Horizons School of Technology

Has anybody ever got into Horizon one?? They were supposed to send me a coding challenge to see if I am eligible for Horizon one. After 1 months of waiting, I scheduled a call to see what is the status of my coding challenge. They canceled the scheduled call. I emailed them, after 2 weeks they said they rejected my application!!!

I have CS degree and worked as software developer for 2 years. The only reason I can conclude why the rejected me, is that I am a foreigner. It was shocking to see how they discriminate toward foreigners. 

Please comment if anyone got into Horizon one.

thanks

I spent the summer in San Francisco learning at Horizons and I am still amazed at what an incredible experience it was! I learned practical skills at a rate that vastly outpaced that of my CS classes at UW-Madison. In addition to this, these were skills that could be immediately applied, unlike some of the non-practical skills that college CS programs require you to spend time on. Another thing that shocked me was how well Horizons instructers were able to teach students who had never programmed before. There were plenty of Business and Economics students who were able to solve complex problems and build the front-end and back-ends of applications all by themselves or with teams easily in a matter of weeks. When someone got stuck, there were a wide variety of teachers who were happy to help and that could each explain a concept in a different/unique way that was fitted to the student's needs. They truly cared and loved helping students learn. Some instuctors even took time out of their weekends to go over more theoretical concepts or advanced applications with students who weren't needing review sessions (which were also offered for those who needed it). Finally and perhaps most importantly, I gained an immense amount of future work and business connections. I spent plenty of time interacting with succesful engineers and founders of companies, asking plenty of questions and gaining great advice. These people gave me their emails and phone numbers which is truly invaluable. In addition to all of this, the founders of Horizons have done a spectacular job helping alumni find jobs and get advice. Horizons is truly a unique and remarkable experience that is far better than any alternative.

I came in looking to learn how to build something with my bare hands (and as a non-cs major). After a few months with Horizons, I felt pretty confident that I could build anything I wanted or at least learn how to build something, if it wasn't apparent. Throughout the program, the lectures were fantastic (shoutout to Moose and Graham!) and during the pair programming, I could tell many of peers were very sharp and pushed me to be better. Furthermore, if you got really stuck, TA assistance was very accessible from ex-software engineers, who were quick to assist. The whole concept of the demo day / hackathon I thought was well executed and contributed to Horizons feeling more than just a coding bootcamp to get you a job (although it very much can do that). It felt like you were really there to learn and build something great. Factor that with the guest lectures, where we got top people in tech to talk about how they made it and advice for us. The whole Horizons experience, in my opinion, will be more than any other bootcamp out there, its THE gateway into the tech world.

As a business major pursuing an interest in technology and entrepreneurship, obtaining viable programming skills has been a goal of mine for a long time. However, I could never find the time and opportunity to fully immerse myself and commit to the endeavor, and instead decided I would wait and enroll in a coding bootcamp after I graduated from college... When I found out about Horizons, I seized the opportunity and plunged headfirst into 13 weeks of intensive coding. At the end of the summer I had spearheaded the development of a passion project from idea to launch (www.cortexgame.com) and had gained the skills and confidence needed to continue my growth as a programmer and to seek internships in the technology sector. Horizons has been a tremendous asset in my personal growth and has enabled me to effectively bridge the gap between my business education and the coding skills required to succeed in the world of tech entrepreneurship.

I attended Horizons as a 2017 Summer Fellow (tuition and housing covered). I had a very positive experience--here's some things that stood out.

