Ways to learn at ARYF
Same destination, two ways to get there.
Both paths cover the same curriculum and lead to real artifacts. The only real question is how much support the student wants along the way.
At a glance
Self-learn vs instructor-led.
Self-learn
Free · self-paced
- Cost
- Free
- Pace
- You set it
- Support
- Self + family + free resources
- Group
- Solo or self-organizing groups
- Accountability
- Self-driven
- Best for
- Motivated self-starters or groups
Instructor-led
Paid · weekly cohort
- Cost
- Tuition · covers mentors + operations
- Pace
- Weekly meetings, fixed term
- Support
- Mentor in the room, real-time help
- Group
- Small cohort of peers
- Accountability
- Cohort + mentor expectations
- Best for
- Students who learn better with peers + structure
Same curriculum, no cost
Self-learn each course at your own pace
Every ARYF course has its own self-study path. Open a course page and you’ll find a Learn on your own pace section with curated free videos, tutorials, and exercises specific to that topic — enough to work through the whole course without joining a cohort.
A motivated student can work end-to-end on their own, alone or with a parent alongside. The curriculum is the same one we use in cohorts; the difference is who’s keeping the pace.
And if you want to scan across topics — not just one course — we keep a separate free resource library as a broader discovery layer.
Small cohorts · in-person or live online
Instructor-led
A small group meets weekly with a mentor who runs the room. Same curriculum, but with structure, accountability, and a real engineer there to answer the hard questions in real time.
Cohorts are deliberately small so every student gets attention. Mentors are practicing engineers — people who actually ship the kind of work students are learning to do.
ARYF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Cohort tuition pays mentors and covers what it takes to run a class — space, materials, software.
- Group size
- 6–10 students
- Cadence
- Weekly, 90 min
- Term length
- 8–12 weeks
- Format
- In-person (CA) or live online
Cohorts work best for
- Students who learn better with peers around them.
- Families who want a fixed weekly rhythm instead of “find time at home.”
- Beginners who’d rather have someone unblock them than search the web alone.
- Teens ready to commit to a real project they can put in a portfolio.
Still not sure?
Tell us a bit about the student and what they want to make. We’ll point you to the option that fits.