Holberton
Holberton School: Bootcamp Reviews and Complete Guide
Holberton School is a software engineering school based in San Francisco. Its two-year courses help students enter the tech industry fully prepared to be engineers in various fields with a focus on full stack development.
The school achieves this by providing training and encouraging students to round-out their learning with projects and internships. Holberton also has 13 campuses across the US and abroad.
What Is Holberton School?
| Holberton School Quick Facts | |
|---|---|
| Cost | First Year: $45,000; second year: $40,000 |
| Start Dates | Contact the school for more information. |
| Locations | Campus: San Francisco, Tulsa, New Haven, Haust-De-France, Medellin, Bogota, Cali, Barranquilla, Tunes, Beirut, Montevideo, Mexico City, San Juan. Virtual Campus: Peru, France, Ecuador |
| Courses | Software Engineering, Data Science, Game Development, Machine Learning, Coding |
| Available Programs | Full-time |
Holberton School is a software engineering school with many successful alumni. Graduates have gone on to careers at companies such as Tesla, Google, Apple, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
This school’s teaching approach goes beyond simply preparing students with the technical knowledge they’ll need on the job. Students must also practice public speaking, presentations, and turning ideas into usable products.
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Is Holberton School Worth It?
If you can make a time commitment of two years, then Holberton School is worth it. Unlike some other bootcamps, this institution can be described as a perfect mix of university-style learning and course-based learning.
Each specialization at the school takes two years to complete, which is much longer than other bootcamps but still shorter than a bachelor’s degree program. During this time, students will complete projects and intern at a tech company to get an idea of what their career will be like after graduation.
If you enjoy practical learning, then Holberton School is for you. As a bonus for those attending class in person, the school’s campuses have all the modern tech equipment you can imagine.
Holberton School Job Placement
One of the best ways to determine whether a bootcamp is effective is to check the employment rate of its recent graduates. At Holberton, this rate is impressive.
Ninety-nine percent of Holberton graduates find employment after completing their two-year program. Recent Holberton graduates report average earnings of close to $118,000 per year, which is higher than the average salary of recent university graduates in related degree programs.
Among students who only complete the first nine-month foundation phase of their US Holberton program, 78 percent get a job within six months.
Does Holberton School Offer a Job Guarantee?
Holberton School does not offer a job guarantee. Instead, the school arranges hands-on training and internships to prepare students for their future job.
How Much Does Holberton School Cost?
The tuition price at Holberton School is divided into two parts. The on-campus courses cost $45,000 during the first year, and $40,000 the following year.
The price for attending Holberton’s international campuses varies. For example, in France, a course costs 6,120 euros the first year, and the second year varies depending on a student’s specialization. Among the international campuses, online courses are only offered in France, Ecuador, and Peru.
How to Pay for Holberton School: Scholarships, ISAs, and Installments
Holberton School offers several payment options. Below, we’ll look at the details of the scholarships, loans, and income share agreements that are available.
Scholarships
Students who are attending Holberton School in the US as part of a corporate sponsorship can obtain a scholarship.
ISAs
Holberton School does not offer loans. Instead, it uses income share agreements. If you are a US citizen and cannot pay your tuition upfront, you can apply for an ISA plan, which allows you to defer payments until you get a job.
If you are making at least $40,000 a year, Holberton requires payments of 17 percent of your monthly salary. You will then make payments over 42 months with a repayment limit of $85,000.
Loan Financing
Holberton School does not work with traditional loans. Instead, it prefers to use payment alternatives like ISAs.
Installments
Students who want to pay upfront can choose to make annual, monthly, or quarterly installments. These installments will correspond with the three stages of the course, which are listed below.
Stage 1 – Nine-month foundation course
Stage 2 – Six-month internship
Stage 3 – Nine-month specialization course
GI Bill
For now, veterans cannot apply to Holberton School through the GI Bill.
Holberton School Locations
Holberton School has expanded to four continents. These locations all teach the same courses and are divided into traditional campuses and virtual campuses, as seen below.
Campuses:
- Holberton School San Francisco
- Holberton School New Haven
- Holberton School Tusla
- Holberton School San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Holberton School Barranquilla, Colombia
- Holberton School Cali, Colombia
- Holberton School Bogotá, Colombia
- Holberton School Medellín, Colombia
- Holberton School Beirut, Lebanon
- Holberton School Mexico City, Mexico
- Holberton School Montevideo, Uruguay
- Holberton School Haust-De-France, France
- Holberton School Tunis, Tunisia
Virtual campuses:
- Ecuador
- Peru
- France
Holberton School Courses
Holberton offers a robust software engineering program with optional specializations in machine learning, VR, low level and algorithms, and front end, backend, and full stack web development, among others.
