This guide is for anyone who was unable to apply for neoG Camp 2022 during the first submission window and has been waiting for the second window to open.

what is neoG Camp?

Hi, I hope you know about neoG Camp. If not!

Not kidding, but please read or experience it here:

• Our website

• Our detailed handbook

• Our Community

• Our newsletter

In short, it is a 2 (levelZero) + 6 (levelOne) month-boot camp on web development which is project-based, beginner-friendly, and industry focussed. And we are a like-minded, growth-oriented, creative, helpful programmers community.

what is the second admission window

levelZero is free and open for anyone who wants to start their web development journey. It is available on Youtube. Whereas, levelOne is a 6-month rigorous boot camp where you start as a beginner and end up as an intermediate-level web developer. It is closed and has different admission routes (beginner, intermediate and roc8 routes). In the beginners' route, one has to go through a 3 step admission process to get enrolled in the camp.

The steps to admission into levelOne involve:

1. Submission of your mark15 portfolio

2. Selection Interview

3. Enrolment process involving admission fee payment

As you know by now, the first step (submission of the portfolio) is the entry point and that is the second admission window I'm talking about here. The first window closed in October and I promised all of you that I will open a second window soon. And here I'm.

But we are sorted now, and the date is final:

Opening date: Today, 30th November 2021, 6 PM IST

who can apply?

Yes, I did say that the second window will be limited to students who need a job in 2022. But I received many requests to keep it open for everyone as many students wish to join majorly to create and learn in the neoG Camp community. Hence, the second window has no other eligibility criteria.

anyone can apply for levelOne

Hence, there is no eligibility other than your mark15 portfolio. You can be a 12th standard student, wants to join to learn, or someone in a job, it does not matter. If you can submit your portfolio and show your marks. You are in.

Even if you are someone who has missed the intermediate or roc8 route, you can always come from the beginners' route by doing levelZero.

the Don'ts

first window applicants can not re-apply

This window is only for new applicants. If you have already applied in the first window through the beginners' route, then please DO NOT re-apply here. If you did not qualify for the interview, I am sincerely sorry. I know you worked hard. I'll publish the 6-month roadmap soon and the community is here to help you learn. But please do not try to scam the admission system. I'll anyhow check the submissions and doing so might result in you being banned from future batches.

do not submit incomplete or fake portfolio links

Please do not think that you will submit an incomplete portfolio as soon the window opens and then you will keep making the projects. The review of your portfolios will happen simultaneously so you really don't know when it is getting reviewed. If I catch this, and I will because I had, then this will also result in you being banned from future batches. Why? because you are knowingly being dishonest.

You can make small fixes and changes, but make sure that your link does not break.

do not submit using multiple email ids

Please do one submission and do not make multiple submissions.

True, but not funny. If I catch this, I will because I had, then this will also result in you being banned from future batches. Why? because you are knowingly being dishonest.

how to apply?

It is very simple.

1. Complete your mark15 portfolio

   • Mark15 Guide: Here is your mark15 guide with all levelZero videos, lecture notes, and examples.

2. Do check that your portfolio is ready before submitting

   • Check diligently: Here is a checklist with all the points on which your portfolio is reviewed.

   • Ask your friends: Use your #teamtanay Discord community and get it reviewed before submitting. Please do a thorough check before submitting it for review as resubmissions are not allowed this time.

3. Fill the admission application and submit your portfolio link

   • Second window admission application: Please read the form and fill it. You would have to submit your portfolio URL link in this form, hence first do complete the portfolio before submitting this form.

   • You don't have to go to the admission portal. To make things quick every step will be conducted via emails and forms.

   • When: The second window is open now and will remain open till the seats are filled.

The window will remain open for a few days so please don't panic and first focus on completing the portfolio. We are here.

do not miss these points

• Please submit your admission application after it opens.

• Make sure your portfolio is complete and you submit a valid link.

