The Summer Academy is a six week program in San Francisco for developers of all experience levels to enhance their development skills.
$1,000 tuition or $2,200 total with housing
This is the summer that will change your life.
Students at the Summer Academy gain a professional-caliber education provided by real developers. Through our web and mobile iOS tracks, we'll give you the skills and knowledge required to create polished products both at the Summer Academy and beyond.
You'll also have the chance to hear from incredible guest speakers, like Pixar's Danielle Feinberg, and receive mentorship from engineers that work at companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple. Most importantly, you'll launch products alongside students and instructors who will become your future colleagues and lifelong friends.
Our amazing community of alums go on to attend Make School and other top 10 CS programs (Stanford, Columbia, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard) and work at companies like Apple, Tesla, Snapchat, and Google. You'll gain access to a network of visionaries who get invited to demo their apps at The White House and are featured at the Oculus Connect conference.
Before
I don't have much coding experience beyond poking around some online tutorials. I'm passionate about learning to code and build products!
After
I've mastered coding fundamentals, object oriented programming, and the basics of app development! I'm ready to take advanced classes, participate in hackathons and consider software engineering as a career.
Make School gave me my first taste of building an app from the ground up. Now
I'm a student at MIT and I attribute my love for computer science to that
first experience!
Sabrina Lui, MIT
Before
I've taken basic college CS courses, AP computer science, or online coursework covering object oriented programming. I've built a few small projects, but never shipped a product.
After
I've advanced my knowledge of computer science and built and shipped my first app! I'll have a leg up in applying to and excelling in college CS programs. I'm ready to build more products to solve problems for my community, my friends or myself.
After finishing my app at the Summer Academy, I found that it became a great talking point when meeting with recruiters.
Lisa Yan, Google
Before
I've been seriously coding for a few years or have taken advanced college CS courses (in schools or online). I've applied my knowledge to building simple apps and websites that I've shipped to the end users.
After
I've advanced my knowledge of product development and built and shipped a well architected complex app. I'm ready to start applying to software engineering internships and kickstart my carrer!
Attending the Summer Academy was one of the best decisions in my life. With the skills I gained in iOS development, I have won 7 of the 8 hackathons that I have attended since the program.
Arun Rewlani, Ericsson
Before
I've held an iOS development internship or job, or have build professional quality apps of my own. My apps are well designed, well architected and are used in the wild. I feel teaching is the best way to learn!
After
I've developed a deeper mastery of iOS and product development. I'm able to debug any issue I face and re-architecture messy projects. I'm ready to get a job and mentor junior engineers at a top tier startup or tech company, or start a startup!
No summer job can give you this much responsibility and this much experience managing a technical team. I came out of Make School not only with a wizard's ability to debug any iOS issue, but with months of experience leading a large technical team - which helped me in my next role running my own startup.
Cliff Weitzman, Founder of Speechfy, Forbes 30 Under 30
Curriculum
Development Basics & Brainstorming
Learn the stack needed for your track (Apple's new programming language Swift for iOS and HTML/CSS/Javascript for web) and study the current market. Get started using the t ools professional software developers use while learning the best brainstorming techniques.
Mastering Development
Dive deeper into development while cloning more apps. Meet industry veterans and learn about the industry and the development lifecycle. You'll learn the frameworks used by popular apps and brainstorm app ideas of your own!
Team Hackathon
Learn about design best practices by studying visual layout, user interfaces, balance, and user delight. Apply these design lessons to work with a team on your very first iOS or web app. User test your peers' apps at the end of the week!
Starting your App
Start working on the app you'll eventually submit to the iOS App Store or release online by the end of the Summer Academy. Your peers will serve as project managers for your app, and in return you'll help manage theirs. Continue working on your app while helping your teammates write a project specification, form a development schedule, and stick to it.
Complete the "MVP"
Finish up the core features of your app to complete the minimum viable product (MVP). Learn how to tackle difficult debugging and software design challenges. Test your MVP with real users and get feedback to better understand how to improve it. Learn to create an on-boarding experience that drives users to engage and fall in love with your product.
Polish, Release, and Demo Day
Keep working hard towards completing your final product, iterating based on the feedback of your instructors and peers. Fine tune the colors and animations to make your app delightful to use. Prepare your app for submission to the Apple App Store or online release and present it during Demo Day. Recruiters, founders and developers from tech companies and startups will come to meet you and see what you've built. Our graduates have gone on to get internships at Facebook, Google, Dropbox, Tesla, Snapchat, and many other wonderful companies.
Speakers & Mentors
Guest Speakers
The Summer Academy has always been equal parts software engineering and product development. This year’s speakers will speak to the ways their teams use technology to build some of the world’s greatest products, past and present.
Danielle Feinberg
Director of Photography at Pixar
The Movies she has worked on include Finding Nemo, WALL-E, Brave and Coco
Ayo Omojola
Product Manager at Square Cash
Square Cash has been topping the charts on the App Store, beating all other financial apps for months on end.
Joanna Hoffman
Original Macintosh team member
She wrote the first Human Interface Guidelines at Apple. You may have seen her portrayed by Kate Winslet in the 2015 biopic, Steve Jobs.
