The Ad­mis­sions
 Process

Our mission is to create economic opportunity. By empowering talented individuals with skills, networks, and opportunities, we enable our Fellows to build a career in technology. To achieve our goal, we are looking for applicants that can demonstrate both need and potential.

Our rigorous application process is designed to help identify qualified candidates who can thrive in our Fellowship. You don't need any coding experience. But passion, dedication, and commitment are required.

We aim to create opportunity through technology. All applicants must demonstrate economic need to qualify.

To be eligible for the Fellowship, all of the following must apply to you:

• Your annual salary/income is less than $45k
• You are 18 or older
• You are proficient in English speaking and writing
• You are eligible to work in the US
• You live in the NY Metro Area
• You are committed to participating for the full length of the Fellowship
• You are ready to learn to code and pursue a career in tech
• You are ready to transform your life

You are not a strong candidate if:

• You currently intend to simultaneously pursue a full-time commitment to another course of study or training
• You possess the financial means or support to otherwise acquire the technical, professional, and industry skills offered by Pursuit

In addition to economic need, we're looking for dedicated individuals with demonstrated potential to succeed. You don’t need any coding experience. But you will need to give it your all throughout the entire length of the program. This includes participating in all scheduled classes, workshops, and program events.

Grit

The Pursuit Fellowship is a demanding and intense journey. It’s also a long-term commitment. Are you willing to persevere and work through obstacles and challenges to achieve your long-term goals? Are you excited to tackle complex problems with sometimes ambiguous requirements?

Growth Mindset

We believe that through dedication and hard work, you can improve your existing abilities and develop new ones. To do this, you need to embrace failure as a part of learning. How do you learn from your mistakes and failures? Are you self-reflective and open to feedback?

Teamwork

Coding is a team sport. Communication, openness, and inclusivity are key to working as a team. Can you work collaboratively to achieve a common objective? Do you treat others with respect and professionalism?

Mission Alignment

We are driven by our values and our mission, and we expect our Fellows to be as well. Are you committed to helping Pursuit grow our impact and our community? Do you want to help us advance economic opportunity?

Our team takes a holistic approach to selecting participants for the Pursuit Fellowship. Start your journey by registering a new account on the Fellowship Application Portal.

Submit your application

Complete an application with your background info. The application includes several short answer essay questions. These questions assess your growth mindset, communication, and passion for technology. We want to hear your story. You will also complete a series of tests about foundational skills that enable success in the program, including Math, Logic, Computer Literacy, and a Typing Test.

Complete an in-person interview

To determine your readiness for the program and understand your interest and expectations of the Fellowship, we conduct an in-person interview at Pursuit. It's an opportunity for us to get to know you better. Interview appointments are scheduled every month.

Get invited to a workshop and complete a team coding challenge

We'll invite qualified candidates to attend a JavaScript Workshop. The workshop is the admissions step to look forward to most because it is a free 2-day coding workshop. You will get an experience of what being a Pursuit Fellow is like. Admissions Workshops are scheduled every month.

During the application stage, we are looking for candidates who fit our target demographic, are committed to learning, and demonstrate a passion for building a new career in technology.

Steps to completion:

• Check your Eligibility for the program. (1 min)

• In Your Personal Information, you will tell us about yourself. (5 mins)

• In Your Background, you will add information about your academic and professional background. (2-10 mins)

• In Your Journey, you will answer 6 short essay questions (250 words maximum each). (20-30 mins)

We are looking for:

• A clear desire to join Pursuit that goes beyond receiving technical education.

• An ability to articulate your approach to overcoming challenges and what you learned from them.

• The grit and determination to enter the tech Industry.

Why do we ask all this?

We’re looking to recruit candidates who can’t afford the upfront cost of training or education needed to break into the tech industry. To get a better sense of how you fit these criteria, you will be asked to share the following information about yourself and your current financial situation. Your annual household income, the past and current level of public assistance, any big changes to your income over the past year, and the number of dependents (if any) you have. Please note that to be eligible for the program, your annual income must be less than $45,000.

You will also share your academic background. Your highest level of education and anything that hindered or helped you on your academic path. Tell us if you’re the first person in your family to graduate high school or college if you received a university degree in another country, and whether or not you received scholarships to attend high school or college.

And your professional/work background. Jobs you have held and/or have tried to get. Is your current job setting you up for a long-term career? Is there growth potential (in terms of salary and position) in your company or industry? Even if the jobs you have held so far are unrelated to tech, you will be asked to submit a resume.

Other alternatives you might be considering: Why Pursuit is a good fit for you and why you chose Pursuit over other programs.
Should you get an offer to join Pursuit, we may ask for additional documentation to verify this information before enrollment.

The Aptitude Assessment is a series of questions designed to assess your readiness for the complexities and rigor of learning how to code. Though no prior coding experience is necessary, learning how to code requires some foundational skills and knowledge. The assessment measures your aptitude in areas such as math, logic, reading comprehension, and computer basics. This helps demonstrate your potential beyond what appears in your academic information and professional background.

Steps to completion:

• Answer 50 questions or exercises about math, logic, reading comprehension, and computing basics. (40-60 mins)
• Complete a 5 question assessment about the Pursuit Bond. (5 mins)
• You will receive one point for each correct answer. No points are deducted for incorrect answers.
• Submit your test.

We are looking for:

• A natural aptitude to be successful as a developer.
• Reasoning skills to arrive at correct conclusions.
• A readiness for the rigor of learning how to code.
• An understanding of our funding model, the Pursuit Bond.

Steps to completion:

• Attend an in-person workshop that simulates the class environment. (4 hours)
• Complete a pre-work assignment in Brilliant.org before the Workshop. (1 hour)
• During the workshop, complete activities as a group based on the pre-work.
• Complete a team challenge with other candidates and Pursuit volunteers.

We are looking for:

• A grasp of the sample coding content to demonstrate your readiness for our program.
• An Aptitude for working and learning collaboratively as part of a team.
• The ability to self-learn and quickly apply what you’ve learned.
• Participation and attention to detail.

During the interview, you’ll have an opportunity to share more about your background, speak in depth about your online application responses, and showcase your ability to solve problems. You may be interviewed by software engineers from partner companies, Pursuit staff members, and other volunteers from our community.

Steps to completion:

• Complete an interview and problem-solving session led by engineers, experts, and volunteers from our community. (40 mins)

We are looking for:

• The ability to clearly discuss your thought process and problem-solving skills.

• A passion for Pursuit’s mission, technology, and software development.

• The drive and motivation to thrive as a software engineer at Pursuit.

Your application and all other supporting documents will be used by the Admissions team to make a decision on your application to Pursuit. If we have questions, we may contact you for clarification or supporting documents.

Final admissions decisions are not made by a single person. To ensure fairness in the selection process, we rely on input from multiple reviewers with different perspectives.

After you get your status notification, the next step is to transform from an admitted Fellow to an enrolled Fellow.