General Assembly

GA SEI Alumni: I took the fully online version starting Jun '23. - Were very attentive in recruitment when I was joining, referred a friend as an alumnus, he wasn't even contacted by the recruitment team for over a month, really frustrated. - ~Beginner friendly~, but may go from simple concepts to complicated stuff really fast. Most beginners will have to put in extra effort to keep up with everything. - Technical stuff not for intermediate or above. - Career coaching, that was ongoing even after the courses finished was refreshing. Also beginner-friendly and teaches basics like building your LinkedIn profile and what to emphasize in your CV, etc. - One of my cohort-mates were recruited before the courses finished. I was recruited within 4 months but was coming in with a lot of prior exp. Around half of my cohort-mates got jobs or internships within ~6 months, around 1/3 were still searching after ~11 months

I initially contacted the General Assembly admissions team on June 29 to inquire about their UX Design Bootcamp. Despite my enthusiasm and multiple follow-up emails, it has been an entire month without a proper phone call or sufficient responses. Most of my emails went unanswered, and the lack of communication has been extremely frustrating. As someone who is very keen to join their program, this experience has been disappointing.

From January 22nd to April 18th, 2024, I participated in General Assembly’s UX Designer Bootcamp. It was a full-time program, running from 8 AM to 4 PM CST, M-F. Before committing to the bootcamp, I completed a UX Challenge that provided a taste of what it's like to be a UX Designer. This experience was invaluable, as it not only gave me a clear understanding of the role but also solidified my desire to pursue it. During the bootcamp, I was welcomed by students of varying experience levels, ages, and backgrounds. This diversity allowed me to learn from others, share my knowledge, and enjoy many late-night laughs. What I valued most about my time at General Assembly was the hands-on learning experience. It felt like skipping all the boring college classes and diving straight into the exciting parts. We were thrown in headfirst, but with industry experts readily available and classmates to lean on. As long as you’re committed to the career change to UX Design and everything it entails, you should do just fine and find a job in no time.

A complete scam. I participated in the online UX course last year. The program is $16,000 and you have to research and do everything yourself. Most of the instructors and career coaches are recent graduates with no real life work experience. For those that do work, teaching the course is a side job. You aren’t guaranteed a job upon graduation. They say 98% of graduates get jobs, but that’s not true at all. They hire everyone from within the program to inflate the numbers. When you first inquire about the program on the website, they immediately call you with pushy sales techniques and grandiose claims that are false and too good to be true. Seems a bit like an MLM. It’s extremely overpriced for you to have to learn and teach yourself everything. They also claim anyone can do the program with no experience or knowledge. This is also not true. I wasted 3 months and 16k, to barely learn anything. My entire class felt the same way. There are plenty of other tutorials and programs people can do that are way cheaper.

I took the Python Programming 10 week course and learned very little. The instructor was lost and wasted a lot of class time. Classes frequently started late and on at least one occasion was cancelled with very little notice. I asked if I could switch into the same course running concurrently with a different instructor and the staff was unhelpful and even insulting. Avoid this organization! Happy to take your money; not helpful after that point. Huge waste of my time.

I recently completed the GA and I must say, it was a huge disappointment. I had high hopes for this bootcamp, but unfortunately, it turned out to be a complete waste of time and money. First and foremost, the cost of this bootcamp is exorbitant. The marketing hype led me to believe that I would be getting top-notch education and valuable skills. However, I quickly realized that I could have found something much more affordable and equally effective elsewhere. The steep price tag simply does not justify the lackluster experience I had. Furthermore, the quality of instruction left much to be desired. While there were a few instructors who seemed knowledgeable and engaged, the same cannot be said for all of them. It was clear that not all instructors had the necessary experience to effectively teach the material. In fact, there were instances where some instructors struggled to answer even basic questions from students. This was not only frustrating but also detrimental to the learning process. Throughout the bootcamp, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was not getting my money's worth. The promises made during enrollment were far from being fulfilled. I expected a comprehensive and enriching learning journey, but what I got was a series of disappointments and unmet expectations. In hindsight, I regret not researching more thoroughly and exploring more affordable options. I strongly advise anyone considering this bootcamp to think twice and explore other options. Don't be fooled by the flashy marketing and overrated reputation. There are better, more cost-effective choices out there that will provide you with the same, if not superior, knowledge and learning experience. Overall, I cannot recommend the GA based on my personal experience. Save your time and money and seek out alternatives that will provide you with a better return on your investment.

Scam. Dropped a GA program within the 14 day time frame weeks ago and they still have not cancelled the tuition loan with Climb Credit. Reps won't return calls. Nobody will give phone number for financial aid office. Does anyone have recommendation for recourse? Contact info for anyone that can help? GA claims that tuition is fully refunded if you drop within 14 days yet they are refusing to cancel loan.

Expertise and instruction are different. Instructors are well-versed in their fields, but don't know how to teach at GA. The instructors discussed some of the training provided by GA, and it's clear this should be GA's primary focus if it wishes to gain any authentic academic credibility. The course I took was jam-packed with material that was never applied in any meaningful way. What was being taught appeared to be great, but how it was taught made the class worthy of a full refund, mentioned many times before. On the final day of the course, many of my classmates didn't show up because they understandably didn't grasp much of the content, and weren't allotted an appropriate amount of time to prepare a presentation. Education must be understood as more than talking through content.

I took their User Experience bootcamp and learned so much from the professional, accessible and approachable instructors. The resources they equipped us with are so helpful, still using hem to this day. Thank y'all!

Came for one of their Meetup events. Good space. Enjoyed meeting with quite a few people, of different technology experience levels. Good place especially for those new, but also experienced.