Mentors
Students will meet in a group with their designated mentor once a week throughout the program. With six Summer Academies under our belt, we are fortunate to have an extensive network of alumni and former instructors who are excited to return and mentor.
Claire Treyz
Former Instructor
Warren Moore
Apple
Former Instructor
Kate Lee
Make School Alum
Masa Bando
Apple
Make School Alum
Adam Reis
Lyft
Former Instructor
Lynne Okada
Tile
Alum & Former Instructor
Nick Swift
Make School Alum
Leslie kim
Lever
Make School Alum
Alex Pena
Shyp
Make School Alum
Ivy Xing
Dote
Make School Alum
Important Dates for Summer Academy 2018
December 20, 2017
Evangelist Application Deadline (first pick of mentors & company visits)
Feburary 7, 2018
Early Application Deadline & Evangelist Application Decisions Made
March 14. 2018
Early Application Decisions Made
March 21, 2018
Early Financial Aid Decisions Made
April 4, 2018
Application Deadline
May 9, 2018
All Decisions Made
May 16, 2018
All Financial Aid Decisions Made
July 2 - August 11, 2018
Summer Academy runs weekdays 9AM-5PM
Location
Make School HQ
555 Post St San Francisco, CA 94102
Tuition & Financial Aid
Tuition for the iOS Track or Web Track is $1,000.
Housing Information
Housing is available for Summer Academy students through our housing partner, Vantaggio Suites , at their McAllister location. Students who chose to live in Vantaggio must do so for the duration of the Summer Academy (6 weeks).
- Move in date: June 29
- Move out date: August 13
Students who enroll & pay before May 2nd will be guaranteed housing. Students who enroll & pay after May 2nd can still apply for housing, but it is not guaranteed that there will be beds available. You will be able to register for housing from your dashboard during the enrollment process.
Prices (for the entire duration of the Summer Academy):
- Triple Room (2 roommates): $1,160
- Double Room (1 roommate): $1,540
Location: 246 McAllister St. San Francisco, CA 94102
To Make School:
- Walk: 13 minutes
- Bus: 10 minutes
- Drive: 8 minutes
Financial Aid
For students who do not have the financial means to afford tuition at the new price point, we do have a limited amount of merit-based financial aid available. You can apply for scholarship while filling out your application. If you are admitted to the Summer Academy, you will receive a separate scholarship decision via email.
We begin making rolling financial aid decisions in the spring. We recommend that you apply to the Summer Academy as soon as possible to avoid the risk of funds being no longer available.
We also encourage students applying for financial aid to crowdfund their tuition. Several past Make School students have successfully crowdfunded their way to the Summer Academy. If you would like more information about crowdfunding, please email admissions@makeschool.com
Apply for the iOS Track or Web Track
We encourage you to submit your application to the Summer Academy as soon as possible.
We review applications on a rolling basis, and enrollment is first come first serve for admits.
The Summer Academy is suitable for students of all skill levels. Based on your experience level we'll let you know which pod (explorer, intermediate, advanced) we feel you'll fit in best, and give you info on how to level-up if you'd like to apply to a more advanced group.
FAQs
General
The Summer Academy will be taught in English.
The Summer Academy will teach you how to use Swift, Apple's programming language.
The Summer Academy will teach you how to use HTML, CSS, and Javascript.
You do! You retain 100% of the rights to all the work you do during the program.
A typical day at the Summer Academy begins at 9am, when you'll get to work coding. In the early weeks of the program, you'll go through our online tutorials, learning how to recreate popular apps; in the later weeks you'll be creating your own project. Most students will end their day around 5pm, but the more excited you get about your project, the later you'll want to stay and work on it! The instructor team serves as your guides and will assist you when you get stuck or need help. Instructors will lead small group discussions (~25 students) for concepts that are more difficult to grasp. On some days you'll have a lecture on an interesting topic related to coding or the technology industry. On other days you'll have a speaker from industry talk to you about their story and work. Overall, the experience is very much like a professional startup environment with bright minds using the top technologies to tackle real-world problems with software!
We'll have 1 instructor for every 16 students.
For legal reasons, you must be at least 13 years old to attend.
There is no maximum age to attend the Summer Academy. As long as you are passionate about learning, you will be a good fit at Make School!
Tuition and Financial Aid
First, enroll online and submit the $100 deposit. This will solidify your spot in the program. At any time before the start of the program, you may submit the remainder of tuition due. All tuition must be paid in full before the start of the program.
Paying the $100 deposit solidifies your spot in the program and therefore the earlier you submit your deposit the better. We ask that you finish paying the remaining tuition within a month of submitting your deposit. All tuition must be paid in full before the start of the program. If you do not pay tuition in full, you will not be able to attend the program.
Yes. All students, including financial aid applicants, are required to pay the $100 deposit. This deposit solidifies your spot in the Summer Academy and will be applied to your total tuition due.
Yes. At any time before the start of the program, if you decide you are no longer interested or able to attend, we will refund your deposit & tuition payments in full. If you have to leave the program part way through, we may be able to provide a prorated refund. Please see the full refund policy for details.
