I got kicked out of the MLH Fellowship: My 1-day experience as an MLH Fellow

If you’re immersed in the world of computer science, hackathons, or internships, you’ve likely heard of Major League Hacking, commonly known as MLH. If not, MLH is an organization that focuses on the development and promotion of hackathon events worldwide. Additionally, it has a program called MLH Fellowship, similar to an internship but entirely remote. In this program, participants can work on projects for major technology companies such as Google or Meta. The MLH Fellowship offers various tracks, including Software Engineering, Site Reliability Engineering, and Web3 Engineering.

This opportunity may seem ideal for starting a career in the technology field, although the reality may present some challenges.

My Application Process

Let’s talk about how I applied to the Fellowship, the application process, interviews, etc.

Before applying to the Fall 2023 batch, I had applied in previous years without success, as at that time, I lacked projects and experience, leading to almost instant rejection. After preparing myself, completing various projects, building my professional website, and enhancing my LinkedIn profile, I decided to apply again.

I filled out the application form on June 10, 2023, providing my basic information, programming language skills, the track of interest, and why I wanted to join the Fellowship. Some questions were essay-type, so I made sure to express my passion for the Fellowship, especially for MLH and technology. After submitting the form, I received an email confirming my application.

On June 19, I received an email stating that they were reviewing my application. Despite feeling nervous, on June 27, I received an email to schedule my first interview.

I scheduled it as soon as possible and prepared to talk about myself, which was the main focus of the interview. On that day, they asked me only a few basic questions to verify my eligibility for the Fellowship and others to understand if I was genuinely passionate about being part of this experience. Despite feeling that the conversation wasn’t as smooth as I would have liked, and the time was quite short, a significant amount of time passed until one day I received an email asking me to submit another project. For this batch, they were only considering projects in Python, JavaScript, or TypeScript (the one I had submitted was an Android application in Kotlin). I submitted a project I had worked on at a hackathon where I developed the frontend in TypeScript.

A day after submitting the project, I received an email to schedule the second interview. I couldn’t believe it; imposter syndrome affected me a bit, and I thought I wouldn’t make it. However, I scheduled the interview and prepared to explain the two projects I had submitted. This part was a bit challenging because I wasn’t very familiar with TypeScript, so I had to learn a bit more. During this process, I received help from a friend, with whom I had some mock interviews to practice how this interview would be (special mention to Felipe who helped me).

On August 10, I had the second interview. There were some issues because I couldn’t hear my interviewer very well, but I managed to explain both projects, and he asked questions only about the project done with TypeScript. They were basic questions about the significance of the project, what I would have done differently, and similar topics, which I believe I answered well. At the end of the interview, I felt more relaxed, knowing that even if I didn’t make it, I had come quite far.

On that same day, I received a form to learn more about which project they could assign me. Now, it was just a matter of finding out if I would get a match for any project.

Again, the wait was a bit long, and I started thinking that I might have been rejected. However, on September 8, I received an email that made me quite happy. While I wasn’t accepted, I made it to the waiting list, which, in my opinion, was quite an accomplishment. Now, all that was left was to wait and see if they would assign me to any project.

At this point, the start date of the Fellowship (September 18) had already passed, so I thought I had been rejected. However, a few days later, on September 27, I received the news: I was going to be an MLH Fellow. I couldn’t believe it; I was thrilled that all the effort I had dedicated throughout the year had paid off, and I was finally seeing the results. I knew it wasn’t easy to get into these kinds of programs, and yet, I had achieved it.

I was excited and filled out everything they requested to be part of the Fellowship. During those days, I completed all the pending tasks because I knew it would be a challenge to be in the Fellowship and handle my university or home tasks, so I made a concerted effort to start the Fellowship fresh, with no pending tasks, and with my life clean and organized.

It’s worth mentioning that everything happened very quickly. I was accepted on September 27, and the Fellowship started on October 2. On October 1, I was given access to the Fellowship platform, so I spent time reviewing everything to be ready for the first day.

The first day was exciting. I had the welcome meeting at 12:00 PM, so I connected at that time and got to know my fellow participants and the group leader. To my surprise, there were only four fellows. We introduced ourselves, did some activities, and were welcomed to the Fellowship. I was thrilled, and that day I returned home early to work on what had been assigned to me.

The Tragedy

Unfortunately, not everything was joyful. Throughout the application process, there were some things that made the experience less pleasant, such as the long waiting times, something I understood given that it’s an internship for which thousands of students worldwide apply. However, one of the things that surprised me the most upon acceptance is that they did not take into account what I had indicated in the application forms. I had stated that I was available from 4:00 PM to 11:00 PM (CDMX time), which was 7 hours of availability, meeting the requirement of being available for at least 30 hours per week.

