A Guide to Flatiron School

Since opening in 2012, Flatiron School has trained more than 7,000 students, particularly helping tech beginners and underrepresented techies break into the industry.

At Flatiron School, you can study data science, cybersecurity, product design, or software engineering. And free bootcamp prep courses also cover the same topics. The New York-founded bootcamp took its classes online in 2015. But you can also choose from in-person, full-time bootcamps that take as quick as 15 weeks or self-paced courses that you complete in 20, 40, or 60 weeks.

As you will learn in this Flatiron School review, bootcamps include personal career help for up to six months. Graduates have found jobs with companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Intel.

In a Flatiron bootcamp, you’ll build a portfolio and the skills needed to land a job. You’ll choose from online or in-person courses in New York or Denver with four disciplines. Full-time courses are 15 weeks long, and you can choose from online or in-person options. Part-time bootcamps — available online — feature mostly pre-recorded lectures.

You can take a campus tour, schedule a 10-minute admissions call, or attend info sessions online to learn more. Flatiron School also lets you test bootcamps through free pre-courses that cover topics such as Javascript, cryptography, and Python.

Free online prep courses ready students —especially tech beginners — for a bootcamp. These free courses let you take introductory lessons in cryptography, Python, Javascript, software engineering, and UX/UI design. The introductory courses cover topics such as the basics of CSS, HTML, and Javascript.

Students enrolled in free prep courses also benefit from the Career Prep Lite program. You do not need any coding experience to take a prep course. Completing these lessons lets you see if bootcamps could work for you.

For many, the free prep courses lead to enrolling in a full-time or part-time bootcamp. Taking prep courses requires independent study, but you can use a chat function to ask teaching assistants questions. Prep courses also give students the basics to pass a technical interview.

Not everyone has what it takes to get admitted into Flatiron School. To vet applicants, Flatiron School requires a 15-minute admissions assessment. For beginners, the free prep courses in each of the four disciplines can help prepare you to pass the admissions exam. This exam measures your ability to problem solve, think critically, and acquire new skills and knowledge. The test asks about 50 questions and covers verbal, math and logic, and spatial ability skills.

Above all, Flatiron bootcamp seeks students who have the drive and ability to learn new tech skills. In addition to the admissions test, Flatiron School evaluates incoming students based on their written application and admission interview. An admissions representative schedules an interview after receiving admission test scores.

Paying your entire tuition upfront is the quickest way to pay for a bootcamp with no strings attached. This option works well if you have the financial means to do so and lets you avoid any interest rates.

Qualifying students can get a 12-month installment agreement through Flatiron School’s affiliate EdAid. The installment agreement requires you to pay a $500 deposit, and then EdAid divides the tuition over one year without interest. As part of the application process, you must undergo a credit check.

Flatiron School’s financing partners, Ascent and Climb, offer private loans to qualifying students. You can repay loans over 36 or 42 months, depending on the provider. Loans do not cover deposits needed to secure your spot in a bootcamp and are reduced based on any awarded scholarships.

However, loans may also cover living expenses. You can choose various loan repayment plans, including immediate repayment, interest-only repayment, or deferred repayment.

Flatiron School’s scholarships aim to close the gender and diversity gap in tech. Full-time students can apply for the Women Take Tech scholarship and get $1,000-$2,000. The Access Scholarship awards $1,000-$5,000 to students from underrepresented communities like veterans, women, and people with disabilities. An additional $500 goes to people who demonstrate financial need.

Coding bootcamps can report glowing student outcomes, but without oversight from an unaffiliated association, these reports may be misleading. For instance, a coding bootcamp could report high job placements for graduates but not explain that the survey sampling only represents select students.

For that reason, the Council on Integrity in Results Reporting (CIRR) verifies reporting from coding bootcamps. This does not mean non-CIRR members exaggerate outcomes, but you should research any claims from non-CIRR members like Flatiron School.

Flatiron School graduates have found jobs at Accenture, Apple, BuzzFeed, Google, and Spotify.

Flatiron School is a tech training provider that offers bootcamps in cybersecurity, data science, product design, and software engineering. Industry professionals work with the bootcamp provider to design the curricula and teach these short, intensive programs.

Bootcamps are available online and in person. In addition to student programs, the company provides technology education solutions for organizations. Flatiron School started in 2012 and currently ranks as a top coding bootcamp.

According to Flatiron School reviews, completing an intensive bootcamp is worth it. Students learn various skills and tools, including CSS, HTML, JavaScript, Python, web frameworks, and SQL. In addition, Flatiron School provides in-person, online, full-time, and part-time learning options for busy professionals.

Flatiron School offers career coaching and connections with industry partners. Financing options include installments, loans, and scholarships to help with bootcamp costs.

Flatiron School may be harder to get into than other coding bootcamps. You must complete a written application, pass an assessment test, and undergo an interview.

The school’s admissions assessment tests your problem-solving and critical thinking skills in math, logic, spatial ability, and verbal reasoning. The 15-minute assessment can include up to 50 questions, but Flatiron School doesn’t expect you to complete all of them. Flatiron School bases its final decision on the application, interview, and test as a whole.

No. Flatiron School is not free. Each of the bootcamps costs between 16,900 and $17,900. And the cost goes up if you take out a loan with interest attached.

You could cut costs by applying for one of Flatiron School’s scholarships that aim to increase the representation of women and minorities in tech.

Occasionally, you can find free in-person or online events that cover the same topics taught in bootcamps. You can also take advantage of free courses in any of the four disciplines available.

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