If the community puts up $12k for Catherine to attend this program (which, to echo other sentiments, seems really expensive for a three month iOS intensive given what's available out there for free, both content and community)...
If that happens, Catherine should -- after she's graduated and is making a nice income (which she will be, as an iOS developer) -- pass it along and give $12k back to help the community somehow. Give it to a program in NYC that's helping give underprivileged kids access to technology, for example.
That would seem fair to me. It does seem a little weird to beg for donations so someone who already seems pretty smart and well-connected can further their career a bit (in an expensive way -- see above) when there are so many ways $12k can be used to really change someone's life. Or many people's lives.
According to a WSJ article[1] a few days ago about Flatiron's $5.5 million funding round, "More than 98% of its students get jobs through the Flatiron School’s placement efforts."
It's hard to criticize someone for asking for help (you have to do what you have to do), but if the Flatiron School is truly this successful at preparing attendees for real-world development and helping close to 100% of them find work after just four months (as opposed to four years), I think it's to be expected that some folks are going to be less empathetic.
Interestingly, despite Flatiron's $12,000 tuition, the WSJ article says "The school’s student acceptance rate is less than 8%." That suggests they're not just accepting anybody who can pay; ostensibly they are filtering for ability/accomplishment. If this is the case, and the placement figures are accurate, there's no reason Flatiron (and programs like it) couldn't make their money on the back-end. Assume that graduates are placed in entry-level positions paying $80,000 on average. A 20% placement fee would earn Flatiron $16,000, $4,000 more per student than tuition. If you assume a class size of 30, and a 98% placement rate, you're looking at an additional $116,000 in revenue per graduating class.
Yes, there's risk with this model, but if these schools are truly capable of placing nearly all of their students in in-demand development jobs after just four months, the risk seems modest. After all, when the market turns, the pool of people willing to pay $12,000 for a four month program is going to dry up anyway.
Ponying up $12k shows some amount of initiative, as does applying, and sticking through the course.
I know we're getting off-topic here--
Generally, I'm all for having more people who are qualified to write code, but I'm opposed to For-Profit Education systems as I believe incentives aren't aligned.
Right now, Flatiron needs to establish itself as credible, and worthy of your tuition and time, by separating itself from the other would-be "L2Code Schools." So it's in their best interest to be highly selective.
But what happens when they hit critical mass? The risk of turning out like the Art Institute, where they no longer care about the quality of applicants, and are instead focused on revenues.
What if they already get a placement fee? That would mean they make money on the front and backend, which if they dropped their tuition fees, would drop their income.
"and he's doing it without her knowledge (presumably)."
My personal opinion is there is an issue if he is publicly doing this without her knowing. But then again. [1]
How many people would want someone to post a picture of them with their names, plans etc out in the wild for this reason.
It's not like she needs a kidney. Or is kidnapped and he needs to take immediate decisive action.
She may very well be the type of person who has previously expressed willingness to be very open of course. But from the story we have no way of knowing this.
[1] Personally again I like the initiative that he is taking. He is taking a risk obviously. But you have to to get ahead. Besides it doesn't matter if the internet doesn't like what he is doing and in fact (streisand wise) that may actually work to his benefit.
Having been in enough relationships, this will probably end up backfiring, the way that all well-meaning gestures tend to.
How many people would want someone to post a picture of them with their names, plans etc out in the wild for this reason.
They may be young enough to be part of the new generation, that has a lot less expectation of privacy, and is a lot more comfortable with "oversharing" online.
The same way my generation is a lot more comfortable with openly displaying tattoos, and piercings, that previous generations weren't okay with.
Comments
If the community puts up $12k for Catherine to attend this program (which, to echo other sentiments, seems really expensive for a three month iOS intensive given what's available out there for free, both content and community)...
If that happens, Catherine should -- after she's graduated and is making a nice income (which she will be, as an iOS developer) -- pass it along and give $12k back to help the community somehow. Give it to a program in NYC that's helping give underprivileged kids access to technology, for example.
