RefactorU is closed

This school is now closed. Although RefactorU is no longer accepting students or running its program, you can still see historical information and RefactorU alumni reviews on the school page.

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RefactorU

Average Rating4.1
30 Reviews
17 Courses

RefactorU is a selective, 10-week, hands-on, immersive web application development bootcamp in Boulder, CO. Students will create applications and build a portfolio of projects to share with employers while developing a peer and advisor network for life. RefactorU collaborates with students to find jobs they love. Before, during, and after students' 10-week experience, RefactorU's career team works very hard to introduce students to hiring managers in the Denver/Boulder area as well as in other technology hotspots across the country.

RefactorU's curriculum is composed of a combination of front end, back end, and other technologies, tools, and skills. Graduates of the program will leave having mastered HTML5, CSS3, AngularJS, Node.js, JS, Sockets, MongoDB, JSON, command line skills, source control, deployment, pair progamming, Agile/Scrum, behavior-driven development, Sublime Text, interviewing, and more.

As of February 2016, RefactorU now offers Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

30 RefactorU Reviews

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  • Cody
    Cody
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Feb 06, 2016
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    It's ok

    I would like to preface this review by stating that this bootcamp offers rewards for graduating students who write reviews online. I am not accepting an award or compensation for writing this review. RefactorU is an interesting experience. Some of the instructors are excellent and some of them are not excellent. There were only three instructors for our class of 20 something students. The lessons and curriculum was well considered and thorough. I felt that a lot of effort and plannin...

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    Sean Daken of RefactorU

    Founder & CEO

    Mar 27, 2016

    Just to be clear, we do not pay for reviews. RefactorU does offer a random drawing to encourage graduates to provide feedback, good or bad. We have no control over what alumni post and we ask them to be completely candid in their evaluations.

    From a career services perspective, we do not “place” graduates, nor do we guarantee jobs. In the same way we expect our students to exercise self-direction in their learning, we expect them to do the same when looking for employment. 

    We have recently partnered with Fluid Consulting Services, a Colorado-based technical recruiting, executive search, and candidate / career services firm. Our Career Services track offers a full suite of resources to help write resumes, update LinkedIn and GitHub profiles, prepare for technical and behavioral interviews, and shine during RefactorU-sponsored web development career fairs. These services are open to students and graduates alike. Further, we regularly and personally recommend the most promising students to our senior level contacts at Colorado tech companies. 

    Regarding the temperature of our classroom - yes, at the time of this writing RefactorU is located in an industrial location in Boulder, CO, and during the summer months we did experience some challenges with the A/C unit. We are actively addressing those issues. In general, our philosophy is that we'd prefer to focus on providing a great learning environment and hiring outstanding instructors rather than having the fanciest offices.  

  • Erich
    Erich
    Graduate • Boulder
    Nov 20, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
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    10 Transformational Weeks

    I went into RefactorU with a background in I.T. and a desire to switch careers into a more challenging and creative field. What I got was one of the best educational experiences of my life, great friends and professional connections, and the new career I was looking for. While no program can be perfect, this was pretty close.The instructors are top-notch, the administrative staff is actually to support you and the curriculum is well thought out and relevant to today's job marketplace.&...

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  • Eliora Horst
    Eliora Horst
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 19, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Worth It

    For only being ten weeks long, this bootcamp transformed me from a novice developer into a fully confident full-stack web developer, without making me loose my sanity in coursework.  I can now create, impliment, and deploy a fully functioning website with ease, thanks to the 10 weeks at RefactorU

    The instructors can be hit or miss.  During my cohort, one instructor was usually unhelpful, and tended to keep to himself instead of making himself available.  The other ...

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  • Ria S
    Ria S
    Graduate • Boulder
    Nov 18, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Grit & determination will lead to success!

    RefactorU provides 10 weeks of intense web development training. What you put in, is what you get out of it. You are accountable for doing your own work. Having said that, the lead instructors are fantastic at helping you understand concepts throughout the whole program. 

    Pros: Course content/coursework: The overall structure and content of the bootcamp were fantastic. 
    Instructors: The lead instructors are some of the most talented and knowledgable developers ou...

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  • Tucker Kline
    Tucker Kline
    Graduate
    Nov 18, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    You'll get what you put in!

    RefactorU is an amazing resource if you know that what you want to do is web development. It is expensive, but if you dedicate yourself wholly to the experience and ask for help when you need it, you will absolutely get your money worth in education. The instructors are patient and kind, and the staff are helpful. Great place to learn!

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  • Sherman Drake
    Sherman Drake
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 18, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Upgrade your career at RefactorU!

