Congratulations on your decision to apply to Lambda School! Choosing to enroll in one of our live, online programs is a big commitment, and we commend you on your decision to retrain for a new career in tech.

By now, you’ve created your Student Profile, chosen your track, completed the precourse work or aptitude tests, signed your Income Share Agreement or paid tuition, and agreed to the Student Guide. Only 7% of applicants reach this stage, so great job! You’re almost ready for your first day of class, but before you dive into the curriculum, there’s one more step: attending Lambda Launch. 

What is Lambda Launch? 

Lambda Launch is our student orientation program where new students receive an introduction to the Lambda School experience. During the orientation program, you’ll learn effective strategies for remote learning, be briefed on our academic expectations, get a crash course on how to use the technologies necessary for your course, and receive instructions for how to get help when you need it.

Other than completing the precourse work or aptitude tests for your chosen track, Lambda Launch is the most important way you can prepare to be successful at Lambda School. Please note that your attendance is mandatory, and failure to attend will result in you being dropped from the course.

Preparing for Lambda Launch

Like the rest of Lambda School’s curriculum, Lambda Launch takes place via Slack and Zoom – but you won’t use the same workspaces you used to complete the precourse work. You’ll receive an invitation to your new Lambda School Student Slack the Friday before orientation so you have plenty of time to sign in, check out the channels available for you to join, and begin to meet your new classmates. 

The Zoom video conferencing links you’ll use to join Lambda Launch events will be posted in either your specific cohort channel (e.g. web31) or your start date group channel (e.g. ls2003_full_time) five minutes before Launch begins. If you didn’t download Zoom for our precourse tutorials, please follow the instructions in your enrollment confirmation email to download the software. 

You’ll also need to be sure you have a quiet workspace where you can attend class, and a dependable internet connection so you’ll be ready to join Launch at the scheduled time. It’s a good idea to test your microphone and speakers ahead of time so you won’t be scrambling to fix connection issues at the last second. If you have questions about whether your computer or other equipment meets our specs, please refer to Lambda School’s FAQ.

What to expect on Launch Day

If you enrolled in a full-time program, you will begin Lambda Launch orientation at 8:00 am Pacific Time on Wednesday. Your Lambda Launch instructor will post a link to the video conferencing app Zoom in the Slack channel. When you click on the link your instructor and all of your classmates will join a video conference together. You'll be given an introduction for 30 minutes, have 30 minutes to review information and then have a 2 hour live lesson.

Lambda Launch is two days long for full-time courses, and you are required to attend both days as they cover different parts of the Lambda experience. In the afternoons on each of these days you'll have assignments to complete. Lambda Launch follows a similar schedule to a normal school day, which will help you get you used to the schedule and structure of Lambda School.If you enrolled in a part-time course, you will begin Lambda Launch orientation at your regular class time on Monday evening (either 4pm or 6pm Pacific). Your Lambda Launch instructor will post a link to the video conferencing app Zoom in the Slack channel when orientation is scheduled to begin.

Lambda Launch for part-time cohorts is three days long. You are required to attend all three days.

Welcome to Lambda School – See you at Lambda Launch!

Have additional questions about Lambda Launch or having trouble finding the Zoom link? Please email admissions@lambdaschool.com.