FAQs

Do students need to own a computer to attend Holberton School?

We provide all the computers during the first year.
Students need to own a laptop during their second year.

What is the job market like for software and operations engineers?

Everywhere in the United States companies are struggling to find top-tier software engineers, and the demand is expected to grow rapidly over the next 10 years.

According to the US Bureau of Labor statistics, employment of software developers is projected to grow 22 percent annually from 2012 to 2022, much faster than the average for all other occupations. The main reason for the rapid growth is a large increase in demand for computer software. It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 1.4 million open jobs specifically for software developers.

Salaries are also booming and the demand for full-stack engineers is literally exploding.


Average salaries by position in San Francisco (source: Indeed)


Full-stack engineer job trends (source: Indeed)

Do you help students find a job after Holberton School?

At Holberton School, students learn how to find a great job. They interact with the tech community frequently, learn how to communicate, and train with mentors for interviews. As a result, most of our students won’t need any assistance after they graduate from Holberton School.
Of course, we will always be there to help if needed. We, and our mentors, have a robust network in the tech industry.

Do you deliver a degree?

We do not deliver a degree, but a certificate (paper and digital). The digital certificate will be issued in a secure environment (256 bits encryption and 2FA) and inserted into the Bitcoin Blockchain, so that any employer can instantly verify the validity of the certificate.
Read more in the press: Network World • The Coin Telegraph • The New Stack

Today, most tech companies focus on the ability of a candidate to perform the job and most job interviews include one or many technical tests. If the candidate passes them, and if they fit the culture of the company, they usually get the job. Degrees do not matter as much as they used to for recruiters, especially in the tech industry.

What does “Full Stack Engineer” mean?

While the definition may vary in the industry, for Holberton School, a Full Stack Engineer is an engineer who is able to understand and work on any level of a software application: starting from the hardware, system and network, to the security and scalability. Our students will be familiar with software architecture, data modeling, coding, testing, shipping, user experience, design, project management, marketing, … While one can’t be an expert in all of the layers, students will have the foundation required to be able to navigate any of those.

It also means that our students will be able to interact with low and high level technologies:

Can I attend Holberton School online?

Our program is currently only available on-site, in San Francisco.

How does housing work?

We do require that you are present in San Francisco for at least the first 9 months of the program; you are then free to perform your 6-month internship (which is usually paid) and your 9-month specialization (for which you may work part-time or full-time) from wherever you want. For these first 9 months, we put you in touch with local residences that we’ve visited and our current students have experimented, and we also put you in touch with current students who can advise you based on their experience.

If you’re budgeting, to give you an idea, most students choose to live in shared room residences, and a bed in a quad room at walking distance from the school currently goes for $650/$700 a month.

What is the pricing?

You have two options to pay for Tuition:
- Income Share Agreement: There is no upfront cost. We only charge 17% of your internship earnings and 17% of your salary over 3 years once you find a job.
- Upfront Tuition: Total cost of Education (two years): $85,000

Please refer to our Tuition page to learn more.

What is the pricing for international students?

Unfortunately, our Income share agreement option is only available to US citizens. Please refer to the tuition page to learn about our upfront tuition option.

Do you provide housing?

We do not provide housing but we have partnerships with local hostels and dorms.

Do you accept international students?

Yes, Holberton accepts international students but we are currently not able to sponsor any type of visa (including I-20 form). Please reach out to us for more information.

What is the acceptance rate?

As of November 2017, Holberton acceptance rate is at 2.58%. While the school goal is to provide high-quality education to the most, we are currently limited by our real estate, and we cannot accommodate everybody.

Holberton School is open to anyone over 18 years old, with a high school diploma or GED. No programming experience is required; our selection process is based on talent and motivation alone and with no consideration given to gender, nationality, ethnicity or social status.