• As you know the seats are limited and hence, the admission will happen on a strictly FCFS basis. So submit your portfolio, give the interviews and secure your seat as soon as possible.

• Once your portfolio is reviewed, you will receive an interview invitation mail. The whole procedure of scheduling your interview will be mentioned in your invitation mail. Please book a slot fast. And prepare for your interview.

• And if your portfolio is not passed, you will receive a feedback mail as resubmission will not be allowed this time barring genuine mistakes.

• All the payment options and financial aid option is the same for you and will be available for all second admission window applicants as well. This will not affect the seat of any financial aid first window applicants.

• We are aiming to complete the admission process around mid-December so the next 2 weeks are going to be a quick ride from portfolio submission to selection.

thanks!

Thank you everyone for being so patient with us and helping everyone in the community. Let's get you or your friends who missed the first window into levelOne. (without sharing real-interview questions, of course, 🤓).

the second admission window is OPEN NOW:

Apply Now Here: https://forms.gle/6bGBUx9RaxcfMNSSA

before I say bye

One small request to you all, please read the guide properly and if you have any doubts, you can ask us via email (neogcamp@gmail.com) or in the #chit-chat channel of the #teamtanay server.

Your Mentor,

Tanay Pratap

neoG routes

People with just the front-end development knowledge can get great jobs. You can be just a good front-end developer who knows JavaScript, can solve some bits of problem-solving in JavaScript, and can make full-fledged React apps with existing APIs.

So in neoG'22, I have divided the course into two major parts.

1. Frontend Developer

2. Full-stack Developer.

Everybody would be asked to attend all the classes, it's not like if you want to be just a front-end developer, I will not let you attend the back-end classes. You can attend all the classes, discuss everything, learn everything. But the camp is structured in a way where, if you learn something, you have to create a proof of work for it.

In neoG'21, people did five backend projects to complete their five front-end apps which is a lot of work. So, the next time you don't have to work on five back-end projects. You can do two backend projects or no back-end projects.

• You are a full-stack developer → if you do two or three back-end projects.

• You are a front-end developer → if you submit the projects with mock backends

In both cases, you are good to get the neoGrad degree.

neoG'21 reflections

A lot of people who actually did not complete the camp got jobs from outside i.e. their colleges, from LinkedIn & from every other place.

When I talked to them: "Why didn't you complete the camp?". They said: "It was too much work. I couldn't complete all the backend apps. And then I decided now I have got a job. Let me start with it" which had my blessing because the end goal was to get the job.

But I don't want you to leave with the feeling wherein you think: "You have to do so much and that's why you are giving up". So, do a little bit, be a frontend developer which is a good enough path to get started. But I won't push you to be a full-stack developer.

If you want to do more nobody's stopping you anywhere, at any point of time. If you want to do more, be my guest be a full-stack developer.

why am I doing this?

The problem with being a full-stack developer is a lot of people want jobs or they are newbie's into programming who might feel overwhelmed to do so much to get their apps ready for roc8 which also sometimes contributes to students who are not completing the camp.

Because in interviews not everybody is asking about full-stack development. The high-paying jobs do ask and inquire about it but the average jobs i.e. six to nine lakh jobs don't ask about full-stack development.

I keep asking myself, what do I want from my students i.e. the neoG Camp aspirants? And the entire team agrees that I want you to succeed. neoG is not like any other ed-tech companies where I measure my success on how many people have signed up or how many people have paid for the camp. I measure my success on how many people have completed the camp, and whether they are happy with it.

💡 When you measure success on the right parameters, you start doing the right things.

neoG'21 Reflections

Last year, few people paid for the camp but didn't show up regularly. I didn't know what to do, I kept waiting for those folks to show up someday.

Unfortunately, I kept guessing and the camp ended. These guys might have joined few classes but did not complete the camp properly.

go big or go home

So this year i.e. in neoG'22, I have a very clear agenda that if you're not committed to the camp, if you feel it's overwhelming, if you just completed mark15, came in and paid the fee but for some reason, valid or invalid, you feel that you can't do the camp, you are not attending the classes, or you are not submitting the assignments, you will be asked to leave the camp.

