Welcome, Hippokampoiers!
Today, we are very proud to announce that we have selected the 33 students for the inaugural class of January 2016. Yes, we announced that we would select only 32 students, but there were just too many great applicants. Please join us in welcoming team Hippokampoi!
The selection process
To become students at Holberton, candidates had to go through our four-step selection process, based only on talent and motivation, and not on the basis of educational degree, or programming experience. We designed the selection process to be the beginning of the curriculum so that applicants start learning through it. No programming experience is required at all. It consists of four different levels:
- Level 0 – Fill out a short online form about yourself (~2 to 10 minutes)
- Level 1 – Small online projects and tests that applicants can do at their own pace (~2 to 10 hours of work)
- Level 2 – A step by step challenge during which you will create your first website, with a specific deadline (~50 hours of work)
- Level 3 – On-site or Skype interview
Level 2 is a hands-on project, designed for beginners, during which applicants create their first website, from A to Z. Not only do they build a website with HTML, CSS and JavaScript but they also install and run their web server (Apache) on a Linux machine (Ubuntu) using the Linux command line. Here is an overview of what applicants did during Level 2:
- Access a distant server using ssh
- Learn the very basics of the Linux command line
- Install software on Linux
- Use the Emacs text editor
- Install a web server on Linux
- Read a configuration file
- Use HTML, CSS and javascript to build a website
- And most importantly: search for information and help each other
From 1,338 applicants to 33 students
Here are some stats about our funnel. Since the announcement on Sept 29th, 1,338 applicants started the admission process. Overall, the 33 students of the January class represent the top 2.5% of all applicants. Congratulations to them!
Women performed better than men
Women performed better than men on average during our selection process. At the very top of the funnel, women represented 20% of our visitors.
And at the end of the funnel, 40% of our students are women. Note that Level 0, Level 1 and most of Level 2 are completely automated. It’s only at the end of Level 2 that we are hands-on because we need to check the projects of the applicants. Level 3 is an interview, during which there is also a technical test on Linux. Here is our funnel in terms of gender percentage:
Connect with Holberton students
In the past weeks, they have already set up their servers and installed different applications, including a blog where you will be able to read more about their lives and what they learned at the school. Also, you can follow them on Twitter and say congrats by tweeting at @hippokampoiers!
Interested in becoming a full-stack software engineer?
Applications are now open for the next two classes, starting in May and September 2016.
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