If you have any inklings whatsoever about wanting to apply to Hacker School, just reach out[0]. Dave and company are way cool and actually respond to requests in a timely manner. There was a 4 day, 5 at max, turn around time between when I emailed them and when I was on skype with Dave.
I'll second this. Both Dave and Nick were really easy to talk to, and it's clear they're looking for kindred 'hacker' spirits.
Also, the isolation is spot on. It can be pretty depressing to be trying to, say, do SICP on internet advice, while people around you ask why you don't just take a Java/C++ class. I applied in large part to meet others truly interested in programming, and though I can't make it this time around, HS is tops on my list of things to do in 2012.
A quick correction: Hacker School application page is actually http://www.hackerschool.com/apply. If you just want to talk or are looking for a job, Zack's link is the way to go.
We do not have a syllabus. Hacker School is project-based, and what people build and study is driven by what they're interested in and want to learn more about. For people who don't yet know what that is, we provide guidance and feedback.
We filter on intellectual curiosity and love of programming, so people don't typically have trouble finding interesting things to work on, especially since they're surrounded by other curious people working on interesting and hard problems.
I believe the youngest student was 19 and the oldest somewhere around 40. For the upcoming batch, most students are in their 20s or 30s (I don't know for sure, because we don't ask).
I know the feeling of being isolated as a programmer.
I have so many great and successful people that I would love to have as part of my startup however most of them don't have the skills that we need at this stage.
How experienced a programmer do you have to be in order to apply? I'm a CompSci student and coded some CRUD apps for my startup (Clojure and Python), but I'm not a open source contributor, nor am I active as a contributor on Github or SO.
We're flexible on experience. We care more about intellectual curiosity and a love of programming. If you love programming and your primary interest is becoming a better programmer (rather than, say, starting a company), you should definitely apply :)
[+] [-] zackzackzack|14 years ago|reply
[0]http://www.hackruiter.com/registrations/new
[+] [-] realitygrill|14 years ago|reply
Also, the isolation is spot on. It can be pretty depressing to be trying to, say, do SICP on internet advice, while people around you ask why you don't just take a Java/C++ class. I applied in large part to meet others truly interested in programming, and though I can't make it this time around, HS is tops on my list of things to do in 2012.
[+] [-] davidbalbert|14 years ago|reply
A quick correction: Hacker School application page is actually http://www.hackerschool.com/apply. If you just want to talk or are looking for a job, Zack's link is the way to go.
[+] [-] sunkan|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] pepijndevos|14 years ago|reply
There are some similar concepts, but without the programming part. Kaos Pilot, Knowmads, etc...
[+] [-] rquantz|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicholasjbs|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] unculture|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicholasjbs|14 years ago|reply
We filter on intellectual curiosity and love of programming, so people don't typically have trouble finding interesting things to work on, especially since they're surrounded by other curious people working on interesting and hard problems.
I believe the youngest student was 19 and the oldest somewhere around 40. For the upcoming batch, most students are in their 20s or 30s (I don't know for sure, because we don't ask).
[+] [-] jconnolly|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kenrik|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] zyfo|14 years ago|reply
[+] [-] nicholasjbs|14 years ago|reply