Despite this, they scheduled meetings at times when I was not available (group meetings were at 12:00 PM) and assigned me to the part-time fellowship (20 hours per week). Additionally, it was mentioned that the total pay was $5,000; however, I was only offered $1,173 for the entire internship. I partly understood that the pay depended on the living area, intended for housing or general expenses during the internship. This amount still needed to deduct the U.S. government taxes for receiving foreign payment, which were 10% of the total if the tax form was correctly filled out; otherwise, it could go up to 30%. It’s worth mentioning that there is no notice or advice provided on how to fill it out, and this process is entirely on one’s own.

Since it was challenging for me to attend meetings at that time due to my class schedule, I asked my Pod Leader if any changes could be made. I hoped for a response based on their experience or guidance on what to do if changing the meetings was not possible. The message I sent was as follows:

hi, me again, I wanted to know if it is possible to change the time of the pod meetings, in the application and in the survey for the project I had answered that I could more or less 6 pm to 1 am ET time, I do not have so much problem on Fridays but Monday and Wednesday if I am a little complicated, I also have availability earlier on those days if it could not affect anyone.

Contrary to what I expected, I received an email from the Program Manager of the Fellowship mentioning the scheduling conflict I had. They acknowledged the conflict but stated that it couldn’t be changed because it would impact the entire program and would be a violation of the Fellowship agreement I signed. Consequently, they made the decision to remove me from the program.

Hey Brandon,

Charbel mentioned that you were unable to make Monday and Wednesday stand ups due to a time conflict and requested if the time could be moved. The pod time was stated in your offer of admission and again in your Fellowship Agreement, and cannot be changed as it impacts the entire team including MLH Staff. Missing two of your stand ups a week would be a violation of your fellowship agreement which requires you to be online during your pod meeting time and meet 90% attendance throughout the program.

We have therefore made the decision to remove you from the program. You will receive a letter to that effect this week. Best of luck this fall, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

This happened on only the second day, and I felt terrible because, as I mentioned earlier, being in the Fellowship meant a lot to me. Knowing that all my efforts had been worthwhile, and all of it was shattered by simply acknowledging that joining was challenging, not impossible.

I understood their response up to the point where it affected the entire program, making it difficult to change the meeting time. However, I hoped they would consult with me to see if there was anything I could do to be available and participate in the meetings. Perhaps give me some notice if there was something I could do, or else, they would have to remove me from the program. Unfortunately, their decision was immediate and without knowing the circumstances.

I felt bad that a simple question had led to this situation, so I tried to clarify the situation:

Hi Will, I mentioned to Charbel that it was a bit complicated for me to attend at that time, but not that it was impossible for me and that if there was a possibility to change it in such a way that it would not affect anyone, I quote the message:

“hi, me again, I wanted to know if it is possible to change the time of the pod meetings, in the application and in the survey for the project I had answered that I could more or less 6 pm to 1 am ET time, I do not have so much problem on Fridays but Monday and Wednesday if I am a little complicated, I also have availability earlier on those days if it could not affect anyone.”

I understand that it can’t be changed and I also understand that I signed the Fellowship Agreement, I don’t want to cause problems and I also wouldn’t want to leave the program, I am really interested in being in the program, so far everything has been amazing, yesterday at the kickoff session I loved meeting my fellows and Charbel, I am also really interested in what’s next, so with this I hope you can reconsider my staying in the program.

However, their decision remained firm. As context, they mentioned that they had previously encountered such situations where other fellows couldn’t complete the internship due to time conflicts.

Hi Brandon,

Thanks for the response. While we appreciate your context, the time conflict you mentioned will prevent you from fully engaging during the program. We have seen in the past that fellows in this position are unable to fully contribute and end up rapidly falling behind.

Given this, our decision stands to remove you from the program. You were a strong applicant and are welcome to re-apply for our Spring semester if there’s no timing complication, but this Fall is not the right time.

Clearly, I didn’t want to be excluded due to a single question. As I mentioned before, I could have made changes to focus on the Fellowship and be available for the meetings. So, I reached out to the CEO of MLH, where I explained the situation, hoping that they could reconsider and provide another perspective. This was the message I sent:

Hi Mike,

I hope you are doing well, sorry to bother you, I know you are very busy, but there is a situation I would like to mention to you.

Recently, I was accepted into the MLH Fellowship Fall batch, specifically Batch B which started on Monday October 2, everything was going really cool, I was very excited about this opportunity and was learning a lot about the Fellowship Handbook, I participated in the kickoff session and it was great to meet my fellow Fellows and pod leader and learn more about them.

However, some problems arose, the meetings were scheduled at a time that I had already indicated I was not available, I asked Charbel (the pod leader) if there was any possibility to change the meeting time in a way that would not affect anyone, I clarified that it was difficult for me to join at that time, although not impossible, and that I was willing to adjust my commitments in order to be able to participate.

Unfortunately, after my conversation with Charbel, I received an email from Will Russel where he mentioned what we had discussed, he pointed out that it was not possible to change the meeting schedule due to its impact on the whole team, furthermore, he mentioned that this was in violation of the Fellowship Agreement that I had signed, where it states that I need to have at least 90% attendance to graduate from the program, consequently, he suggested that it would be better for me to be removed from the program.

