I thought I'd chime in here, as I actually run a coding bootcamp for current high school and college students (www.joinhorizons.com if you are interested). We've gotten hundreds of applications from talented high school students around the country.
I've noticed a large standard deviation in terms of the types of high school seniors who look into programs like ours. On the one hand, we see smart kids who want to be in technology long-term and have already been teaching themselves code. On the other hand, we see students who apply because their parents pressured them to do so.
So the first point I'll make is that the former paradigm is a much better one - if your kid already shows organic interest in programming and CS, then intensive programs are a fantastic way to continue to fuel the flames. I'm biased, but a big fan of immersive bootcamp programs. The earlier that kids get these skills and perspective, the more impactful they are on the career paths - the high school web dev whizzes are the ones who go on to win hackathons in college, get the best internships, and go start their entrepreneurial ventures in college (at least anecdotally). Good bootcamps also provide a lot of structure around the learning process. In 3-4 months, a motivated students can make it much further than someone on a self-paced curriculum. I'm also a strong believer that the atmosphere and ecosystem plays as important of a role as the actual curriculum. Being surrounded by other smart people who grind for 10 hours a day is positively infectious.
Regarding pushing off college - my thoughts are simple. The "tech" industry has changed significantly from a few years ago. Today it's about the skills you have more so than the pedigree you have. Smart kids who know how to build and ship real code beat out 4-year CS degree students all the time. Not to say that MIT or Stanford are not worth it. It just depends on the type of student and the goals.
Hope this helps give some clarity - let me know if you have any questions or want to chat further.
I've noticed a large standard deviation in terms of the types of high school seniors who look into programs like ours. On the one hand, we see smart kids who want to be in technology long-term and have already been teaching themselves code. On the other hand, we see students who apply because their parents pressured them to do so.
So the first point I'll make is that the former paradigm is a much better one - if your kid already shows organic interest in programming and CS, then intensive programs are a fantastic way to continue to fuel the flames. I'm biased, but a big fan of immersive bootcamp programs. The earlier that kids get these skills and perspective, the more impactful they are on the career paths - the high school web dev whizzes are the ones who go on to win hackathons in college, get the best internships, and go start their entrepreneurial ventures in college (at least anecdotally). Good bootcamps also provide a lot of structure around the learning process. In 3-4 months, a motivated students can make it much further than someone on a self-paced curriculum. I'm also a strong believer that the atmosphere and ecosystem plays as important of a role as the actual curriculum. Being surrounded by other smart people who grind for 10 hours a day is positively infectious.
Regarding pushing off college - my thoughts are simple. The "tech" industry has changed significantly from a few years ago. Today it's about the skills you have more so than the pedigree you have. Smart kids who know how to build and ship real code beat out 4-year CS degree students all the time. Not to say that MIT or Stanford are not worth it. It just depends on the type of student and the goals.
Hope this helps give some clarity - let me know if you have any questions or want to chat further.