Reporting in after the eval.
For context, in the 4 days before my pre-course eval, I spent two hours a day doing the entire pre-course eval checklist, and the listed JavaScript problems. Since I already have programming experience, I did not read much of the pre-course materials (I should have), and the pre-course eval checklist was not that difficult. However, I wanted to leave no room for error.
About 2 hours before my eval, I also ran through the entire pre-course eval checklist and most of the JavaScript problems again.
When I joined my evaluation, I realized it was a group cohort evaluation, and other people joining were future cohort mates.
We were tasked with working on the evaluation on our own (which seemed odd to me), and then the sole instructor would periodically check in on each of us as we started our progress.
Given I had already prepared, I breezed through it. When the instructor joined my room, he saw the progress I made and passed me right then, rather than having to complete the rest of the challenge. I only got about as far as rendering server data on the client before I was cleared.
The indicator I took away was not having a complete "correct" solution, but making substantial progress while showing good decision-making skills.
A minor error I had was that my server data was not rendering on the client at one point. After brief troubleshooting, I realized I simply forgot to include cors in my express middleware. Troubleshooting that in real time probably showed some good debugging skills. Bugs are chances to prove yourself!
Next step is indexing on LeetCode and algorithms to over-prepare before starting the bootcamp. I received a full tuition scholarship for Fractal, so the only cost for me was affording food and rent to live in NYC for 3 months, which made attending a no-brainer.
Having worked at one enterprise company and multiple startups, I would like to target FAANG companies instead of startups. I believe practicing LeetCode is the best thing I can do to reach that goal while taking full advantage of the bootcamp's opportunities.
My goal is to finish the bootcamp early with a FAANG or Big N offer. Let's see how that works.