Sebastian Thrun, co-founder once said “we are audacious for you, the student”, and that’s apparently where the name originates from. Audacity symbols bravery, and there’s no word better for this online learning platform, but why?
Udacity was given its unique name due to it being one of the pioneers of the e-learning industry, but now in this age of competition is udacity worth it?
There is currently an abundance of online learning platforms currently available, but when Udacity first launched, they weren’t as mainstream as they are now. Starting an e-learning platform back in 2011 demanded bravery, and that’s why the name is so fitting.
There’s a reason it’s still popular today, over 10 years on. Udacity (see also ‘What Is Udacity?‘) has stood the test of time, which many e-learning platforms have not. It’s a true success story, but that doesn’t mean that it’s the right online learning platform for you.
In this review, we’re going to be looking at everything you need to know about Udacity classes and whether these degree programs are right for you.
What Is Udacity?
Udacity was founded in 2011 by David Stavens, Mike Sokolsky and Sebastian Thurn. The platform specializes in offering massive open online courses (MOOCs).
Its name is of special meaning, it’s derived from the word ‘audacious’ as they were the first organization to branch out into an online learning platform, and they received massive success from it.
It originally focused on offering courses that you’d find in a traditional university, but now the platform offers additional vocational courses for professionals and they mostly focus on offering MOOCs and micro-credential courses (nanodegrees).
The platform has partnerships with numerous well-known organizations, including Google, Amazon, Facebook and many more, these allow students to have up-to-date and hands-on knowledge in technical fields.
This is one of the biggest reasons why tech related classes are the most popular on Udacity.
Online Courses Taught by Experts
- Get the skills you need
- Learn at your own pace
"I couldn't be more excited!"
How Does Udacity Work?
Signing up is easy, its easy-to-use interface will show you exactly where to go.
Once you’ve created your account, the next thing you’ll need to do is to choose a course. Make sure that the course is the right one for you and it’s something that will be useful to help build your career and get a job once you finish.
Once you’ve selected your course, you’ll be asked to pay the associated Udacity fees. Some courses don’t have fees, and are completely free, it depends on what course you’ve chosen. We’ll discuss pricings later in the review.
Next you’ll be taken to an onboarding process, it’s in this stage that you’ll prepare yourself for your upcoming studies. You’ll fill out a questionnaire, look at a syllabus and plan out a personal study schedule.
It’s such an easy way to help you set concrete goals that will allow you to strive for success.
Once you’ve finished this process, it’s time to start learning. Most of the classes are divided into 10 or 20 minute segments, this is very useful as you can choose how much time out of your day you wish to devote to studying.
Most courses will consist of video lectures with quizzes and graded assignments.
Once you’re finished with your course, you’ll receive a certificate. To graduate with a certificate, you must pass all course lessons and complete your assignments with a grade of “Meets Expectations” or higher.
How Much Does Udacity Cost?
Udacity isn’t exactly the cheapest online learning platform that you’ll find out there, but rest assured you’re getting a great experience (and hopefully a certificate!) from it.
Udacity has a few hundred courses that are completely free of charge. All you have to do is start an account and begin learning. The only issue with these courses is that they tend to be quite limited in regards to interactions between student and teacher.
Udacity has quite a simple and reasonable pricing model, once you move higher up the framework, you’ll pay more. For example, nanodegree courses (see also ‘What Is A Nanodegree?‘) can cost $200 or more per month, and they last from anywhere between 6 and 12 months.
There are some ways to cut the cost. One is to try and finish your courses as soon as possible, so that you don’t pay for too many months of classes. Or you can take advantage of discount codes and apply for Udacity Scholarships.
What Does Udacity Do Well?
Graded Projects And Mentorship Program
A huge benefit to using Udacity, is that you’ll have access to expert-level instruction and mentorship through the garden projects feature. When you take a class, you’ll also complete 1 real-world project during your studies that will be reviewed by an expert mentor.
Career Services
Another benefit is that you have access to career services. You can make use of these services at any point during your studies, whether it be at the end or at the very beginning.
Udacity’s Career Services offers things like cover letter reviews, resume reviews, LinkedIn profile reviews and many more things.
Student Discussion Forum
Udacity now offers mentor help in addition to a feature called “Peer Chat”. You can collaborate with other learners in this chat and create discussions and conversations that mimic those you’d find in a university setting.
Online Courses Taught by Experts
- Get the skills you need
- Learn at your own pace
"I couldn't be more excited!"
Easy User Interface
Udacity has one of the most user-friendly online platforms around. You’ll have no issue finding a course that’s of interest to you and viewing the various segments that are associated with it.
Everything is very human-centric and made for the student for ease of use.
If you want to compare Udacity with other similar online learning platforms. You can compare Udacity with other courses here.
Udacity Vs Coursera
Udemy Vs Udacity
Codecademy Vs. Udacity
Is It Worth It?
In our opinion – yes! But you are the only person who can truly decide if it’s for you. It’s more on the pricey side of online learning platforms, but you have so many more opportunities to access than you might have with other online learning platforms.
There’s also hundreds of free classes to try out to see if it’s something that you’d benefit from.
It has a well-rounded curriculum, and you’ll have access to many unique services like mentorship and career services. It’s definitely worth having a look at its free classes.
