Frequently Asked Questions
Our bootcamps are 100% online, taught by live instructors via Zoom. You can login and take our bootcamps from anywhere.
Our after-hours program is 28 weeks and meets from 6:30 pm – 10 pm EST on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Our daytime program is 14 weeks and meets daily from 9 am – 5 pm EST.
Our standard tuition is $14,750. Your commitment to growth and education deserves to be honored. We hope to do that by reducing financial barriers to bootcamp with our scholarships & savings and supporting your financial planning through our financing and loan partners.
Feeling sticker shock? Our admissions team is ready to help you talk through your goals, options, and questions! Schedule a 15-minute 1:1 chat with them.
Yes! With Grand Circus you’ll receive life time access to our career support and alumni network. You’ll start working on your job hunt, and job-ready skills on week one! We support our students from the time they learn their very first line of code until they find a career they’ll love, even after they graduate!
While tech is still growing–even since the economic changes of 2020–we know that there are a lot of concerns around getting hired after a bootcamp. While we don’t offer a job guarantee, we do promise to provide the best in the business career services and coaching. Our career services team helps you during bootcamp, and after bootcamp once you’ve become an alumnus. Combined with our network of employer connections in the Midwest and beyond, and a focus on equipping you to land your dream job through, you’ll have a full set of job-landing tools at your disposal. Check out our outcomes report for stats on hiring, diversity, and more!
We recommend you start with our Free Intro to Coding Workshops. These three-hour workshops cover the basics of JavaScript and are a great first step for learning how to code. The course is created for people with little-to-no coding experience. You can also attend one of our monthly Info Sessions. Our Info Sessions give you a chance to meet Grand Circus staff and alumni, review curriculum and check out our space in Detroit. It is estimated that 1 million computer-programming jobs will be left unfilled by 2020. Coding bootcamps like ours help fill that gap much more quickly than colleges can. Our team will help you through the process of learning code and coach and support you as you prepare for a career you’ll love.
Great question. We know this one can slow people down. Here are a few things you can do to help you decide.
- Review the “this bootcamp is the right fit for you if…” section of our JavaScript and C# .NET bootcamps.
- Keep in mind it’s a matter of preference, there is no right or wrong. Search for jobs in web development that include “front end” “web development” “JavaScript” or “back end” or “C# .NET” out of the jobs you find, note which ones appeal to you the most. Some people look for employers they want to work for and note what jobs they hire for the most.
- Attend one of our many events! Info sessions, coding workshops, and our other monthly events are great places for you to get to know the lay of the land.
- Take a workshop! They’re taught by bootcamp graduates who once asked the same question. They make coding un-intimidating and can answer your career questions along the way.
Both after-hours and daytime programs follow the same curriculum, have amazing instructors, program managers, and career coaches. The only difference is the schedule. The after-hours program is 28 weeks and meets from 6:30pm-10pmEST on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday. The daytime program is 14 weeks and meets daily from 9am-5pmEST.
Our classrooms are filled with smart, tenacious people who are excited (and a bit nervous) to embark on a new journey into tech careers. Students come from a variety of professional backgrounds — from yoga instructors, healthcare professionals, to retail sales professionals and just about everything in between. We believe tech should reflect the diversity of the real world. We celebrate all backgrounds, races, ethnicities, orientations, and gender identities. Our affinity groups are a great way to connect with other people who share your walk of life. We strive to create a collaborative, diverse classroom and if you’ve made it this far into the FAQ, you’ll fit right in. You can get more details on demographics in our Outcomes report.
Our most successful students come to us with some, but not a ton, of programming experience. Many of our students have dabbled in code through online tutorials and courses through Codecademy or Udacity. We’re looking for students who are smart, tenacious, resourceful and hardworking. It should go without saying, but an interest in coding everyday is a must. You’ve gotta like it!
We want candidates that are self-motivated and committed to the Grand Circus program. There will be assignments that have to be completed at night and over weekends, so candidates should be prepared to put in the necessary work to be successful. They also need to be punctual for every class and resourceful in how they complete coursework. Learning any new skill can become frustrating, so it’s important to see this opportunity as a welcome challenge, rather than a stress-inducing problem.
