Written by Daniel Kim
We’ve all been there: sitting in front of an application, staring at the short answer questions, and having no idea what to write. “Why are you interested?”, “What makes you special?”, “Why should we accept you?”. It’s the worst thing to write and the best thing to procrastinate.
Though it might seem challenging, writing a strong application is essential for advancing your career. Opportunities like job positions, organizations, and events like hackathons typically require participants to submit applications. Applying to a hackathon can therefore feel intimidating because there’s no clear-cut rubric for what organizers will expect.
We want to simplify this process for you so that you can confidently apply to HackUTD or any other hackathon. As the largest university hackathon in Texas, we receive over 2,500 applications from students with all levels of experience.
If you’re worried that only the most skilled applicants get accepted, let us reassure you that this is not true. We love seeing participants from all skill levels and backgrounds compete at HackUTD, so we encourage everyone to apply! Keep reading and you’ll learn what makes a strong hackathon application, as well as some insight into the minds of our very own organizers.
Why are hackathons important? And why should you care to come?
Most of you probably already know what a hackathon is. But for those that don’t, hackathons are a great way to meet motivated individuals who share similar interests, build cool projects that could even develop into a startup (see GroupMe), and meet recruiters face-to-face in a uniquely charged environment. Over typically 24 hours, hackathons are centered around you and a team, building a project to present to judges by the end of it.
Hackathons are also a great opportunity to meet motivated individuals (and potential friends!) through the various events and spaces designed for you to meet people. There will also be resources to guide you such as our workshops and mentors, giving you an excellent opportunity to learn.
Why does your application matter?
Because spots are limited, it is simply not possible to accept everyone who applies. To make sure that you don’t miss out on the great events that we have planned, we encourage you to put effort into creating the best application you can!
Approaching the Short Answer Questions
This is the most important part of your application. You need to show the organizers that you want to come to this event to learn, and that you have a passion for tackling unique challenges and creating impactful solutions.
Hackathons are all about solving real-world problems. Therefore, it is of utmost importance that your writing conveys a genuine interest in solving the problems presented at the hackathon.
In this next section, we will go over some general advice in answering our questions.
Question 1: Why do you want to attend HackUTD's Hackathon?
There are a few ways to go about answering this question.
Resourcefulness and Passion This is an opportunity to showcase your enthusiasm for building meaningful projects, learning, and going outside of your comfort zone. We prioritize applicants who are motivated because it shows that they’re not applying to the hackathon just because everyone else is.
A strong indication of a motivated individual is someone who is looking forward to meeting new people, solving complex problems, and growing as a student. Another aspect that we look for is resourcefulness. We favor applicants who are ready to learn and engage with our workshops and mentors.
— Here’s an exercise you can try to find your source of motivation:
Think about a time you took a random deep dive into learning something new such as web development, machine learning, python projects, etc. Use these bursts of inspiration to pinpoint where your true desire for programming lies.
Problem-solving and Impact Organizers love seeing applicants who show that they are driven to solve specific problems. A few areas of interest include healthcare, sustainability, education, social justice, and mental health. Think about what could motivate you to make an impact. Your solution doesn’t have to be profound, but it’s a great way to separate your application from the rest.
But what if I’ve never coded before?
Even if you’ve never coded a single line, don’t be discouraged. Hackathons have tons of resources, from workshops of experienced speakers to mentors who can help answer any questions you may have about your project. There will be many opportunities to try new things and have a lot of fun, no matter who you are or what your background is.
Question 2: If you haven’t been to a hackathon, what do you hope to learn from HackUTD Ripple Effect?
There is no expectation for you to be some sort of genius. On the contrary, we want our attendees to have a passion for overcoming challenges and a desire to learn new technologies. This question gives you a chance to highlight not only what the gaps in your knowledge are, but also your desire to fill them.
As Abigail Adams once said:
Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence
Question 3: What are you looking forward to at HackUTD Ripple Effect?
To have a solid application, you must be able to clearly articulate what you are hoping to gain from the experience. We look for applicants who are driven by a strong sense of purpose. Whether you want to improve your coding skills via our workshops, collaborate with a team, learn from company representatives and sponsors, or make connections with like-minded individuals, clearly outlining your motivation for attending will help your application stand out.
When tackling this question, we want to see a strong sense of purpose. You could have any reason for attending, but make sure to convey it thoughtfully in your response.
Final Remarks
Tl;dr we’re looking for people who are truly passionate about attending HackUTD and building something cool over the weekend. If you’ve built a website from scratch, that’s awesome. But if you haven’t ever touched code, that’s okay too! We want to know what drives you, what you’re interested in, and what makes you want to spend an entire weekend at school with barely any sleep just to build a project.
The best applications we’ve seen are genuine and honest. We’ve had amazing applications from a freshman biology major and horrible applications from a senior who’s done 3 internships already. Keep it real, keep it clear, and keep it you. That’s how you truly stand out.
We hope that we were able to provide some insight into what makes a good application, and we look forward to reading your submission. That’s all for today, until next time!
Apply at hackutd.co/register
-HackUTD ❤