The first six weeks are the cool-off period. If you have not submitted your assignment, for the first six weeks, you will have to leave the camp, I'll refund your entire money, barring taxes because I can't refund taxes, as it goes to the government of India. While I understand that the reason for not doing camp after committing is legit, and I wish you the best, I won't be able to continue the relationship. Break up.

This works for you too. How? If you come to the camp and in six weeks you feel you are not made for the camp or camp is not up to your expectations and not as promised, in all these cases you can just ask for a refund in the first six weeks, no question will be asked. Barring taxes, I will return all your money and you'll be happy wherever you are. I don't want you to live with the regret that you didn't make the right decision when and as you have paid money. If you paid the money, you should do the classes. No regrets.

This will be an opt-in. While signing up for the camp I will ask you whether you want to complete the camp, i.e. do all exercises and 5 projects. If you opt-in then I will deploy our accountability engines for you.

I understand that not everyone, especially intermediates, is here to complete everything. In that case, I would not trouble you during the camp. You will be considered as a silent participant.

how it will help us?

I think this is a great step in how I want to shape not just neoG Camp but how I want to shape the education of India. There are companies, I see on LinkedIn that take your money, have a refund policy but getting a refund is a problem.

Instead, I want to create a place where you come in & enjoy. Whoever is left after six weeks, I'm sure they are committed to complete the camp and they have shown their commitment by submitting all the assignments for the first six weeks.

So once again, the focus for neoG 2022 is on YOU completing the camp. And you getting a better experience of the camp than the previous batch.

before I say bye

Tell me in the comments how you liked or disliked this idea. Yay or Nay?

Your Mentor,

Tanay Pratap

neoG'21 Reflections

Last time I made a mistake. The companies which come early are the big ones. I thought you should start preparing for interviews only once you know everything & when all your projects are completed which meant that you had less time for the interview preparation. Between your completion of interview preparation to going and facing your first interviews.

updated camp structure

So, what do we want to do in neoG'22 is, we will start interview preparation sessions after two-thirds of the camp itself. Here's how the camp was structured previously in four parts with the roadmap,

1. Frontend Development

2. Advanced Frontend Development

3. Backend Development

4. Interview Preparation

Instead, the plan for neoG'22 is of doing the back-end at last. After the advanced front-end, we will start doing the interview sessions and do the backend later. So, the updated camp structure would be,

1. Frontend Development

2. Advanced Frontend Development

3. Interview Preparation

4. Backend Development

what happens in interview preparation sessions?

We have one interview session on JavaScript interviews, which talks about what are the questions asked, and another session on problem-solving using JavaScript. They are not DSA heavy sessions, they are mostly on the array, strings, or simple data structure questions & how would you resolve them using JavaScript?

So, both the sessions will happen early this year. Both the experts can do mock interviews with all the students. Other teams can see them & learn how to do mock interviews with each other.

how it will help us?

In neoG'22, you would have six weeks to learn the backend and to also keep practicing for interviews. There will be a lot of focus on doing mock interviews for those six weeks while you also work on understanding the backend and working on the back-end projects. This will ensure that once you are out of the camp & complete it, you are ready to face interviews, and set up for success.

the goodbye question

Tell me an instance where you faced an interview. What worked or didn't work? Waiting to hear your stories. Would help us prepare the camp better for you as well.

Oh my god!! Yes, we are starting the camp on 2nd January.

Celebrate your New Year's day, and start learning. I think the best resolution you can take this year is "I'm going to complete neoG Camp & going to get a great job".

why is neoG Camp'22 for 6 months?

I know the first answer you all can think of is "We are going to teach more.", but that's not true. I'm not going to teach anything extra next year.