To complete a specialization, students must complete a program separated into three parts, as follows:
- Foundation. In this nine-month course, students will learn about programming languages and general computer operations. This includes working with databases and algorithms using JavaScript, HTML, Git, MySQL, and CSS.
- Internships. In this phase, students will complete a six-month software engineering internship. This experience will allow them to apply their knowledge and get familiar with a professional work environment.
- Specialization. This final nine-month stage consists of working in a specific field within software engineering. This part of the program is optional, but it is a key part of the success and high salaries reported by Holberton graduates.
Below is a breakdown of what is covered in the software engineering program.
Software Engineering Program
Holberton School’s software engineering program is comprehensive and competitive with universities. For two years, students learn everything about this career, use tools, create large projects, and apply knowledge to projects. After completing the program, your future in the tech industry is nearly guaranteed.
In the program, students can choose a specialization in the following subjects, among others.
Machine Learning
In this specialization, students learn how to train machines to process data and make decisions automatically. Specifically, students will learn how to use coding libraries such as Numpy, Python Pandas, and Keras.
Virtual Reality
This program includes interactive projects with C# and Unity3D mixed reality. In this specialization, instructors will teach you how to apply VR methods in the automotive and construction industries.
Low Level and Algorithms
In this program, students will learn to create their own cryptocurrency using logic and cryptography. The class also covers how to use the Linux Kernel API and all the fundamentals of algorithms and data structure.
What Is the Holberton School Schedule?
Holberton School’s programs are intensive, so they require a serious time commitment. For now, Holberton School only allows full-time students.
Full-Time
One reason Holberton School requires a full-time commitment from its students is its emphasis on projects. Many projects and internships require full-time dedication, and setting time constraints could affect a student’s progress.
How to Get Accepted Into Holberton School
Getting into this school is all about how you come across in your application, which takes approximately two hours to complete. Applicants must fill out a form, then complete several tests and an interview.
This school has an automated selection process. For that reason, previous studies, race, degrees, gender, economic situation, and age are not taken into account.
Holberton School Acceptance Rate
Holberton School has an acceptance rate of three percent.
Holberton Application Process
The application process at Holberton School consists of three stages, as seen below.
- Complete mini-challenges. Once you have registered online, you’ll have to complete a series of small tests.
- Build a website. Now, you’ll have two weeks to build a Linux-based website as part of your application process. This will be reviewed by the admissions department before your Q&A session.
- Q&A Session. Finally, if you pass the first two steps, you will be invited for a Q&A session.
Holberton Interview Questions
If you have passed the three steps of the application process, Holberton School will send you an email to schedule an interview. People who reach this final phase of the application process still only have a 10 percent chance of being accepted. However, the interview is fairly simple. Below are a few of the questions you are likely to be asked.
- What are some of your professional accomplishments?
- Why do you want to attend Holberton School?
- What are your future goals after graduating from Holberton School?
Is Holberton School Right For You?
Although the course is more expensive than other bootcamps, the employment rate of Holberton School graduates shows that the price is worth it. Although the acceptance rate is only three percent, Holberton School offers exciting, rigorous tech programs. The school’s international expansion reflects the level of success it has achieved in the US.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the demand for skilled tech workers will grow by 11 percent by 2029. Taking this data into account, Holberton School seems like an ideal way to get prepared for the future.
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Anonymous
I will make this really simple. I attended the first-year curriculum with Holberton School which is 9 months long. Our 1st programming language is C for 1st semester then Python for 2nd semester. Surprisingly these two primary languages will be required for my job. Even though the curriculum prepares students for Full-stack software engineering, I am living proof that you can be hired as a System Software Engineer which requires much more hardware-level programming. I am grateful for the first semester which focused on Lower Level engineering, Data Structures, and Algorithms. One thing I did not mention to anyone until is that I had two days to prep for the interview onsite. I truly believe this curriculum is very good but to anyone interested, please have a base knowledge of operating systems and computers. With that said, I am super grateful to this program for changing my life. I specifically waited to write this review after getting the job offer and start working next Monday. Total almost 4 months of job searching.
December 20, 2019
Anonymous
Great work, definitively you learn to learn, all from scratch.