That would seem fair to me. It does seem a little weird to beg for donations so someone who already seems pretty smart and well-connected can further their career a bit (in an expensive way -- see above) when there are so many ways $12k can be used to really change someone's life. Or many people's lives.
This is love. Not begging.
Catherine isn't asking. Her boyfriend is, and he's doing it without her knowledge (presumably).
He wants to support his girlfriend and her passion for iOS development, and he's asking for help from people who might feel some empathy.
I received some scholarships & grants to go to college, I suppose that means I'm obligated to create my own scholarship fund?
According to a WSJ article[1] a few days ago about Flatiron's $5.5 million funding round, "More than 98% of its students get jobs through the Flatiron School’s placement efforts."
It's hard to criticize someone for asking for help (you have to do what you have to do), but if the Flatiron School is truly this successful at preparing attendees for real-world development and helping close to 100% of them find work after just four months (as opposed to four years), I think it's to be expected that some folks are going to be less empathetic.
Interestingly, despite Flatiron's $12,000 tuition, the WSJ article says "The school’s student acceptance rate is less than 8%." That suggests they're not just accepting anybody who can pay; ostensibly they are filtering for ability/accomplishment. If this is the case, and the placement figures are accurate, there's no reason Flatiron (and programs like it) couldn't make their money on the back-end. Assume that graduates are placed in entry-level positions paying $80,000 on average. A 20% placement fee would earn Flatiron $16,000, $4,000 more per student than tuition. If you assume a class size of 30, and a 98% placement rate, you're looking at an additional $116,000 in revenue per graduating class.
Yes, there's risk with this model, but if these schools are truly capable of placing nearly all of their students in in-demand development jobs after just four months, the risk seems modest. After all, when the market turns, the pool of people willing to pay $12,000 for a four month program is going to dry up anyway.
[1] http://blogs.wsj.com/venturecapital/2014/04/09/flatiron-scho...
Ponying up $12k shows some amount of initiative, as does applying, and sticking through the course.
I know we're getting off-topic here--
Generally, I'm all for having more people who are qualified to write code, but I'm opposed to For-Profit Education systems as I believe incentives aren't aligned.
Right now, Flatiron needs to establish itself as credible, and worthy of your tuition and time, by separating itself from the other would-be "L2Code Schools." So it's in their best interest to be highly selective.
But what happens when they hit critical mass? The risk of turning out like the Art Institute, where they no longer care about the quality of applicants, and are instead focused on revenues.
What if they already get a placement fee? That would mean they make money on the front and backend, which if they dropped their tuition fees, would drop their income.
"and he's doing it without her knowledge (presumably)."
My personal opinion is there is an issue if he is publicly doing this without her knowing. But then again. [1]
How many people would want someone to post a picture of them with their names, plans etc out in the wild for this reason.
It's not like she needs a kidney. Or is kidnapped and he needs to take immediate decisive action.
She may very well be the type of person who has previously expressed willingness to be very open of course. But from the story we have no way of knowing this.
[1] Personally again I like the initiative that he is taking. He is taking a risk obviously. But you have to to get ahead. Besides it doesn't matter if the internet doesn't like what he is doing and in fact (streisand wise) that may actually work to his benefit.
Having been in enough relationships, this will probably end up backfiring, the way that all well-meaning gestures tend to.
They may be young enough to be part of the new generation, that has a lot less expectation of privacy, and is a lot more comfortable with "oversharing" online.
The same way my generation is a lot more comfortable with openly displaying tattoos, and piercings, that previous generations weren't okay with.
Comparing a (presumably) merit scholarship with a 'cute' boy/girl favour seems misleading here.
IMHO better 'gift' from the community might be an interest free loan.
That is worth some $$ (600-1200/yr) and solves a real need.
Paying it forward is still optional.
I was merely pointing out that it's absurb to think that donations should only be given in a Quid Pro Quo fashion.
Is skin color a merit? I'm sure that's how I got my scholarships.
Are being born with rich white* parents a merit?
* Neither rich, nor white.