Essential Information for Prospective Students During COVID-19

Essential Information for Prospective Students During COVID-19

Posted by Vivian Zhang

Updated: May 20, 2020

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Like many of you, our Academy is continuously adapting to changing advice as it emerges during this pandemic. Our mission to provide high-quality education and deliver a rich bootcamp experience to all of our students has not changed despite the shifting nature of this situation.

After careful consideration, we have decided to conduct our in-person summer bootcamp, which begins on July 6, 2020, through remote/live online instruction.

This mode of instruction is already in place since we transitioned our in-person Winter bootcamp students to remote instruction when the pandemic hit our city in early March. Our prior experience in providing remote instruction enabled us to make this migration quickly and successfully.

As we continue to accept bootcamp applications and enrollments, we want to provide a list of frequently asked questions for prospective students to get a better picture of what remote/live online learning looks like at the Academy.

 

  • How different is the remote/live online instruction from the in-person instruction?

The remote/live online bootcamp is taught by the same top instructors as our in-person bootcamp, using precisely the same curriculum and course content to teach data science in both Python and R programming languages.

 

  • What’s the remote/live online experience like for lectures?

Instructor-led learning takes place in the main zoom rooms, and breakout rooms are used for students to gather in small groups to collaborate on projects or have group discussions. Students can receive support at every step as they directly interact with instructors ready to offer real-time support and lead live discussions, often with the aid of a teaching assistant who is trained in the subject matter.

 

  • How can I communicate with my instructors and fellow students?

With advanced communication tools such as Zoom and Slack, students gain experience in working and collaborating with each other remotely. They can develop expertise in remote collaboration and teamwork, a highly desired skill in today’s workplace.

 

  • Where can I access any academic materials?

Remote/live online students gain access to our proprietary Learning Management System, harboring all learning materials for convenient access and repeated learning at their own convenience.

 

  • Will I be able to receive assistance regarding job placement?

Yes, career services are provided during and after the bootcamp. This consists of one-on-one resume reviews, mock interviews, and networking opportunities available to students without having to leave their homes. Alumni mentors are also available to help you prepare for job search.

Even during the pandemic, many data science positions continued to get filled, and a significant number of them by our graduates. As businesses begin to reopen, data science professionals will be in high demand again.

 

  • Will there be virtual events or networking opportunities where I can connect with my peers and other people in the industry?

Yes. Each month, multiple events dedicated to bringing industry experts to give students real-world advice that they can apply to their careers are exclusively produced for students through sessions like job search discussions, day-in-the-life talks, and industry speaker series.

 

  • How is the remote/live online instruction different from your online bootcamp?

While the two are both conducted online, the differences lie in the mode of instruction and the length of the bootcamp.

Both bootcamps contain the same robust, comprehensive curriculum that teaches data science in both Python and R programming languages. The remote/live online bootcamp is taught in real-time, where students learn from their instructors and interact with their fellow students synchronously. On the other hand, the online or interactive distance learning (IDL) bootcamp provides more flexibility as students learn from smaller pre-recorded lectures that can be accessed anywhere at any time. The IDL students learn primarily asynchronously except when live learning sessions are held.

The remote/live online bootcamp is an accelerated, rigorous bootcamp that spans for 12 weeks, while the online or IDL bootcamp is spread across 4 months (full-time) or 6 months (part-time).

 

  • How do I know which bootcamp is the right one for me?

Our admissions team is here to answer your questions so you can better understand which bootcamp is right for you. You can book a time with one of our team members by clicking this link.

 

  • Is there a deadline to apply for the bootcamps?

Yes. June 19 is the application deadline for both remote/live online bootcamp and online or IDL bootcamp. Our Admissions team continues to receive a high volume of strong applications, so we encourage you to get your application in as soon as possible so we can get you started in your admissions process.

 

  • Are you offering any tuition discount at this time?

Yes. We acknowledge that this is a tough time for many of us, so starting today, we are extending a 10% discount to the full tuition for students who complete their enrollment to our summer bootcamps by June 26, 2020. This discount is exclusive to our Summer Bootcamp students starting on July 6, 2020. We hope that by providing this discount during a hard time of the pandemic, we can make our bootcamps more widely accessible.

 

As we move forward, we assure you that our commitment is to consider our students’ safety and success first. With such a commitment in mind, we are adapting according to the evolving situations of the pandemic.

It’s a time in our lives that has been challenging on so many levels, but we assure you that we will come out of it stronger together. We thank you for your continued support, and we hope that you will not let the pandemic be an obstacle to achieving your educational goal and reaching your life potential with an exciting career in data science!

Vivian Zhang

Vivian is the CTO and School Director of NYC Data Science Academy and CTO of SupStat. With her extensive experience working in the data science field, she developed expertise in multiple programming languages, including R, Python, Hadoop, and Spark. In August 2016, Forbes ranked her amongst one of the nine women leading the pack in data analytics. In 2013, she created the NYC Open Data Meetup group, which stands as one of the largest data science communities offering meetups, conferences, and a weekly newsletter. In her spare time, Vivian enjoys meeting people and sharing her motivational stories with our students and other professionals

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