Stanford’s TreeHacks: Advice for First-Time Hackathoners

On my journey to understanding data science, I applied to TreeHacks in October (2018) and participated in the 2019 iteration of this selective hackathon at Stanford.

What I learned / how it was

Impressions:

• There were so many tech companies involved.
• The wealth in the tech sector is exuberant.
• TreeHacks is a super supportive environment to learn.
• There are so many perks (discount or free memberships to CS tools, and, of course, the ubiquitous snacks, food, chargers, …).
• You are as capable as anyone else to develop a product.
• Minerva’s HCs (Habits of Mind and Foundational Concepts) provide a very useful framework for approaching problems: #breakitdown, #gapanalysis…

Advice

Applications:

• State why you want to go.
• How will you engage?
• First-time hackathoners: you have a high chance! TreeHack is very welcoming and supportive.

On the ground:

• Be ambitious with the idea.
• Be practical with the work: minimum viable product!
• Get help from mentors. That’s what they came for.
• Sleep. Hydrate.

Good luck! You got this!

Written originally in February, 2019.