Pursuit

Pursuit Reviews and Complete Guide

If you are looking for intensive tech training that teaches you how to code and build a career in full stack development, then Pursuit might be for you. Pursuit aims to create leaders in tech. Whether you are new to the world of coding or a professional looking to switch careers, read our Pursuit review to find if this tech institution is right for you.

This article is a comprehensive Pursuit guide and we will cover all the essential information needed to help you make a decision. Keep reading for information on course descriptions, payment plans, tuition cost, job placement services, and schedules for this school.

What Is Pursuit?

Pursuit is a non-profit intensive full stack development tech training institution based in New York. Its program aims to train students from underserved communities for a lucrative career in tech. The school, formerly called C4Q, offers a four-year, two-step program that covers everything from programming foundations to advanced development topics.

The first year of the program is called Pursuit Core and consists of intensive tech training. The following three years of the program are called Pursuit Advance. This part of the program focuses on career support and mentoring. Although the school’s curriculum and services are similar to a coding bootcamp, Pursuit is not a short-term coding bootcamp.

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The training offered by this school has proven to be fruitful for its graduates, reporting that students go on to make an average salary of $85,000 per year. Pursuit graduates work at top tech companies like JP Morgan Chase, LinkedIn, Pinterest, BlackRock, and Capital One.

Is Pursuit Worth It?

Pursuit is worth it for anyone looking for an institution that provides in-depth training in full stack development and long-term career support. Pursuit wants its students to receive a well-rounded education that goes beyond technical skills.

This school teaches industry-relevant skills. You’ll learn JavaScript, CSS, Git, React.js, and Swift. The school wants to provide education to those with no background in coding who are looking to penetrate the computer software industry.

Pursuit graduates work across a multitude of areas including product management, engineering, information technology, and research at over 150 industry-leading companies. This is possible due to the school’s extended graduate support services. Pursuit doesn’t just cut ties with graduates when they land their first tech job but keeps supporting them through mentorships.

This program is only open to students living in Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. While many classes are currently being held live online, the school is planning on returning to in-person learning as soon as possible. If you don’t live in the New York Metro Area, or if you want to enter the full stack development field faster, consider other full stack web development bootcamps.

Pursuit Job Placement

Pursuit does not publish its job placement statistics. However, its four-year intensive career training has placed students in lucrative positions at Fortune 500 companies. The second part of the program, Pursuit Advance, consists of networking opportunities, resume critique, portfolio building assistance, and interview preparation.

In addition, the non-profit institution has a wide network of funders and partners. They include Google, Salesforce, Facebook, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Amazon, and Capital One. Your chances of acquiring a job at one of these companies as a Pursuit graduate are very high.

Does Pursuit Offer a Job Guarantee?

No, Pursuit does not offer a job guarantee per se. However, it offers the next best thing: income share agreements (ISAs). The school has so much confidence in its curriculum and training that students can attend the four years of the program for free and pay tuition only after getting a high-paying job.

How Much Does Pursuit Cost?

Through its Pursuit Bond, the four-year full stack development program has zero upfront fees. This means you can attend the entire program without paying and are only required to contribute a percentage of your earnings after you’ve acquired a job with an annual salary of $50,000 or more. This is what is called in the industry an income share agreement or ISA.

If you switch to a job that pays less than $50,000, you can pause your payments until your salary increases. The school covers your upfront program fees with funding social impact investors and funders.

How to Pay for Pursuit: Scholarships, ISAs, Loan Financing

Pursuit offers several payment plans to accommodate students from low-income backgrounds. Keep reading to learn more about this school’s payment options.

Scholarships

Scholarships are a great way to help fund your education. Pursuit offers MetroCard scholarships to its students in New York City. Contact the school to find out the terms and eligibility of the scholarship. The school also loans out laptops to students.

ISAs

The primary financing plan available to students is the Pursuit Bond, an income share agreement (ISA). The Pursuit Bond allows you to attend the program for free and pay back the school once you start earning $50,000 or more. You will pay back a certain percentage of your income every month for an agreed period of time.

The payment terms differ from student to student. Your Pursuit Bond ISA ends when you complete 48 months of payment, pay a total of $70,000, or exceed the eight-year payment window.

If you get a job that pays less than $50,000, you can pause your payments until you secure a higher salary. Get in touch with the school’s admissions team or sign up for an info session to learn more about the Pursuit Bond.

Loan Financing

The point of the Pursuit Bond is to discourage students from taking out personal loans. However, the Pursuit Bond only covers your tuition costs. If you cannot afford housing in New York, then looking into loan financing might be worth it. Loan financing is ideal for students with a decent credit score and willing to pay interest.

Look into what your bank can offer you in terms of loans or consider lending companies such as Skills Funds, Climb Credit, or Ascent to secure a personal loan.

GI Bill

Pursuit does not accept GI Bill benefits.

Pursuit Locations

Pursuit offers its four-year tech training both online and in-person. The first year of training takes place in person and the following three years of mentorship and support are done online.

• Pursuit New York
• Pursuit Online

Pursuit Courses

Pursuit offers the Pursuit Fellowship, a four-year full stack development program. If you are interested in becoming a web developer, app developer, or software developer, this program might be for you. The Pursuit Fellowship is divided into two phases: Pursuit Core, which lasts 12 months, and Pursuit Advance, which runs for 36.