To qualify for our bootcamps, an individual must be 18 years or older and have their GED or high school diploma.
A bachelor’s degree is not required to get into our coding bootcamps. We’ve had many students without degrees become very successful and find great jobs that they love. One of the coolest parts about coding bootcamps is it is a way to enter this field without a degree. However, it’s important to note that some jobs in the tech industry will require a four-year degree.
It’s a myth that you need to be a mathematician to be a coder. Logic and problem-solving skills are vital to being a developer though, and those skills are closely related to math. But don’t worry, we won’t ask you to do trigonometry or algebra.
It’s easy—start by filling out our application form. Once we receive your application, the Grand Circus team reviews your responses and selects a limited number of candidates for a video interview. Then, you’ll be notified of your admission decision.
Unfortunately, bootcamp students do not qualify for federal or state financial aid, including federal and state student loans as well as the G.I. Bill. However, we do have partnerships with programs such as MI WORKS and the Michigan National Guard State Tuition Assistance Program (MINGSTAP) that help students qualify for funds to defray the cost of tuition.
Similar to financial aid, we are not funded through any government aid. As a result, we are not able to assist in any F1 student visa sponsorship at this time.
Our instructors come from a variety of backgrounds, including PhDs, seasoned developers, bootcamp alumni, industry professionals and other tech enthusiasts. Grand Circus instructors are actively engaged in Michigan’s tech community, instructing at Wayne State University, the Penguicon Conference, Girl Develop It and others. All instructors and course work are reviewed and approved by our Director of Learning.
In short, you’ll need a good Windows, Mac, or Linux laptop or desktop computer.
- A webcam is required for class participation on Zoom.
- We recommend a second monitor. Many students find this helpful, but it is not required.
- Do not use Chromebooks or tablets since these devices do not support all the software you will need.
- We do not recommend using your work-issued computer because there may be company restrictions on what software you can download or connect to.
- For the C# .NET bootcamp, we recommend using Windows PCs only.
That’s the gist, but see more details below.
Technical Specifications
- CPU:
- Minimum: At least a dual-core 2Ghz or higher (Intel i3/i5/i7 or AMD equivalent)
- Recommended: At least quad-core (4 cores) Intel i5 or i7, AMD Ryzen 5/7/9, or (Mac) M1
- RAM: 8 GB or more is ideal
- Storage: Please make sure you have at least 60GB free space for software and projects. A Solid State Drive (SSD) is recommended for better performance.
- Display: A 12-inch screen with 1366×768 or higher resolution will serve you well
- Camera: must have a web-camera for zoom meetings.
Second Monitor: For remote bootcamps, a second screen is recommended–if you don’t have a monitor for a second screen, you could use a television or potentially a tablet.
Linux: Linux will not work for the C# course, but will for the others. If you want to use a Linux computer, know that there will be slight differences between your software and what you see on teacher screens.
Using a work computer: If you do decide to use a work-issued computer, please contact your IT department to ensure you will have permissions to install software such as database servers and Docker, and that networking ports will not be blocked.
Using Mac in C# .NET: If you have a Mac with an Intel chip, you can use Apple Boot Camp to install Windows on your Mac computer, but this is not an option with the new M1 chip. There are other workarounds, but we strongly recommend using Windows in the C# .NET bootcamp.
Before the first day, every bootcamp student completes two full weeks of mandatory pre-work we call Unit 1. This work provides the foundation for the bootcamp lessons and covers fundamentals that all successful developers need to know. But you’re not on your own: we offer Tech Wednesdays each week which are specifically designed to help you troubleshoot all your Unit 1 questions. We also strongly recommend you reach out to developers either in the Grand Circus community or others you may know to learn more about their experiences in tech.
Read our full refund policy.
Upcoming Info Sessions & Special Events
Not sure which language to choose? Want to meet the team at an info session? Have questions for alumni? Our events are here to make the career change easy for you. Grab a slice of pizza and jump into one of our Zoom events! We'll see you, virtually!
Want more information on Grand Circus Bootcamps?
Our full stack bootcamps prepare you to take tech by storm.
Give us a little more information about yourself and together, we can make the financial freedom and stability of a flexible and thriving tech career a reality.