You ask me why? I think for a fresher or even for one to two years experience. The camp's content is already jam-packed.

neoG'21 Reflections

The mistake I did last year was thinking that if I can teach it in four months, people can complete it in four months and that did not happen. A lot of people, 60-70 people, which is like 30% of the previous batch size didn't complete the camp in four months.

building the basics

I had to rethink what went wrong the previous year. One thing where we are spending more time in neoG'22 is basics. The first 2 months are just dedicated to basics where we will spend time on CSS, and JavaScript. We will make sure that your foundations are strong before directly jumping on to the projects and React, we will make sure you have enough time to work on the foundation.

off weeks

We are also a little generous and giving off the Holi weekend in neoG'22. Last year, we had no Holi week. The only leave which we got was when COVID stuck during the second wave. And one more week off after that to have a hackathon. So, last year when we had the second wave, we found a lot of people who couldn't participate. This time we'll have separate one-week classes off for a hackathon so that people can participate, win & get exciting prizes.

why are we doing this?

The idea to do this course for six months, with the same amount of content is to focus on completion, and the entire focus for neoG Camp'22 planning is on making sure people complete all the projects, and nobody drops off. Nobody is left incomplete.

The fact that 10 to 20% of folks couldn't complete the camp bugs me every day, don't want to do that. And there are more changes that we'll see in the upcoming version of the camp. Those would ensure the completion of all participants. Stay tuned. ;)

gentle reminder

By the way, I hope you know that camp applications are open. People are already submitting & 500 applications have been submitted. The deadline is 30th September, and you can still start today and complete the entire thing. If you haven't done it, go ahead and register on the admission portal.

Thank you :)

answer me this

Of all the topics that are going to be covered in the camp. And I hope you have seen the roadmap before signing up, what excites you the most? What are you looking forward to learn the most? and why? Comment or reply but do let me know.

Let's talk about mock interviews, why you should practice them, and some tips for more effective mock interviews that will help you ace your levelOne interview.

what is a mock interview?

A mock interview is a practice interview that mirrors the real interview as closely as possible. A mock interview gives the candidate a clearer picture of your performance, strength, and weakness.

Mock Interviews are a win-win situation for both the interviewers and interviewee as it helps both of them learn about their shortcomings and improve the skillsets required for real interviews.

Note to the candidate: Just be prepared to accept criticism when it is warranted and work at improving your shortcomings.

why you should do mock interviews?

build confidence

50% of any interview is all about sitting with the right confidence & positive mindset. Practicing your interview skills will help you to reduce stress during your actual interview & will show you your strengths & weaknesses and help you increase your self-confidence. Sitting in a mock interview before the actual interview can also help with communication skills, practicing your interview skills, and overcoming your fear & frictions.

pratice, pratice, practice

You know the cliche line "Practice makes perfect" right? The more you practice the better you would be while answering questions. Mock interviews will act as a great opportunity to rehearse your answers. During the actual interview, practicing will allow you to focus on connecting with your interviewer rather than struggling to come up with answers. If you are more familiar with the types of interview questions you would be asked, the better prepared you would be in the real interview.

make friends

Mock Interview will act as a chance to build connections n the community & smoothens your camp experience with your friend circle. These relationships & connections will make you accountable with your projects-assignments & push you throughout the camp & beyond.

improves communication skills

Your communication skills are one of the major factors while giving any interview. Mock interviews will help you to increase your communication skills & make you stand out if you are prepared well.

embrace feedbacks

At the same time, mock interviews will provide you with constructive feedback in a low-stress environment. You will also get a chance to make mistakes and work on rectifying them in a safe environment. These comments which you will receive from the interviewer are what actually going to help you upskill yourself & crack the actual interview.

there's only one chance

The interview will be tough whether you are a newbie or coming from an intermediate route & there's no second chance. So, you have to make it count & mock interviews will be your savior. For some of you, neoG interview might be your first interview experience. I strongly recommend you sit for as many interviews as you can before the actual interview.

how you should do mock interviews?

basics

Do not think of it as "just a mock" but rather as a "simulation of the real interview" and treat it seriously. Keep the following things in mind whether it be a mock or actual interview.