    RefactorU is a well thought out bootcamp that prepares everyone to become Full Stack Web Developer. From the lectures, lessons, coding times, and peer group sessions, to the resume assistance, recruiter tips, and class outings RefactorU taught me how to code as well as prepare me to work with other programmers. RefactorU focuses on the languages and skills that employers are looking for. The teachers and teacher assistants are excellent in their field. The ten-week course was long enough t...

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  • Anonymous
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 18, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Great Opportunity, Especially for Self-Motivated Students

    Everyone at RefactorU was great - the instructors, administrators, community engagement planners - they are all wonderful.

    RefactorU throws a lot of information at you in a short time, but in a really well-structured way so that you actually have time to learn it all, and learn it all well. I'm astounded by how much I learned, and how dedicated the instructors were to supporting our experience: from TAs who come in on the weekends to offer help, to being responsive when not-t...

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  • Anonymous
    Software Engineer • Graduate
    Nov 17, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Best Bootcamp Ever - Great City Too

    RefactorU has changed my life.  I've wanted to get into development for quite some time now and took the CS courses like data structures, JAVA, C++, etc.  I tried to break into the field by taking them after I got a physics degree.  It just wasn't enough.  RefactorU changed all that.  

    I left my home in SF to go to Boulder and had no idea what would happen.  I quickly was immersed in JavaScript, Angular, MongoDB, and Node.  I found that ...

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  • Justin
    Justin
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 16, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Totally recommended 10 great weeks

    The boot-camp was everything i expected and more. The instructors were great and really know the material. Career help and guidance was also great.

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  • Jessey Eagan
    Jessey Eagan
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 16, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Greatest learning experience! Awesome instructors!

    It has truly been one of the most life changing and gratifying experiences I have ever had. I have a Bachelor’s in Elementary education, but decided over the summer to make a mid-life career change. My family uprooted from Illinois in August so that I could attend RefactorU. We sold our home in IL and my in-laws graciously kept our 2 toddlers in AZ, and my husband traveled between IL, AZ, and CO while I was in school. It was a crazy ride, but I’ve found through it all tha...

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  • Edward K.
    Edward K.
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 14, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    Effective Curriculum! Awesome Instructors! Great community of Students!

    The Curriculum was so well designed, that by week 5 we were able to develop fully responsive, fully interactive single page applications using the angular framework along with HTML5, and CSS3; Not to mention Bootstrap and Material Design to enhance our user interface. By week 8, we were equipped to complete a full stack application using NodeJs and MangoDB. 

    The instructors were well prepared and flexible in adapting to each student's level of understanding. They combine...

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  • Paula
    Paula
    Graduate • Full-Stack Web Development • Boulder
    Nov 12, 2015
    Overall Experience
    Instructors
    Curriculum
    Job Assistance

    RefactorU: Ten Weeks to a Better Career

    Like many of my peers, I was drawn to RefactorU because I wanted to start a higher-paying, more enjoyable career without spending years of my life earning another degree. Even a couple weeks into their ten-week, intensive boot camp, the skeptic in me feared it was too good to be true, but I graduated last Friday and can confidently say that going to RefactorU was one of the best decisions of my life. Several of my classmates had coding jobs before the course even ended, and I am absolutely...

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RefactorU Alumni Outcomes

100%
Employment Rate
96%
Graduation Rate
64,140
Median Salary
Of the students who enroll at RefactorU, 96% graduated. 88% of graduates were job-seeking and 100% of job-seeking graduates found in-field employment after 180 days and report a median income of $64,140. Below is the 180 Day Employment Breakdown for 75 graduates included in this report:
180 Day Employment Breakdown
DescriptionPercentage
Full Time, In-Field Employee93.3%
Full-time apprenticeship, internship or contract position1.3%
Short-term contract, part-time position, freelanceN/A
Employed out-of-fieldN/A
Notes and Caveats
This reflects data collected through the Summer of 2015. We will revise and update with 2016 statistics as data becomes available.
* These outcomes are not audited by Course Report. In some cases, data is audited by a third party.