It’s no necessary that you knows about tech, here you will learn independent of your previous core.
January 11, 2020
Anonymous
Intense study, on projects where you can become a programr super advanced in little time,
where you can learn all by itself is the motto
February 9, 2020
Anonymous
I started Holberton School in January 2019. Before that I had little experience in coding, I learned some Java, C++, and JavaScript by following tutorials on the Internet and asking some friends. At Holberton, I learned a lot in a short period of time and now I feel more confident in my coding skills. One good suggestion I can make about it is you should have some experience with coding or spend at least 2 months following some basic tutorials on the web because you will have some foundations to rely on.
March 7, 2020
Anonymous
Holberton has been an amazing, intense, and difficult experience. I’m learning a ton, though often times I feel like I’m not absorbing as much information as possible. The curriculum moves at a break-neck speed. If you’re not prepared to dedicate most of your time and energy then you’ll fall behind. Additional outside study and research is absolutely necessary to this program.
This can be both a good and bad thing. The intensity of the program creates strong bonds within and across the cohorts. Students genuinely want to help and support each other. It’s also great that within less than a year, I will have completely enhanced my skillset. Really pleased with my decision.
March 8, 2020
Anonymous
I have learned a lot in such a short time.
April 9, 2020
Anonymous
Holberton School has been the most challenging and rewarding curriculums I’ve taken. The peer to peer learning style and the challenges we face together has helped make learning a fun and flourishing experience. The best learning experience is when we have mandataroy days called peer learning days. If you ever fall behind on a topic or material, you can definitely look forward to peer learning day because, it helps everyone review the material we just learned and it also helps reinforce a better understanding of how things work. Holberton will sometimes have special events, these events have also helped me build more connections and get more insight of what is expected from a software engineer. I have 3 months left until I finish my first year, It is scary but also exciting to see what we have in just one year! Some people tend to apply for jobs right after their fist year, I plan to take the second year and specialize in either machine learning or low level programming, which hopes to build a strong foundation
May 9, 2020
Anonymous
Holberton School is not the easy way to learn to code but nowadays I think it is actually the best option. The most valuable there is that they are teaching you not just how to code but how to learn whatever you want. The hardest is not the curriculum or the projects you are working in, the hardest is actually yourself because you will have to face the failure every single day and the voice in your head telling you to give up is getting louder while you keep learning.
So, take the risk and the chance to challenge yourself with Holberton by your side!
June 18, 2020
Anonymous
Hi, I am currently a student who is about 7 months into the first year here.
I would highly recommend Holberton to anyone who wants a deeper dive into computer science. If you want to learn how to code, there are many options but where I think Holberton really shines is in the depth of the curriculum. Because you spend the first three months in C, you will be working very closely with the kernel and learning lower-level tasks such as memory management/assembly. You will be working in Linux machines from the very first day and be very proficient in Bash and Git. The final project for the first trimester involves using data structures such as linked lists to build a Unix shell from scratch.
In the second trimester, you learn Python and the Object-Oriented Programming. There is a heavier emphasis on algorithms and interview prep. We deep-dived into Big O/sorting algorithms and binary trees. I personally enjoyed this semester as we got to learn SQL and built an Airbnb clone from scratch.
Now I’m in the third trimester which is heavily focused on Dev Ops. The topics we are focusing on are server management with NGINX and Apache. We spend most of our time in SSH and learning about networking. We are also using Docker containers to debug and deploy applications.
Year two offers 4 specializations at the moment: Web Dev, Machine Learning, AR/VR and Blockchain.
If you are considering schools, I would recommend this program if you are looking for an education more akin to a Computer Science degree. If you are interested in the DevOps field, this is also a great option as it is one of the only schools that teaches this topic. If you are an independent person who is comfortable with asking questions and socializing, this is a good fit because you will be working with peers all day long. There is no instructor to keep you on your toes; that is up to you.
I would NOT recommend this program if you want to just learn web development or if you are on a time restraint. Because of the length of the program and the way it is structured, that topic is covered in Year 2 as the priority is on full-stack development in Foundations (Year 1).
At the end of the day, there is no lack of resources to learn how to code these days. It’s about how resourceful you can be. Yes, you can learn to code on your own, but personally speaking, I think you will learn much faster if you are surrounded by intelligent, motivated people every day. What I am happy to pay for is the community, mentors, and people with industry experience who can guide you on your journey. Holberton has given me that so far.
July 20, 2020