Differences Between campuses

What is 42 exactly?

42 is a tuition-free school that was created in 2013 in Paris, France. There are two 'official' campuses, the original 2013 one in Paris and 42 Silicon Valley located in Fremont, California that opened up in 2016. 42 has its roots in a French for proit EPITA/Epitech curriculum and way of doing things, starting with C and re-inventing the wheel. Other than the two original ones, the other campuses such as Codam in the Netherlands, or 21 in Russia that follow the same curriculum & pedagogy as the two main campuses.

Is 42 Paris the same as 42 Silicon Valley?

No. 42 Paris operates quite differently than 42 Silicon Valley. For starters, 42 Paris has way more applicants and active students compared to 42 Silicon Valley. The competition is so much more fierce they are at least somewhat known in Paris and have a decent reputation.

They operate quite differently though, with the Bocal being more of a clique and well known for having trolling behavior during some events. 42 Paris, for their Piscine, also has these weird rules and events that are pretty eccentric, such as the battleship game which kicks people out during exams. There's also the rule that if a phone rings during an exam, they shut down everyone's computers in that row. 42 Silicon Valley doesn't really have any of those shenanigans coming from the Bocal or in general.

In fact, 42 Silicon Valley was actually quite behind, with a revamp in the curriculum sometime in 2018/2019, all other schools and 42 Paris had already upgraded to it. 42 Silicon Valley was actually behind for a year or two before the decision to finally update was made in early 2020.

Living situation

42 Paris doesn't have dorms for either Pisciners or students. They require you to provide housing for yourself though in the past many Pisciners did sleep within the campus on the ground or in the labs. 42 Silicon Valley has free dorms after a refundable security deposit of $42 for the Piscine and $84 for accepted students. There is also WiFi in the dorms but I've heard many problems with it being spotty or not working on occasion.

Since both cities are somewhat expensive, 42 Silicon Valley makes it a bit easier for more frugal-type people to have an opportunity to learn. At both campuses, the labs are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Though some restrictions might be in place currently due to Covid.

How many people actually finish the program?

At 42 Paris, there's been at least some amount of people who finish the program while at 42 Silicon Valley, only one known person has finished. As an important side note, however, most people leave in around a year for jobs or other interests. Speaking pragmatically, there really isn't a use for a certificate that holds no weight compared to an actual STEM degree, let alone a CS/CE degree. It takes about 3-5 years to finish the curriculum on average but since it's self-paced it can be done faster.