• System check. Make sure you check your mic & sound.

• Be early. Join the call at least 5-10 min early to avoid the last-minute rush.

• Setup your dev environment. Setup your IDE. It can be code sandbox, repl, or your vscode.

what to ask?

Make sure you introduce each other at the start of the interview.

There are different types of questions that are going to be asked in the levelOne interview. So, make sure you cover all the variants of questions.

• live coding: Interviews contain a time constraint of 15-20 minutes. So, one live coding question should take 4-5 mins to solve but if you are stuck on the question make sure you take your time to solve it even after the interview whether it be a mock or real one.

  • Don't just rely on the sample questions from the build exercises instead try to have a combination of the following:

    • One question from the build repository

    • One small exercise that you have already solved in levelZero

• code walkthrough. Interviewees should be able to explain the code of any of the projects which are taught in levelZero.

• theory questions. Make sure you are thorough with theoretical questions & try to explain them in your own words.

Tip: For your first mock interview practice normally and then with time constraints.

tips for interviewers

Make sure you go through the interview format before questioning the interviewee & try to ask a variety of questions. As mentioned in the guide there will be multiple types of questions that will test your levelZero knowledge.

Here are few pointers for an effective mock interview:

• You should ask about the interviewee's background i.e. which route they are choosing & ask accordingly.

• You should have an idea about what kind of questions you would like to ask by going through the candidate's portfolio prior to the mock interview as it would ensure the smooth flow of the interview.

• While solving any live coding question give them the preference to choose which language they would prefer i.e React or Javascript.

• You should nudge the candidate in the right direction when they are stuck or nervous whether it be a live coding question or conceptual question.

• You should help the interviewee while communicating & try to make them comfortable. Ask them about "How was your day?", "How have you been doing?" & introduce yourself.

• You should also take feedback from the interviewee around "How can you improve?", "What you could have done better to help the candidate?". Take it positively & try to implement it in the next interview.

tips for interviewees

Don't take the mock interview lightly & make sure you are prepared well which will help you to have a productive & helpful session.

Here are few pointers for an effective mock interview:

• Communication. You should keep communicating with the interviewer as much as possible. Let the interviewer know about your thought process & approach while solving a question.

• Make a habit of thinking out loud while coding. If you are stuck somewhere, tell the interviewer what are you thinking. Ask for help or hints.

• Make a list of theory questions to practice before the mock interview.

after the interview

This is applicable for both the interviewer & interviewee

It is always good to initiate a conversation about your web dev journey, level zero experience, or anything in general, don't wait till levelOne to build your network, you'll be surprised to know how awesome the teamtanay community is.

You should take time to reflect back about your mock interview experience by writing a Twitter thread or a blog on your key takeaways, learnings & mistakes you learnt.

where can you find the right person?

I have got you a tool that will help you find the right person & schedule a mock interview in just a go. Get Interview Ready with Mocky. You can open your slots anytime & schedule slots as per your convenience.

Mocky has reduced the friction of finding the right person to practice the interviews. Last year students have been through the pain of searching for people to interview with, reaching out to them & scheduling a meet with mutual convenience but now the process of scheduling mock interviews has become easy & sleek with Mocky. So, try to schedule a meet & interview with as many people as you can on Mocky.

So, if you haven't practiced for your interviews yet. Start today & book your slots using Mocky.

Shoutout to the OG Poornima Reddy (@Moony_codes) who wrote the mother of all the threads on how to do mock interviews on Twitter.

And thanks to Prerana Nawar for building mocky single handedly. Gives me absolute pleasure that a 17 year girl can code an entire app alone after doing levelOne.

You are receiving this email because you filled out your details into a form somewhere in the past six months, a waitlist form for neoG Camp's 2022 batch. If you didn't do that, or if you are not interested anymore. Feel free to unsubscribe by pressing the button below.

why are we late?