Recent RefactorU News

Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated July 16, 2021
  Welcome to the November 2016 Course Report monthly coding bootcamp news roundup! Each month, we look at all the happenings from the coding bootcamp world from new bootcamps to fundraising announcements, to interesting trends. This month we cover a big bootcamp rebrand, the UN getting involved with coding bootcamps, the debate about CS degrees vs bootcamps, ethics in programming and how t...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated November 14, 2016
Jon Dyson was a Civil Affairs Operator in the US Army, and founded his own manufacturing and import business before he decided to learn to code at RefactorU. Coding had always been a hobby of Jon’s. He built the website for his business, but wanted to formalize and polish his coding knowledge. As a veteran, Jon chose RefactorU web development bootcamp in Boulder because he could use his G...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated February 07, 2020
Should I do a coding bootcamp? This is a question we hear all the time, and for good reason. As more coding bootcamps launch (not to mention the rising media coverage), you’re probably wondering, “should I jump on the bandwagon and learn to code?” A recent TechCrunch article implored you not to learn to code unless you’re ready to put in the work to be great, whereas President Obama wants...
Lauren Stewart
Lauren Stewart
Updated September 23, 2016
Jessey was a second-grade teacher in Jordan and a church children’s director before learning to code at RefactorU in Boulder, Colorado. Unfulfilled in her job, she packed up her family and moved from Illinois to Colorado for the 10-week coding bootcamp. But her family’s sacrifice was all worth it in the end, and Jessey now has a job as a QA web automation engineer! She tells us about the in...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated August 15, 2016
RefactorU is a coding bootcamp in Boulder, CO, offering 10-week full-time immersive programs in full stack JavaScript. RefactorU has recently announced a new diversity scholarship to help close the diversity gap in the tech industry, and give opportunities to people who may otherwise not be able to afford it. Diversity in Tech Only 16% of people working in computing and mathematical j...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated August 01, 2016
Welcome to the July 2016 Course Report monthly coding bootcamp news roundup! Each month we look at all the happenings from the coding bootcamp world from new bootcamps to big fundraising announcements, to interesting trends. This month the biggest trends this month are initiatives to increase the diversity in tech, some huge investments in various bootcamps, and more tech giants launching t...
Imogen Crispe
Imogen Crispe
Updated July 01, 2016
Clayton had a career in hospitality and real-estate, when he decided to rekindle the passion for coding he’d had as a youngster. After trying to teach himself to code, and attending unhelpful courses, he enrolled at RefactorU’s Boulder, CO coding bootcamp to learn MEAN stack. Now Clayton is excited to be working as a junior developer for real-estate social media website Bigger Pockets. He t...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated March 14, 2016
Rob Camp graduated from the first cohort of RefactorU and got two years of experience at a dev agency before circling back and becoming an integral part of the RefactorU team. Now, as an instructor, Rob is involved in curriculum planning, lecturing and supporting students. We chatted about his journey into web development, his teaching style, and what students can expect from their 10 wee...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated February 08, 2016
Ilana Horowitz decided to take the leap and attend RefactorU coding bootcamp after feeling burnt out in her job as a legal assistant. She had to decide between doing a CS degree or a coding bootcamp, but after starting the degree, she chose to switch to a bootcamp, allowing her to upskill very quickly. Ilana tells us about her path to starting a bootcamp and why she chose RefactorU over o...
Liz Eggleston
Liz Eggleston
Updated April 07, 2014
Sean Daken comes from a startup background and genuinely loves helping people pivot into careers that they love. So in 2013 he founded RefactorU, a Boulder-based bootcamp that specializes in Web Development. We talk with Sean about what he looks for in potential applicants, why JavaScript is their teaching language of choice, and what's next for RefactorU.   Tell us your story- how ...

RefactorU Alumni Reviews Summary

Overall Experience
4.1
Instructors
4.1
Curriculum
4.2
Job Assistance
3.6
Write A Review
More Information
Guarantees Job
Job Assistance
Includes Housing
Offers Corporate Training
Accepts GI Bill
Licensing
RefactorU offers Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.
FAQs

How much does RefactorU cost?

RefactorU costs around $13,500. On the lower end, some RefactorU courses like Getting Started as a Web Developer cost $9.

What courses does RefactorU teach?

RefactorU offers courses like Advanced Backend Web Development, Advanced CSS Development, Advanced JavaScript Development, Advanced Node.js Development and 13 more.

Where does RefactorU have campuses?

RefactorU has in-person campuses in Boulder. RefactorU also has a remote classroom so students can learn online.

Is RefactorU worth it?

The data says yes! In 2015, RefactorU reported a 96% graduation rate, a median salary of $64,140, and 100% of RefactorU alumni are employed.

Is RefactorU legit?

We let alumni answer that question. 30 RefactorU alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed RefactorU and rate their overall experience a 4.1 out of 5.

Does RefactorU offer scholarships or accept the GI Bill?

Right now, it doesn't look like RefactorU offers scholarships or accepts the GI Bill. We're always adding to the list of schools that do offer Exclusive Course Report Scholarships and a list of the bootcamps that accept the GI Bill.

Can I read RefactorU reviews?

You can read 30 reviews of RefactorU on Course Report! RefactorU alumni, students, and applicants have reviewed RefactorU and rate their overall experience a 4.1 out of 5.

Is RefactorU accredited?

RefactorU offers Post-9/11 GI Bill Benefits.

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