La vérité sur l’École 42 (Immersion)

Summary

Ugo Falzone documents his month-long “Piscine” entrance challenge at École 42, an intensive, project-based selection period. He describes it as both a demanding introduction to programming and a test of whether applicants can keep learning and working under pressure.

Learning structure

The first days cover shell commands, followed by exercises in C. Work is organized into daily modules—such as Shell 00, C 00, and C 01—with exercises generally completed and submitted in sequence. The assignments introduce programming fundamentals and build in difficulty.

How work is assessed

Submissions are checked by an automated program referred to in the subtitles as “the mill,” as well as by other students. Applicants earn correction points by reviewing peers’ work and spend points when requesting corrections. The selection criteria are not fully disclosed; Ugo believes completed exercises and exam performance matter.

Exams and group projects

Weekly Friday exams test the material covered during the week. Most last four hours, while the final exam lasts eight hours. Weekend “rush” projects place students in randomly assigned teams to build a larger project, which is reviewed by existing 42 students.

Programming challenges

Ugo describes struggling with C exercises, debugging, and meeting code standards. One example is implementing atoi, which converts a string to an integer. He also receives a zero on an exercise after accidentally using a prohibited function.

Peer learning

Collaborative problem-solving is a central feature of the Piscine. Students explain concepts, help debug one another’s code, and correct each other’s submissions, even while competing for limited places.

The experience

The video also shows the practical conditions of the challenge: students work very long hours, sleep in on-campus capsule-style dorms, and have limited opportunities to rest. Ugo reports fatigue, stress, and periods of self-doubt, alongside strong friendships and a sense of rapid personal and technical growth.

Outcome and retrospective

Ugo scores 72/100 on the final exam after staying for seven hours. In a later update, he says he completed 42’s common core and describes the school as a positive social and educational experience. He recommends trying the Piscine while emphasizing how intense it is.

Guide or tutorial content

There is no standalone coding tutorial or product review. The video does provide an informal guide to the Piscine’s workflow: completing ordered assignments, submitting code for automated and peer correction, earning correction points, preparing for exams, and working on team-based rush projects.

Main speakers and sources

• Ugo Falzone — narrator and participant.
• Other École 42 Piscine students, especially Maël, Guillaume (“Guigui”), Basil, Arthur, and others — discuss the work, offer help, and share their experiences.
• École 42’s automated correction system — referenced as the program that checks submitted exercises.