20 y/o App Academy grad here. I was 19 when I finished the program. First, I must say the program was totally worth it. This is true that you have to pay regardless after the program. It really blows. The fee was also quite a bit lower when I went (I think it was 12,000, 3k upfront) back when it was just 9 weeks. It was explained to me that people under 22 showed more of risk as they might go back to college since their peers are still in college. It sucks that they weren't more transparent, but I found it to be completely worth it.

Additionally, There was more than one occasion I was late on payments and they were always lenient on my payment dates without ever charing me interest. Should they be more transparent? Absolutely, then and now. But I found it to be totally worth it.