Thinkful vs Springboard

Springboard Review and Guide

Springboard offers several computer science courses to help people make their dream career change. These online programs pair instruction from industry experts with career coaching to show results in six to nine months.

About Springboard

Springboard is an online learning platform that offers high-quality online bootcamps across several career tracks. Students devote 15 to 20 hours per week to their studies in any program, with the exception of prep courses. The school has up-to-date course materials to ensure that students land the job of their dreams within a few months of graduating. After an easy application process, students have several options to pay for their education.

Springboard Programs

Springboard has programs in four categories: coding, cyber security, data, and design. Each category has different online courses, but all offer the same capstone projects and job guarantees.

Coding

The Springboard coding program features a single full course, but there’s also a prep course to prepare students for the journey ahead. Over four to six weeks, prep course students will learn the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in order to pass the admissions test for software engineering. In the software engineering bootcamp, students learn full-stack engineering with JavaScript and Python. Location: Online Tuition: $490 - $10,350

Cybersecurity

There’s only one cyber security course at Springboard, created in partnership with CompTIA. The course prepares students to take the CompTIA Security+ certification exam. Students learn to protect systems from internal and external threats with audits and stress tests. Location: Online Tuition: $9,540

Data

Springboard offers several options for budding data scientists in its data science career track. The data analytics bootcamp trains students to analyze business problems to find solutions. The data science bootcamp teaches students to build machine learning models to predict business trends. The ML engineering and data engineering bootcamps teach students to build deep learning and data infrastructures, respectively. Location: Online Tuition: $6,600 - $8,940

Design

There are three full-time design programs at Springboard to help students launch a new career. Introduction to Design helps students build a strong foundation that they will grow during the other two courses. The UI/UX Design course teaches students to design products that marry form and function for a pleasant user experience. The UX Design course trains students to understand users’ needs when designing. Location: Online Tuition: $490 - $11,691

Springboard Application Process

The application process is generally the same for all Springboard courses. These programs are designed for people with a baseline of familiarity with the subject. Students who already have a robust foundation in the field have a better chance of success in these fast-paced programs. Students start the admissions process by submitting an online application. Next, there is an interview with an admissions director and a skills survey. The skills survey is different depending on the program, so it’s key to research what you’ll need to know before applying. Students can join the program after passing the skills survey. They have different financing options at their disposal if they can’t afford the upfront fee.

Springboard Tuition and Financing Options

Springboard students have four payment options in the full career tracks. First, they can pay upfront, which will earn them a discount on the total cost of tuition. This discount can be a percentage of the tuition or a flat $1,000. Students can also pay on a monthly basis for up to six months, paying only for the months in which they actually take lessons. Because Springboard’s courses are self-guided, this option allows you to pay less money if you complete the curriculum in less time. Finally, students can also choose to defer tuition until after they land a job, or take out a loan with low monthly payments through Climb Credit.