TL;DR: Use Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet for the logic and debugging, but keep your expectations grounded. Honestly, I started my dev journey feeling exactly like you. I spent months fighting syntax errors until I switched to Claude. Here is the reality: AI isnt a tutor, it is a rubber duck that talks back. If you use OpenAI ChatGPT GPT-4o for quick syntax help, just be careful. It loves to over-complicate simple scripts. I found that when I use Claude, the reasoning is just way more human-like. It actually explains why a function is failing rather than just dumping a snippet of code in your lap. For your bootcamp, stop worrying about picking the perfect tool and just build things. Start by taking a basic Python script and asking the model to refactor it for better readability. I did this with a simple web scraper and learned more in an hour than I did from two weeks of boring video tutorials. Just run the code yourself—dont copy-paste blindly. If you have a strict budget, use the free tier of Claude daily and supplement it with JetBrains PyCharm Professional Edition if you can grab a student discount. It makes debugging so much easier when the IDE highlights your mistakes before you even run the script. You'll be fine for Chicago, just stay consistent.

Been thinking about your question for a few hours now. Look, honestly, dont rely on any single AI to be your teacher. I learned this the hard way when I tried to brute-force a project with OpenAI ChatGPT Plus GPT-4 and ended up with a codebase full of deprecated libraries because I just copied what it spat out. It was a nightmare to debug later. If you really want to prep for your bootcamp, treat these apps as tools, not textbooks. Here is how I see the current landscape:

• Google Gemini Advanced 2.0 Pro is okay for quick snippets and brainstorming, but it can get really lazy with complex logic sometimes.
• Microsoft Copilot Pro GPT-4o is decent if you are deep in the VS Code ecosystem, but you have to be careful not to let it finish all your work for you. It really kills the learning process. I would suggest picking up a solid book like Python Crash Course alongside the AI. Use the app to explain a concept you dont get, but dont let it write your functions. If the code looks weird or the logic is too complex for you to understand, that is your signal to stop. If you dont understand why the code works, you havent actually learned anything. Just be super careful with the hallucinations, especially when you are asking for specific library implementations. Keep your budget tight and stick to the free tiers until you actually need the extra power. You got this, just dont take shortcuts.