Yes, we do. However, due to the new, lower price point of the program, we only offer merit-based financial aid to a select few students. Look out for an update within the next few months for more details about the new financial aid process.
Tuition for the Summer Academy contributes to creating an exceptional educational experience that will rapidly accelerate your growth as a developer. We hire 1 instructor for every 16 students. Lower instructor to student ratio means more personal attention and guidance. Each instructor is an iOS developer, has launched at least one iOS app (typically more than one!), and most have experience in several other technical and non-technical fields. Tuition also helps to cover the logistics and operations that ensure students have a safe, happy, productive summer!
Level & Tracks
We offer three different levels at the Summer Academy. If accepted to the Summer Academy, you'll be placed in a level and given the option to level-up by completing prework. EXPLORER: For students who have had little to no coding experience but are passionate about learning to code and building impactful products. INTERMEDIATE: For students who have taken intro college CS courses, AP CS classes, or online coding classes. You've learned some object-oriented programming and maybe have built small products, but probably haven't shipped anything. ADVANCED: For students who've taken advanced CS classes and are well versed in object-oriented programming. Now you want to apply your knowledge to master development and build high-impact apps with several features.
You will need to complete the necessary prework in order to change your level. See your dashboard for details. If you have any questions, you can email us after you have been admitted at hello@makeschool.com.
In the iOS track, it is best that you focus on building something using UIKit (the framework for iOS apps). We will not be teaching SpriteKit (or other iOS game engines) but some of our instructors do have experience creating mobile games.
Dates and Locations
The Summer Academy will be hosted in San Francisco at 555 Post St.
The Summer Academy in San Francisco will run from July 2nd through August 11th.
Yes. Students have travelled to attend the Summer Academy from over 50 different countries, as well as from all over the United States.
Yes! Students have travelled to attend the Summer Academy from over 50 different countries.
We have space for roughly 120 students at the San Francisco Summer Academy. Space is limited and we accept students on a rolling basis, so if you are admitted you must enroll ASAP to ensure there is a spot for you in your program of choice.
We have space for roughly 120 students at the San Francisco Summer Academy. Space is limited and we accept students on a rolling basis, so if you are admitted you must enroll ASAP to ensure there is a spot for you in your program of choice.
Housing and Accomodations
Housing is available for Summer Academy students through our housing partner, Vantaggio Suites , at their McAllister location . Students who chose to live in Vantaggio must do so for the duration of the Summer Academy (6 weeks).
- Move in date: June 29
- Move out date: August 13
- Triple Room (2 roommates): $1,160
- Double Room (1 roommate): $1,540
- Walk: 13 minutes
- Bus: 10 minutes
- Drive: 8 minutes
We recommend using this cost of living calculator to understand how expenses will vary between where you live and San Francisco. It has handy comparisons for costs of housing, transportation, food, entertainment, and more.
Requirements & Prerequisites
To develop iOS apps, you'll need a (used or new) Apple computer running macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.12 Sierra. Your computer should have at least 8GB of RAM. We'll make necessary updates to the curriculum to support the most up to date App Store version of macOS, Xcode, and iOS, but beta versions will not be supported. Please do not install betas on your development computer or main iOS device!
To participate in our web track, you’ll need a (used or new) laptop running macOS (macOS 10.13 High Sierra or macOS 10.12 Sierra) or Windows 10. Your computer should have at least 8GB of RAM.
Students that are passionate about coming to the Summer Academy to build new and exciting apps that will change their communities are qualified to attend the Summer Academy.
Yes. Apply and we will help you figure out which level is right for you and whether or not you will need to complete prework.
Other
No. We expect you to be present Monday-Friday, 9AM-5PM. If you need to miss 1 or 2 days, that is acceptable. Please ensure that your instructor knows when you will be absent. If you need to miss any more than 3 days, please speak with our admissions team to make sure this is a good fit for you this summer.
This depends on how long your vacation is and where you will be travelling to - mainly if there is reliable wifi where you'll be. If you plan to miss more than 3 days, please speak with our admissions team to make sure this is a good fit for you this summer with your specific travel plans.
Yes, we changed our name to Make School in 2014.
Yes and no. Yes, this is a high-intensity program that teaches you to code. However, unlike most bootcamps that are career-focused, our Summer Academy is product-focused. What does that mean? The Summer Academy dives deeper than bootcamps into the product development process including, ideation, wire-framing, UX, design, monetization, analytics, etc.
No, coding summer camps cater to a younger audience interested in a relaxed summer experience. The Summer Academy is an intense program for students who are passionate about learning to code - be prepared to work hard and have fun!
Yes! The Summer Academy is always better with friends! Your friend will need to apply through the normal application process.
This year, instead of offering multiple Summer Academy locations, we decided to offer it at a lower price in one location (San Francisco) and make housing easily available. Read more about why we’ve made changes to the program and what those changes are here .
There is no maximum age to attend the Summer Academy. As long as you are passionate about learning, you will be a good fit at Make School!