Pursuit Prep Courses

Pursuit’s full stack development curriculum starts with the fundamentals and is perfect for students with no coding or tech knowledge, so enrolling in a prep course isn’t necessary. However, if you want to be better prepared for Pursuit Core, then look into a free coding bootcamp prep course.

Pursuit Core – In-Person | Online

Pursuit Core is the first part of the four-year full stack development skills training. Pursuit Core will prepare you for your first job in the tech industry. The curriculum is based on three pillars: technical mastery, industry readiness, and leadership and personal development.

The Pursuit Core program teaches you everything from coding fundamentals to building full-scale web application development. You will learn JavaScript, HTML, CSS, SQL, front end technologies, Node.js, Redux, Ruby, and backend technologies.

The program also covers other computer science topics such as data structures and algorithms. It includes a 48-hour hackathon and capstone projects

Pursuit Advance – In-Person | Online

Pursuit Advance is the second phase of the Pursuit Fellowship. It lasts three years and focuses on industry readiness, leadership, and personal development. During this phase of the fellowship, the student receives the career support and mentorship needed to move into a high-earning tech position.

Pursuit Advance works with hiring partners to turn students into strong candidates for any tech position. The school has partnerships with top companies like Citi Group and Uber. For example, the Uber Level Up program gives you the opportunity to work at Uber after completing the Pursuit Core program.

Similarly, the Citi partnership gives Pursuit fellows access to Citi’s Summer Analyst program. Citi commits to hiring a specific number of Pursuit students for their program each year. If you impress Citi employers, then you get the opportunity to participate in the company’s one-year prep program which can ultimately lead to a full-time analyst position.

The Pursuit Advance program provides resume critique, networking opportunities, portfolio development assistance, and interview prep. By the end of the four years, you will be an expert full stack web application developer.

What Is the Pursuit Schedule?

The Pursuit Fellowship is a full-time program. It is not offered part-time.

Full-Time

Students must be ready to commit a minimum of 45 hours per week to learn full stack development. You’ll need to spend 25 hours in the class and an additional 20 hours of study outside.

To accommodate full-time workers and other individuals with busy schedules, the school also offers night and weekend classes.

Part-Time

Pursuit currently does not offer any part-time courses.

Self-Paced

Pursuit does not offer any self-paced courses.

How to Get Accepted Into Pursuit

Getting accepted into the Pursuit Fellowship is relatively difficult as you must meet the school’s eligibility criteria and complete an interview. As Pursuit is a non-profit that caters to students from low-income backgrounds, you need to prove an annual income of less than $45,000 to be eligible.

In addition, you must be a New York Metro Area resident, be at least 18-years-old, and be eligible to work in the United States.

Pursuit reports that all of its students belong to low-income groups. It also reports that for each cohort about half of students are female. Likewise, 50 percent of students are immigrants and the same percentage are African American and Hispanic. Sixty percent of its students don’t have a bachelor’s degree.

Pursuit Acceptance Rate

Pursuit does not publish its acceptance rate. However, if you meet the eligibility criteria and prove your passion for software development, then your chances of getting accepted into the fellowship are high.

Application Process

The Pursuit Fellowship application is rigorous. You must meet the program’s eligibility criteria, fill an application, pass a coding challenge, and sit for an interview.

Below is a step-by-step guide to ace the Pursuit Fellowship application.

1. First, take a look at the school’s eligibility criteria. To apply, you must make less than $45,000, be authorized to work in the United States, be at least 18 years old, and reside in the New York metro area.
2. If you meet that criteria, go to the school’s page and fill out the online application. You’ll be asked to upload a resume and answer six short questions describing your academic and professional journey. There is also an assessment to measure your math, computer literacy, logic, and typing skills.
3. If you pass the assessment and impress the admissions team, you will be invited to workshops that will help you understand the programs offered by Pursuit. In 2021, the workshops will take place between August 27 and September 5. You will also be asked to complete a coding challenge. This is a homework assignment based on everything you learn at the workshops.
4. If you are selected after the workshops, you will be invited for an interview and a problem-solving session. The interview aims to find out more about your background. The problem-solving session will be led by software engineers and experts from Pursuit’s partner companies.
5. If you impress the admissions team during the interview and problem-solving session, you will be accepted into the Pursuit Fellowship.

Interview Questions

Pursuit’s interview questions are there to gauge your problem-solving skills and background. The interviews are conducted by developers and software engineers from the school’s partner companies. Below are a few of the topics you’re likely to be asked about during your Pursuit Fellowship interview.

• Your academic, tech, and professional background.
• Your career goals and how the Pursuit Fellowship will help you achieve them
• You may be asked to expand on the short essay you wrote for the online application.

Is Pursuit Right for You?

Pursuit is right for members of underrepresented and low-income communities looking to gain software development skills. However, the school is only open to those in the New York metro area, so if you live elsewhere, Pursuit isn’t right for you.

If you do live in New York and meet the school’s other requirements, Pursuit is an excellent option to kickstart a career in tech. Its Pursuit Fellowship program provides outstanding full stack development training and professional development services. All in all, this institution reprepsents a great opportunity to move up the tech ladder and fulfill your tech dreams.