I tried to clarify my situation, explaining that although it was difficult for me to join the meetings at that time, it was not impossible for me to do so, I was willing to reconsider my stay in the program and adapt to the circumstances, unfortunately, Will informed me that there had already been other fellows with similar problems and that his decision to remove me from the program still stood.

This situation saddens me deeply, as I have put a lot of effort into being part of this program and I am convinced that my participation can add significant value to my career at this time. Furthermore, it pains me that a seemingly simple question, which I decided to ask the pod leader thinking that I could be confident in resolving these types of issues with him before resorting to other venues, has escalated to this point. I had hoped to be able to address these issues with confidence within the team, but I feel that that confidence has been lost, now, instead of confidence, I feel afraid to ask any questions for fear of being removed from the program if I am accepted into another edition of the program.

I recognize the importance of the agreements, but I think we could have gone deeper into the issue before deciding to expel me from the program, it would have been possible to discuss my schedule constraints in detail and find solutions to avoid problems without having to leave the program, during my time here, I have learned a lot and I am convinced that I can still learn a lot more in the future.

I wanted to share with you a little more about this situation and find out if it is still possible to reconsider my stay in the program. In case it is not possible, I appreciate your attention. I would also like to express my gratitude to the entire MLH Fellowship team for the support and attention they have given me so far, again, thank you and I hope to have the opportunity to get in touch again soon.

However, their response was also not what I expected:

Hey, Brandon —

Appreciate you reaching out. I’m sorry to hear that you feel like our team didn’t give your situation the consideration you feel it warranted. While I was not involved in the decision and can’t speak with 100% certainty, I know how seriously our team takes removing people from the program and would be surprised if they did not exhaust every possibility before reaching the conclusion that this was the best path forward.

While I stand by my team’s decision, it does sound like there was opportunity for improved communication with you in multiple places, especially at how we arrived at this conclusion. I’m looping in the Fellowship team who can share some additional context that will hopefully help you understand the challenges we’ve faced in the past when fellows have competing priorities and scheduling conflicts to contextual our actions. Amanda, who runs the program, can also look into any opportunities for us to improve our team communication to ensure a better experience for future fellows.

I hope you reapply to the program in the future and we’re able to host you as a fellow then. Thanks again for your email!

After this experience, I reapplied for the Spring 2024 batch, but as of now, I haven’t received a rejection or an offer from MLH. Writing this blog and talking about this might make it seem like I harbor resentment towards the company for being removed on the first day of the Fellowship, but it’s quite the opposite. I still admire what MLH does for students, the support they provide in hackathons, and each of the events they organize to help thousands of students worldwide kickstart their careers in the technology field.

However, I find it important to highlight these issues because they showcase, from the applicant’s perspective, the negative experience that large companies like this can provide. Primarily, the lack of consideration for the responses of those applying to these positions. We understand that everyone wants to be accepted, but there should also be consideration for what we have to manage. That’s why we provide our availability hours, and decisions should be made based on that to avoid situations like this.

They should be clear on how stipends are chosen and how much will be offered before the application. Alongside availability issues, there may be additional expenses to consider, and a significant deviation from expectations can have a substantial impact on students.

Communication with the Fellows needs improvement. We are not just numbers measured in the success metrics of the Fellowship or MLH, replaceable at their discretion. We are people, just like MLH employees. It’s astonishing that a single question can lead to so much, and they couldn’t have closer contact before making the decision. They should consider that if they accepted someone into a program like this, it’s because they want them to succeed and complete it appropriately.

In addition, as I mentioned in the emails, decisions like these make Fellows question who they can truly trust. If a simple question from a Fellow escalates this way, how confidently can someone ask without fear of being removed from the Fellowship?

I hope that this blog sharing my experience serves to give MLH a broad perspective on how decisions like these significantly impact people’s lives and that they can improve in future editions of the MLH Fellowship. Also, I hope it serves as a guide for all students considering applying to the MLH Fellowship, so they can be aware of what they might face when applying for it.

2024 Update

I applied to the spring 2024 batch on September 22, 2023, and did not receive any news until January 27, 2024, which was just under 2 weeks before the batch was set to start. The email mentioned that after so many months, they were finally going to start reviewing my application, even though I had submitted it in the first few days after applications opened.

Almost 3 weeks later, on February 5 (one week after the batch started), I received an email to schedule my first interview.

I scheduled it as soon as I could because I was still hoping for some news from the fellowship. However, I was honestly feeling demotivated, and even though I felt I did better than in the first interview, I felt that things didn’t go well. The day after the interview, I received the news that I had been rejected, but it was something I expected, and I am completely fine with it.

I am currently in my last semester of college, so I do not plan on reapplying to the fellowship.

Thank you for reading my story. If you have any particular questions you can find me on social networks as @brandonhxrr.