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Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

hackerschool.com

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Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#21

Post by colinmarc »

Alum from the third batch here. In the hopes that I can convince someone else to apply, my story:

I applied to hacker school, on a whim, while I was working on a php app at an advertising company in Boston. I didn't think I would get in, and I hadn't made any plans to support spending three months in NY. When I got in, I decided to drop everything, and left a month later on the dot. It may have been the best decision of my life to date.

Going in, I was a programmer, but I wasn't very good. Hacker school was so transformative, so incredibly valuable that three months later I was accepting an offer at Stripe, where I am now.

The strange thing is - the value doesn't come from lectures, or workshops, or anything like that. Hacker school is valuable because it gives you the space to grow into your full potential on your own. Just having three months where I could dabble and play in the company of similarly-minded people was the best thing for me, and it's hard to overstate how much I learned.

Do it! Apply! I don't know of a better way to spend three months.

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#22

Post by avolcano »

nicholasjbs wrote: post #9
avolcano wrote: post #5

It's a bummer that they don't do the interviews/final answers until after the first couple weeks of January. I'd love to take a semester off and do this, but since there's no guarantee I'd get into Hacker School, I would want to have my usual classes to fall back on, and the payment for that is due the first week of January. If I did get into Hacker School, I'd rather not drop the university classes I'll already have…

(Hacker School cofounder here) Please apply anyway, and include a note that you need an early admissions decision :) We'll do our best to get you a final answer before the first week of January (and if it turns out we can't, we'll let you know before then, too).

Ah, great! Thanks for letting me know. I went ahead and sent in my application a few minutes ago :)

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#23

Post by ahoy »

dillonforrest wrote: post #13
Irregardless wrote: post #11

What level of programming knowledge do you prefer incoming students to have? I see a couple testimonials that mention people new to programming, but your code requests and FAQ lead me to believe that's a rare exception nowadays...

Hey there, I did Hacker School this past summer. I was one of the most beginner-level programmers in the beginning. I never opened my terminal, never heard of functional programming, and didn't even know how html and css worked. I was a noob. The only things I could do were solve project euler math problems, which was enough to know I loved programming and wanted to commit to improving. Despite my initial skill level…

Can you share a bit of information about what the application/interview process was like? I'm sort of in the same position, and I'm very interested in applying for summer or winter 13.

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#24

Post by lfranchi »

Mgccl wrote: post #16

I know who would be perfect for this, except she is still in college so she would need to drop a semester to do this instead. Do you have any pitch concerning this? I assume the summer one doesn't conflict with college, but at those times people usually go for internships.

Disclaimer: I am in the current batch.

I don't know if there is a 'pitch' concerning pausing college for a semester. I think the same thing applies as for those people (like me) who quit their programming jobs to come to hacker school:

I've learned more in the last 2 months than I have in the last year at my job. Pair programming with people who are better than you in a specific skill is an incredible way to learn. If you love programming and want to become a better programmer by spending time doing what you love with other people who are driven by the same passions, come to hacker school. You have found your space.

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#26

Post by antonID »

rodly wrote: post #20

I'm currently a CS student and kind of like the idea of doing Hacker School for Summer 2013 or 2014, but could never afford the living expenses. Why do you only do scholarships for Women?

I was wondering the same thing. I don't see why not being a woman should disqualify you from financial aid.

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#27

Post by barry-cotter »

nicholasjbs wrote: post #12
jakozaur wrote: post #10

I like this idea so much. Any plans to scale up the Hacker School? In particular, it would be awesome if there was more Hacker Schools in different locations.

Thanks! We might expand someday, but we're still far from perfect with only one location, and we want to stay focused on making Hacker School in New York the best it can be before expanding to more locations. In the meantime, we've had good success with people moving to New York for Hacker School. About 20% of our past two batches have come from outside the US, and the majority of our last couple batches moved to New…

Hi, how much trouble have non-US people had getting (US) jobs afterwards? I know you support yourselves by acting as recruiters and it seems likely that it would be really hard for people without permanent residence to get visas.

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#28

Post by vclortho »

I'm seriously considering applying, but I'd have to leave a full time job in order to do so. What kind of job placement rate is there post"grad"? Average salary?

At my current position I'm being paid well but I don't feel like I'm improving at all as a programmer. This would be a huge risk for me, but I feel like I'd be better prepared for the future.

Any alums leave a job to go to hacker school? What was your experience like?

Re: Hacker School Winter 2013 Applications are Open

#30

Post by eloelz »

rodly wrote: post #20

I'm currently a CS student and kind of like the idea of doing Hacker School for Summer 2013 or 2014, but could never afford the living expenses. Why do you only do scholarships for Women?

they kind of explain it here https://www.hackerschool.com/blog/1-summer-2012-applications...

tldr: they are trying an experiment to see if they can get 50% female enrollment

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