Hello there!

By reading this article I conclude that you’re curious about my school, then I recommend you to grab a coffee or a cup of "Atay" (Moroccan tea)… and let me tell you what you want to know!

My name is Oumaima Fisaoui, and I've been a software engineering student at 1337 coding school, Khouribga for a 2 years.

Now after finishing the Common Core , I feel that I would love to share a lot of answers for questions that I receive on my socials and even in real life about the 1337 school process, along with the things that I wish someone had told me to get the best out of my experience.

I hope your cup is still warm. 3 , 2, 1 let's go!

What is 1337 coding school?

1337 is the first to provide IT training in Morocco, completely free of charge, open and accessible to anyone between the ages of 18 and 30. No need for an IT degree, or of having undergone extensive IT training. The only criteria for admission in Treize, Trente-Sept is CREATIVITY. — 1337 official website

To elaborate on the official definition, 1337 coding school is a part of the global 42 Network coding schools.

The current campuses are located in : Khouribga, Benguerir and Med.

What is the difference between 1337 and other schools / universities?

1337 school’s philosophy is based on the fact that coding is learned in a more efficient way between peers, therefore the educational system is 100% peer learning based, with a small intervention from machine to run tests on submissions and decrease the marge of human’s error or bias.

Starting from the acceptance procedure, it is based on how welling are you to put effort on work and not your marks in high school (it is not mandatory to have a baccalaureate) , age (The students are from the age of 18 to 30 years old) social status or previous knowledge of code (No prerequisites required).

Then when it comes to the curriculum , you study only code and code only, even mathematics or other related topics are taught through code, which makes you always prepared to do what you love so no excuses are made.

What will I study at 1337 and how does the curriculum look like?

At 1337, You go by the Common core step , which covers many coding projects using many programming languages like C, C++ , Typescript, Python and more.

Right after finishing that step, you need to go on an internship and then move to the specialization part, that takes up to three years and gives you the chance to work on projects in the field that you choose to follow as a career path.

What are the full steps / requirements to get into 1337 coding school ?

The only condition that we have set. For the current admissions period, each candidate must be between 18 and 30 years old (inclusive) on November 1st of the year of their admission.If you are underage, you can take the admissions and Pool tests if you are in your senior year in high school; this is the only exception to the rule. 1337 official website

Let’s discuss the process:

1- Pass the online logic and memory tests.

First, you visit 1337’s candidature website to register with your email and pass the online memory and logic games to confirm your ability to learn from your mistakes and think algorithmically.

If you passed the online test successfully:

2- Get a seat for the check-In.

Now, here where things get clear, to ensure that there are no biases or discrimination on the selection process, reserving a seat for the check-in which is a step to check your identity after passing the previous step successfully and discover the school; is actually made through first comes first served method, meaning you have to put time , effort and collaboration skills to be among the first people who are determinant enough to spot the school’s post on social medias that invites people to go reserve their seats for free by selecting a date on the same logic game website.

Now you get an email confirmation for when to go to school for the Check-In!

3- Get a seat online to pass the pool.

In the same way, you get a seat for the “piscine” or the pool, where you swim in code and hard work to be admissible to study at 1337.

What is a piscine / pool?

Piscine is a 30 days of extensive coding with people who are interested in the same goal as you, becoming developers.

What if I fail the piscine?

You have two chances to pass the piscine.

How can I maximize my chances to be accepted in the pool?

Sleep , eat and do not take failure too seriously because you will fail a lot and that is perfectly fine.

Of course , if you work hard to minimize the failures, you will win against the machine.

And in general, only the school knows the selection criteria among the “pisciners”.

Does 1337 provides a diploma to graduates?

In a career path like engineering, a diploma is a proof that demonstrate. the knowledge of the concepts while projects are proof that you have the practical skills to get the job done. And that is what you get if you go by a peer learning school.

Should I be a genius to pass the pool / the curriculum?

Being genius will speedup the process of succeeding by understanding concepts quickly, however I saw some “genius” people collapse because of procrastination and reliability of being one, therefore the secret is being consistent and disciplined to get the same results (or more) at the end.

Can I get answers from the internet and pass the pool / curriculum ?

If something is possible to do , does not mean you have to do it.

The internet got answers to everything, but it only includes the thought process that other people went through to solve the problems you google online.

But what about you? When will you make your own solution? why won’t you be the person putting his thought process online , not the one consuming it?

I guess this is a clear answer to say that you will get in deep trouble if you rely on those answers XD

What can you tell me before starting studying at 1337?

Have a routine that includes sports, activities or fun , to not burn out with repetitive tasks.
Manage your time wisely in parallel with the energy and the focus.
Trust the process, and never compare yourself to anyone since everybody got a different life story to live.
Value people, and trust that you can go fast alone but you will definitely go way far with a group.
Take care of the biological clock, night is for sleeping and day is for working, any other rhythm would hurt more than do good on the long term.
Read books, listen to good music, get in touch with culture, philosophy and science and what makes you actually a human , code can never be a personality trait.
Your only asset would be getting strong skills AND a good network, so choose to be surrounded by positive, ambitious students and show people online what you can do!

Ressources:

1337 coding school. (n.d.). https://1337.ma/en/

Top questions I get asked about as a student at 1337 (42) coding school.