How to ensure you have the best chance at admissions into Zip Code Wilmington

You’ve decided to take the plunge and join a coding bootcamp. Congratulations! You will now join the small
community that pushes forward today’s tech-driven world.

In the midst of the exhilaration of choosing a program, it’s important to prepare for the inevitable next steps of applying to and attending a full-immersion coding boot camp.

The Nitty Gritty: Assessment and Pre-Boot Camp Assistance

Be prepared that this is not a quick process. At Zip Code Wilmington, admissions is a multi-step process and typically takes from 8 to 9 weeks to complete. It includes an online assessment, an interactive group activity and one-on-one interviews with our Director of Education and Executive Director.

We provide all applicants with resources, including online tutorials and videos, for applicants to begin familiarizing themselves with the fundamentals necessary for the program. While prior experience coding is not required before applying, you do need to review the resources we provide you to gain a basic understanding before taking the assessment. Be prepared to spend some time studying and running through practice problems before diving in to the assessment. 

Two of the most undervalued application steps are the info session and prep session. Many people will work diligently to freshen up their coding skills, but not as many are interested in the interactive application pieces. (Sidebar: It’s important to Zip Code Wilmington that our applicants be well-rounded and job-ready – meaning professionalism and communication skills are also important.) Although attending an admissions info session is not mandatory, we encourage all applicants to attend either in-person or virtually via webinar. The info sessions give applicants an in-depth view of the curriculum, time commitments, expectations, and potential outcomes. We also encourage applicants to join an available prep session with an instructor or a meetup with some of our alumni. Considering many applicants are self-taught, it’s beneficial to have one-on-one access to an instructor to ask questions prior to taking the assessment.

Key Considerations

Outside of the assessment and interactive sessions, applicants have other concerns about full-time immersion boot camps. Here are a few things to help you prepare for admission into Zip Code Wilmington:

  1. Brush up on your math skills. While you don’t need to be a math whiz, simple math functions like average, mean, sum, powers and squares are helpful when solving complex coding problems. Using math concepts helps with logical thinking.

  2. Update your research skills. Be comfortable looking up issues online and using resources to problem solve.

  3. Practice, practice, practice. Practice talking through a problem. Practice in front of a mirror or record yourself answering a problem. Take a riddle that you know how to solve and explain it in detail.

  4. Don’t try to ace the assessment. Don’t focus on getting everything done, take your time and work through each problem.

  5. Relax and enjoy the process!

Through Zip Code Wilmington, cooks, scientists, truck drivers, business analysts, warehouse workers, musicians and many more have transitioned into successful software developers. Their passion for tech pushed them to Zip Code Wilmington, but their hard work and dedication took them much further. Make sure that when you choose to apply, you have prepared yourself to succeed.

We can’t wait to add you to the next cohort of developers!