Admissions at TrueCoders: What You Need to Know

Table of Contents

• TrueCoders’ 2-Step Admissions Process
• Technical Skills vs Soft Skills: What You Need to Get In
• For Applicants with No Coding Experience
• For Applicants with Some Coding Experience
• The Tech Jobs TrueCoders Graduates Land

Interested in TrueCoders but not sure if you have the technical skills to get in? Cruz Sanchez, Vice President at TrueCoders, answers all of your enrollment questions: Do you need to know how to code to enroll at TrueCoders? Which soft skills is TrueCoders looking for? And what can you expect from the admissions process? Cruz shares the questions often asked during the admissions interview, and how to prepare for TrueCoders, whether you’re a total coding beginner or an intermediate coder.

TrueCoders’ 2-Step Admissions Process

Applying at TrueCoders is easy! We don’t require an entrance exam and as long as you're dedicated and eager to learn, we believe we can teach anybody how to code. 

If you already know what you want to do, you can enroll immediately. Most students aren't sure right away, so we get on a call and give them all the resources they need to make a well-informed decision.

What can students expect in the interview with the admissions team?

Typically, students ask most of the questions in our interviews! I'll ask a few basic questions that give me a gauge of an applicant’s technical ability, like:

• What got you interested in coding? 
• Why do you think a tech career is right for you?
• Have you done any self-teaching or have you investigated coding on the technical level at all (through coding videos or research)?

Are there different admissions processes depending on how you pay for the tuition?

Paying out of pocket is the quickest way to get officially accepted to TrueCoders, but other financing options typically add a simple extra step. 

How long does the application process typically take?

From start to finish, the application process, including the ISA, is typically three days. We offer rolling cohorts every five weeks. 

Technical Skills vs Soft Skills: What You Need to Get In

TrueCoders is looking for someone who's eager to learn, dedicated, and good at problem-solving. You don't have to be a math genius, but having a background in math doesn't hurt. If you have a bit of prior coding experience, even through self-teaching, we love to see that initiative. We also love to see students who are self-starters and laser-focused — someone who gets out of bed every day, and knows their goal and their path to achieve it.

People arrive at TrueCoders from an array of backgrounds. The vast majority of students are looking for a career change and have never seen a single line of code before in their life. This year, we saw more students with degrees that can't find work so they’re coming to TrueCoders for the Career Services to help them pivot into a new path. 

A lot of our students transition from blue-collar labor jobs, like manufacturing, construction, and welding, who are tired of working 80 hours plus a week and looking for something they can do from home. We’ve also started seeing a lot of nurses and teachers enrolling at our bootcamp recently.

How technical does an applicant need to be in order to get into TrueCoders?

If you are wondering if coding is right for you, you only need a basic technical level of computer comprehension. If you can navigate file systems on a computer (like opening folders and making files) and browse the web, you can learn to code. It doesn't take a lot to get started with code. Someone who has a technical interest in computers probably has the skills to be a coder.

What kinds of soft skills is TrueCoders looking for in applicants? 

We're looking for personable people that are friendly, communicative, patient, who don't get easily frustrated or flustered, and get along well with others on a team.

How selective is TrueCoders? What’s the acceptance rate?

We accept most applicants, but we don't accept everybody.

• Since the self-paced course is asynchronous, we accept as many people that want to join, and you start when you enroll. 
• The full-time class has limited seating. We only accept 25 students per cohort. On a given start date, we have two classes starting, so we keep a balanced student-to teacher ratio.

If we think that attending TrueCoders would not benefit an applicant in any way, we'll let them know so they're making the best decision for them. If someone doesn’t seem like they’re that interested in diving into the content or if their technical skills wouldn’t support them in the program, we don’t accept those applicants.

For Applicants with No Coding Experience

Start with self-teaching. Investigate code — see if you like front end or back end so you’re informed by your own experience instead of an instructor telling you the differences between the two. YouTube is the easiest place to start exploring how to code. Anybody can jump on YouTube and follow along with a quick course. We encourage newly enrolled students to go to freeCodeCamp and start playing around. There are some free mobile apps that you can download, but that can be tricky because sometimes certain paths can teach bad practices that we have to teach people out of when they get to TrueCoders. 

Does TrueCoders offer any kind of intro course for incoming students with no previous coding experience?

After enrollment, students start on self-guided tutorials. Plus, every Friday at 1PM CT, we host a live prep class on Zoom that students can take weekly until class starts. We recommend doing as many of these as you can. This prep class is for all the students who are starting a new class, so they’re in a live Zoom call with their peers and a few instructors. They'll go through system set-up, early Git content, and might even get into some actual coding! We do this so it’s not all brand new to students when they start their full-time class.

For Applicants with Some Coding Experience

If you have some prior coding experience and you're just trying to learn another language, you can just enroll at TrueCoders! I recommend investigating the languages and technologies that we teach so you're more familiar. Even if you have some experience with coding languages, investigate languages like C#, React, Node, and ASP.NET before enrolling at TrueCoders. 

The Tech Jobs TrueCoders Graduates Land

TrueCoders graduates get hired for software and database roles, like:

• Software Developer and Software Engineer (often interchangeable depending on the company)
• Web Developer
• QA Automation Engineer
• Manual QA Engineer
• Data Scientist 

While some TrueCoders grads’ starting salary has been in the $90K-$120K range, starting salaries typically follow the national average, between $65K- $85K.

Do you see a lot of graduates landing remote jobs after the bootcamp?

Yes! Remote work is definitely a viable option for students looking for that. Fifteen TrueCoders grads got hired at the same company, Nexient, which is 100% remote. A lot of students work hybrid roles, splitting their time between an office and home. 

What kinds of roles do you anticipate future TrueCoders graduates being able to land? 

At TrueCoders, we’re building the foundation for other tech jobs, whether that’s in cybersecurity, blockchain, UX, AI, automation, or others that require coding. We set the foundation and it’s up to the student to figure out what they like and are passionate about, and investigate the rest of their unique career path.

Find out more and read TrueCoders reviews on Course Report. This article was produced by the Course Report team in partnership with TrueCoders.