• Relentless focus on practicality: Horizon's syllabus is packed with topics directly relevant for developing modern mobile and web apps. Little to no time is spent on more theoretical CS concepts. The result is that you can start making tangible projects really quickly. For example, many of our early projects were implementing imitations of popular web apps: Twitter clone for learning HTML/CSS, using Twilio for learning API calls, mock Facebook chatroom for implementing servers, to name a few.
• Choice of tracks: In my year, Horizons offered 3 tracks in the latter half of the program, allowing us to curtail the program towards our specific goals. You could complete some guided week-long projects (most popular), prepare for job interviews (primarily recent grads), or work full-time on your project with a team.
• Community: I felt a really strong sense of community at Horizons within the first week of the program. Part of it is the fact that most Horizonites are college students or recent grads. This helps you bond with other students, because you're all looking to learn about tech and potentially start tech-related careers. At the same time, I found Horizonites highly energetic, collaborative, and innovative--I always looked forward to spending time with and learning from my fellow students.  I'm guessing most other students felt the same way (just read the rest of the overwhelmingly positive reviews on this site). I'm not aware of any other bootcamps that are similarly focused on college-aged students.
• Exposure to Silicon Valley culture: Horizons gives you a sense of life in Silicon Valley and the broader tech industry. Besides being situated in San Francisco blocks away from such impactful tech companies as Uber and Twitter, you also learn from regular speakers working in tech. I learned so much from these speakers, not only about careers paths in tech, but about different ideas for improving lives through technology. Last year, we had venture capitalists, product managers, founders and CEOs, and software engineers, with several high-profile speakers including Keith Rabois, Cyan Banister, and Balaji Srinivasan.
• Availability of teachers and founders: I generally found the founders Abhi and Darwish as well as the head teachers Moose and Ricky extremely supportive and accessible. I never hesitated to ask for coding help or career advice from these knowledgeable individuals. After the program, I frequently went to Sunny and Darwish for advice about the recruiting process, and they were extremely helpful in the process of securing a tech internship for the next summer.
• It's really fun: Horzions is just objectively a fun way to spend a summer. You're spending all day coding and building with 100 different diverse, energetic college students. And outside of coding, you have the entire city of San Francisco to explore with your fellow Horizonites! 

Horizons was one of the best summers I've had so far. I would recommend it enthusiastically to any college student looking to learn about tech and start building things quickly.

I came into Horizons with some algorithmic coding experience and left with the ability to harness the NodeJS library in building scalable backend databases with MongoDB and Express and responsive frontend designs in React and ReactNative (along with traditional HTML, CSS, and Pug (Jade)).

Pros
+ learned professors and devoted TAs
+ dynamic course work that fit to my need
+ plenty of guidance in the career path
Cons
- cost, although the value of this course is well within reason

“Take tremendous risks in your 20s” is a phrase I live and die by. Many people balk at the idea of taking a few months off to rediscover themselves or learn something new because it will not puff up their resume. I, personally disagree with that and think that not taking the risk to join Horizons is a risk one cannot take. 

Through Horizons, I was able to truly realize what I am passionate about and why I am passionate about them. Not only that, but I also got the chance to pick up many once-in-a-lifetime experience, invaluable skills and most importantly, everlasting relationships. 

If you have a killer startup idea but lack the skills to build it, Horizons will be your answer. If you want a career in the tech industry but lack the knowledge or experience, Horizons will be your answer. If you are in any sense passionate about tech, Horizons will be your answer.

Horizons gives you the skills and mentorship to build anything and take it to market excellently.

Intensive training teaches you to build advanced software applications end-to-end. Teachers come directly from impressive roles in Silicone Valley and know the best, and most current, ways to build software.

Experienced entrepreneurs are extremely accessible, providing valuable advice and connections.

My Horizons-built business found an investor by the end of the program. Near four months later, the Horizons team continues to be incredibly helpful.

The title says it all. Horizons was the best three months I have had and will be for a while. Horizons may be a coding bootcamp and you may go with the intention of learning how to be a full stack developer. But the coolest part about Horizons is, it will give you way more than that. It will teach you the most important skill one can posses as a coder. It will teach you "how to learn". It will give you so much confidence, that your learning will not be restricted to what you do in those 12 weeks, but it will go beyond that. Right from the way they have structured the course, to the environment they create, everything will  accelerate your career in tech and is bound to give you a jump start amongst your peers. Web dev will be at your fingertips, and you will not believe the rate at which you will grow and learn in those three months. It's truly life changing and it will be one of the best experiences you will have.