You filled the waitlist form maybe months back, and then you kept thinking, "Maybe I am rejected, maybe they are not accepting applications anymore. Maybe I was too late." I got DMs asking about these things, and none of this is true. We are late because we are a small team right now and the waitlist grew long. When we initially did neoG Camp we thought 300 would be a big number & then the waitlist went to 6000+ people. Thank you, for that. ❤️

So, we have to prepare ourselves to give everyone a fair chance and while this preparation was going on, we should have communicated. But we failed there. We thought, "We'll be ready in June and we'll send the email then." But we weren't ready. Then we thought the same in July and again in August and we kept pushing. So, we are to be blamed, we know we have made a mistake. We know we have kept you in anxiety. And, I'm sorry for that.

Lesson learnt: It's better to communicate that you're running late than thinking I'll show up just 15 minutes late and no one will notice.

what's the news?

The news is that admissions are finally open, and we are ready to process everyone. It doesn't mean that all 6000 people would get a seat in the camp. No, we can't do that but we want to give everyone a fair chance, a fair shot to the camp. I'm going to talk more about the limited seats, the first come first serve basis & how we are doing to it. We will keep corresponding through emails, and now that this blog cum newsletter is set up, I'll keep sending you these heart-to-heart letters. You can talk to me I can talk to you, and we'll keep doing this.

Coming back to the point in hand, admissions are open now. You can register yourself, signing the waitlist doesn't mean that you are into the camp, it just made us send you this letter. The next step is to go and sign up on the admission portal. Your signup signals us that you're still interested in joining the camp and that we should prepare for your arrival.

When you sign up on the admission portal and when you get in, you will see a mark15 checklist which you need to complete, and everything is mentioned there in the portal.

Start working on completing the checklist. Once the checklist is done submit it into the portal itself. The deadline for submitting your final portfolio is 30th September 2021. If I were you I would go now and register on the portal, and start working on the admission checklist. I am waiting for you and your final submission.

not a beginner?

We know that a lot of people are intermediate web developers, people who have been doing web development for one year, two years, three years, or more. But they can still benefit a ton from the camp because it covers a lot more. Similarly, roc8 alumni are interested too.

These two (non-beginners) have a different admission route. You will get all of those details on the admissions page.

thank you

Now, it's time to say goodbye. I promise I'll keep coming back more and more because we have tons to share with you. I'm working a lot on how or what the camp will be, and it will be better. It will be definitely better. So we'll talk about the admission process, we'll talk about the six-month camp, the camp has changed from four months to six months and we will talk about what are the surprises? What are the new things in next year's camp? I'm excited! I hope you are excited about next year's camp as well.

queries?

If you have any questions, put your questions in the comment. There is a comment icon you will see below, use that and put the questions in the comment. If it's public, we will answer it on priority. If you are shy, if you feel, "I don't want to put my question in public", then you can just reply to this email, and that would work too.

are we landing in your spam?

The last thing is if this email landed anywhere else then move it to Inbox and mark it important. Mark the email address as important because we will keep coming back, I will keep talking to you about the camp about what's happening, so that you are as excited as I am.

will you tell us?

If you are excited, do tweet about it today, and tag @neogcamp (#neog2022) we would love to hear what you're thinking about the portal, about admissions, about the camp 2022.

Thank you for all your love. Never expected a small team would get this much love and demand, but it's all because of YOU. We are here. Thank you, until next time ❤️.

The waitlist has been growing but we were not able to communicate for long. Some of the email service providers we tried broke down, so we are moving to substack.

Whatever we build, we always believe in building in public. So, instead of only landing into your inbox, we will have a public blog to talk to you as well.

I have some amazing ideas about the neoG’22 batch. And I am dying to talk about it. This platform will give us a chance to talk heart-to-heart and build the next batch and the curriculum with you.

Even if you have signed up for the waitlist, or at the admission portal, I would request you to sign up here as well, so that we can start our communication.

Waiting for your signups,

Tanay Pratap

Your mentor