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Responses to general questions about billing & payments, student experience, curriculum, and our admissions process.
Table of Contents
General
How old do I need to be to attend Divergence Academy?
To attend Divergence Academy’s immersive programs, students must be at least 18 years of age.
When are my classes?
For our 10-week immersive courses, classes are Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM CT. For our 20-weekend courses, classes are held onsite on Saturday and Sundays from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM CT. There will be office/virtual hours available outside of class in case you need help with your assignments and certification preparation.
Where does Divergence Academy hold their courses?
In-person instruction takes place on our campus at 14665 Midway Road Ste 220, Addison, TX 75001. There is also an option to attend remote live classes.
Do you offer classes outside of Addison, TX?
Currently, we offer in-person classes only in Addison, TX. Due to COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing guidelines, we are offering Remote Live sessions for students across the country. We deliver our classes through Microsoft Teams.
Is Divergence Academy an accredited academic institution? Do you offer certification?
No, Divergence Academy is not an accredited academic institution. We provide a Certificate of Completion for each of our courses with the official stamp of the Texas Workforce Commission. Additionally, we provide a digital verifiable certificate that can be included in your LinkedIn profiles and training for industry-standard certifications. Our success is measured by job placement and student satisfaction.
Do you accept international students in the Divergence Academy immersive courses? Do you provide assistance in obtaining a visa?
Yes, international applicants are eligible to apply for the Cybersecurity Penetration Tester and Data Science Immersive courses at Divergence Academy. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer visa assistance, and we cannot guarantee that our local companies will sponsor a visa.
Billing & Payments
Do you have payment plans?
Yes. We have multiple payment options, including student loans, grants, installment plans, VA tuition reimbursement, and income share agreements.
Is it possible to combine a discount and a loan when available?
Yes. If you receive a discount, the discount amount is deducted from the tuition you owe before any lending options are considered.
Are scholarships available?
No. We do not offer any direct scholarships at this time.
Do I have to quit my job?
Our 20-weekend class is offered so many students can still work while attending school. Classes are offered on Saturday and Sundays from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM CT.
What is the cancellation policy for my class?
If you are joining us for our immersive (10 week or 20 weekend) courses, please refer to the cancellation policy. Occasionally, we miss the mark and do not have the required number of registrations needed to hold a class. If this is the case for your class, we will notify you two weeks prior to the start of class and we will issue a full refund.
Student Experience
What is the classroom experience like?
We take great pride in creating a learning experience that is focused on you. We have desks, ergonomic chairs, whiteboards, and employer-reviewed curriculum. Days are typically started off with a wake-up quiz and a review of the previous days’ material. Later, hands-on challenges are done to further reiterate those materials.
What are the qualifications and expertise of the current instructors?
Our instructors at Divergence Academy are a combination of full-time staff and contract experts from the field. All our instructors have a mix of experience, certifications, and pedagogue training in their area(s) of expertise.
Will you help me land a job after I graduate?
Curriculum & Equipment
Does Divergence Academy offer short courses?
Yes! We offer short courses in 8 categories. Please check the calendar for the dates.
How is the curriculum determined for my class?
On a quarterly basis, we review our curriculum with our employer partners and advisory board. Our curriculum is crafted to align with the talent needed in the local tech community.
How much homework can I expect?
With a fast-paced course, spending time in the evening revisiting, reviewing, and working on labs is expected. While this time can vary per student and skill level, the consensus from the former students is, on average, 2 hours a night and 5-10 hours on the weekend.
What materials should I study to best prepare for the class?
We at Divergence Academy are focused on maximizing your learning experience while you are with us. This means there may be times where you need to do a bit of preparation, while other times, being well-rested is the best preparation possible. Check out the course description in each individual course page to learn more about specific course or workshop prerequisites.
What equipment will I need for my class?
For our immersive courses, preparing your laptop is one of the best ways to prepare for class. To arm you for success, below are our minimum requirement for your laptop. Given that you will need your laptop for classwork and in the evenings for homework, you will need a laptop rather than a desktop. It is also recommended by our previous students that a mouse and mouse pad are valuable (though not required).
If you have a Windows laptop, here is what you will need to be successful:
- At least 8 gigs of RAM (16 gigs or higher is highly suggested though)
- At least 250 gig of hard drive space
- Intel i5 or greater/ AMD a10-7800 or greater
- Windows Version 10 or newer
- Latest Firefox or Chrome web browser
- You will also want to clean-off unneeded files and defragment your hard drives before class to maximize your laptop performance during class.
If you have a Mac computer, here is what you will need to be successful:
- 2011 MacBook or newer
- At least 250 gigs of hard drive space
- Latest Mac OSx
- Latest Firefox or Chrome web browser (no Safari)
- You will also want to clean-off unneeded files before class to maximize your laptop performance during class.
If you have a question or concern about your laptop, feel free to reach out to hello@divergence.one and one of our technical help desk staff members will help out!
Admissions
What are the admissions criteria for the Cybersecurity programs?
While pre-existing technical and analytical skills will always help with concept comprehension, there is no absolute criteria for course eligibility. We encourage all potential students with a desire to pursue a career in Cybersecurity to apply. The work you put in will be the ultimate deciding factor in your level of success at the Academy.
How does the admission process work?
The immersive admissions process can take about one to three weeks to complete. It consists of an electronic application and one to two academic counseling sessions (as needed). The academic counseling sessions are intended to give us a solid understanding of your technical abilities and/or analytical abilities as well as your overall goals for the program.
Do I have to have experience before I apply for Divergence Academy’s program?
In reviewing your background, we will be looking for a basic working knowledge in networking and/or programming (for CORE and PENTEST applicants) and analytical abilities (for DATA and RISK Analytics applicants).
When is the deadline to apply to Divergence Academy’s immersive courses?
You must complete the Divergence Academy’s immersive course application process two weeks in advance of the start date for the immersive cohort in which you would like to enroll. Full- time and part-time immersive sessions start throughout the year. Our admissions process allows prospective students to apply and be admitted on a rolling basis. Please see the Programs Calendar for specific dates and cohorts.
Do you have a wait list if the session I want is already full?
Yes. To be placed on the wait list, you must have applied, been accepted, and then respond to our invitation to be placed on the waiting list.
How do I know I'm ready to apply?
Our applicants are diverse — they include Veterans, active-duty military, career transition professionals, college graduates, teachers, engineers, and consultants. You should be a motivated learner and have the desire to learn the language of technology.
Still not sure? The first step in our admissions process is a take-home assessment, so apply now and try your hand at it. If you aren’t accepted to the program the first time you apply, we do encourage you to continue studying and apply again. Admissions at Divergence Academy are rolling, so it’s always in your best interest to apply early.