show students what to expect in its primary software engineering bootcamp.
Curriculum
Viking Code School’s prep course begins with an introduction to software engineering, which covers the basics of web development and design. Later, students work with HTML5, CSS3, SASS, and Bootstrap. Students complete the course with JavaScript practice.
Programming 101 Coding Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: $99
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Online
Programming 101 offers a preparation program designed to help students ready themselves for a top coding bootcamp. Programming 101 aims to equip students with the skills needed to apply at App Academy, Fullstack Academy, Hack Reactor, Codesmith, and several other well-known national coding bootcamps.
Curriculum
Programming 101 focuses on full stack web development in its course. The program exposes students to several programming languages, including JavaScript. Additionally, students learn about data structures, functions, callbacks, debugging, recursion, and more.
The Tech Academy Intro to Coding Classes
- Cost: $99
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Online
The Tech Academy offers online and self-paced coding bootcamp prep courses. These programs are available for JavaScript and Python programming. The Tech Academy’s prep courses are beginner-friendly and available for a one-time payment of $99. Students learn from video lectures and complete coding activities.
Curriculum
These basic, self-paced online courses cover either JavaScript or Python. The classes focus primarily on the essentials, and students have ample opportunity to practice with coding assignments and challenges.
Metis Data Science Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: $750
- Course Length: 6 Weeks
- Locations: Online
Metis, a well-established coding bootcamp, offers online preparation courses online for prospective data science students. Metis designed the program to help students prepare for its immersive and intensive data science coding bootcamp. The prep course costs $750, and students who complete it earn a tuition discount at Metis. The program runs for six weeks.
Curriculum
The Metis data science bootcamp prep program covers the fundamentals of data science with an emphasis on Python programming. Students also develop complex data analytics skills, feature creation, plus model creation and validation.
Metis Bootcamp Admissions Prep
- Cost: Free
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Online
In addition to its data science prep course, Metis also offers a free general bootcamp preparation program. The free online course allows students to study coding at their own pace, and participate in challenges, activities, and other helpful learning assignments.
Curriculum
The free Metis bootcamp prep covers the basics of data science. During the course, students focus on linear algebra and calculus, along with statistics, probabilities, and more. Metis also offers a paid data science bootcamp prep course that covers more complex concepts.
Software Guild Intro to Web Development
- Cost: $10,000
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Online
Software Guild offers a highly comprehensive introductory web development course. This program, which could be considered a bootcamp, covers everything students need to know to qualify for an entry-level web development job. However, the course is beginner friendly, which sets it apart from some other bootcamps. Currently, Software Guild offers its prep course online only.
Curriculum
Students in the Software Guild Intro to Web Development Course learn a wide range of web development coding languages, tools, and best practices. These include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, which are fundamental to the web development process. Additionally, students learn how to use Git–an essential online resource for programmers and tech professionals.
SecureSet Cybersecurity Bootcamp Prep
- Cost: Varies
- Course Length: Varies
- Locations: Varies
SecureSet Academy offers a cybersecurity prep course to prepare students for a full-time intensive coding bootcamp. The SecureSet PREP course covers an array of cybersecurity-related topics to help students build a strong technical foundation before attending a bootcamp.
Curriculum
The course focuses primarily on cybersecurity coding with Python. However, Secureset PREP also provides students with an introduction to networks and systems, helping them understand the basics of digital security. The course also covers hardware and operating systems such as Mac and Linux.
How to Choose a Coding Bootcamp Prep Course
Choosing the best coding bootcamp prep program for you can be a daunting task. Thankfully, there are a few simple factors to consider to help you decide.
1. Schedule
Bootcamp prep courses aren’t as time-consuming as full-time bootcamps, but it’s still essential to find a course that fits your schedule. If you have a busy schedule, consider an online bootcamp course. Conversely, an in-person prep course can help you mentally prepare for an immersive bootcamp.
2. Curriculum
It’s important to consider your goals before applying to a bootcamp pre-course. If you want to become a software engineer, you need a different bootcamp (and prep course) than if you wanted to become a data scientist. Ensure that the bootcamp prep course covers the programming experience necessary for your career path.
3. Reputation
Consider the reputation of a prep course before applying. Many excellent bootcamp prep courses are relatively new, which means they haven’t had time to establish a reputation. Nonetheless, do some digging and ‘take the temperature’ of the online community, and make sure you’re comfortable with what you find.
Conclusion: A Last Word on Bootcamp Prep Programs
Are you interested in attending a coding bootcamp and starting a career in tech? If so, completing a coding bootcamp prep course can make a big difference, and get you started on the right foot. With a solid foundation, you’ll be better prepared for the rigors of an immersive software engineering, web development, cybersecurity, or data science bootcamp. With some careful research and consideration, you can find the best bootcamp prep program to improve your chances of succeeding with your tech education.
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