

Startup school emails sent - pg

We just sent out the responses to startup school applications.  If you didn't get one, check your spam folder. Or check here:<p>http://news.ycombinator.com/susrsvp<p>Unfortunately even though we have a bigger auditorium this time, we got even more applications, so once again we had to reject lots of people we would have liked to accept.
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frisco
I got the email and used the link to RSVP -- but then when I visited the link
later, I got the "Sorry to say we didn't accept this application" message. Is
this a bug stemming from the application somehow being marked as completed and
being taken out of the 'active' list, or some such?

Edit: I _did_ get the "See you there!" message when I RSVP'd as "Yes"
initially. It only gave me the rejection message when I went back to /susrsvp
after that.

~~~
lsc
huh. I got the message, but when I went to RSVP it immediately said "We're
sorry to say we didn't accept this application. We had more than twice as many
applications as there are seats in the auditorium, so unfortunately we had to
reject a lot of people we would have liked to accept."

So I'm wondering if I should show up or not?

~~~
iamwil
Same here. I'm guessing that the link only counts the number of accesses, and
pg didn't think that people who either didn't get the acceptance email or
didn't apply to go to the link above--hence filling up the count queue.

So those of us on the east coast probably woke up to acceptance emails and
rejection rsvps.

~~~
mrduncan
That sounds like the most logical explanation since it sounds like some people
who received acceptance emails saw the acceptance message and then later were
seeing the rejection message. I really hope that acceptance emails weren't
sent out to people who were rejected.

Either way, I'm sure it'll all get cleared up today once the west coast wakes
up.

~~~
subbu4
i'm hoping that's the case too... pretty cruel way to treat entrepreneurs if
it's not a bug...

~~~
n2linux
Yeah, I was super duper excited when I saw that email this morning. It would
be pretty cruel if I couldn't go due to an error.

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smanek
I just booked a (two bed) hotel room at a nearby Hilton
([http://www.hiltongardeninn.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyh...](http://www.hiltongardeninn.com/en/gi/hotels/index.jhtml?ctyhocn=SFOBBGI))
that is about 1/2 way between SF and Berkeley.

It cost me ~$90/night. If anyone wants to split the room they can have one of
the beds for $45/night (comparable to the cheapest couches on airbnb, except
you get a bed, maid, towels, and all the amenities of a hotel).

I'm arriving Friday and leaving Monday so, all else being equal, a room mate
for all three nights would be preferred.

Email me (address in profile) if you're interested.

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treyp
If you don't mind me asking, how many did you guys end up accepting?

Edit: total number of applications received would be useful, too, if you don't
mind revealing it.

~~~
pg
840/1581

~~~
blasdel
Could you give any background on your sorting algorithm?

What about stats on news.yc participation in the population?

~~~
borism
Giving it out wouldn't make much sense :)

People will start to chase parameters YC looked at this year but the selection
algo will probably change next year.

~~~
blasdel
I don't know about that, for instance I suspect that a significant number of
accepted applicants aren't news.yc participants at all -- how are you going to
game that?

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quellhorst
I got an accepted email, yet a denied RSVP link.

"We're sorry to say we didn't accept this application. We had more than twice
as many applications as there are seats in the auditorium, so unfortunately we
had to reject a lot of people we would have liked to accept."

~~~
funkenblatt
Me too. Is there somebody we should contact about this?

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steilpass
Would love to come. But can't afford the Europe <=> California plane ticket.

~~~
Oompa
I'm limited by money as well. Perhaps startup school scholarships?

~~~
jf
I'm interested in helping fund scholarships.

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huyegn
I didn't get an email but got an 'Ok see you there' when using the above link.
Is this a standard response for everyone or does this mean I'm in?

~~~
pg
If you saw that it means you're in.

~~~
stanleydrew
So anyone could just hit the rsvp url and submit the form and be in? Is that
why tons of us who received acceptance emails are now seeing rejection notices
on the rsvp page? Cause our spots were taken by people who happened to be
awake and found the rsvp url? Seems more than a little unfair.

Edit: Nevermind, works now. Thanks!
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=871433>

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joez
PG, will there be wifi? I believe you need credentials to access 'AirBears.'
Maybe it is possible to talk to the school to get temporary credentials that
could be shared?

~~~
pg
The CSUA guys are working on it. They seem very organized, so I'm hopeful.

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balintmiklos
Is there a possibility to check by email address? For me it says that "We have
no record of an application from you." and didn't get an email...

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rodyancy
Bummer. I was not accepted. I guess that is what I get for having a non-
technical background (attorney). At least it is streamed!

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apsurd
I suppose this question will get asked sooner or later:

How are credentials validated? Will we be emailed a personal unique
identifier? A printable pass?

Did I forget that I had to submit my driver license number upon joining HN a
year ago?

Do tell!

(p.s. thanks HN for being a continued asset to hacker-entrepreneur-
extraordinaires)

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daryn
Really looking forward to attending this year! I've spent a lot of time
working at other people's startups, as well as working on my own, and these
speakers are a great inspiration.

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darwinrlo3
I received an acceptance email at darwinrlo@gmail.com but have since forgotten
my password. My username is darwinrlo. How do I go about getting my password
reset?

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jmtame
hosting here: <http://www.airbnb.com/groups/startupschool>

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theli0nheart
Around what time do things wrap up on Saturday? Not sure what time I should
book my flight...

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chrischen
Wish I lived in California :(

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Mistone
yes so stoked to get the email this morning. thanks guys. now how to hack my
way into the presenter parties?

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tomjen2
You guys are doing a good job, but you really need to get YC to scale more -
you are leaving money on the table for each startup you don't found.

At put together a book with the most common stuff startups need to know (your
essays are good, but they don't have a list of recommended lawyers, how to
incorporate, etc).

~~~
pg
We are trying to scale. We funded 8 startups in summer 2005, and 26 this
summer. We just have to scale gradually, so that we have time to fix the
bottlenecks as we find them.

Also: <http://www.paulgraham.com/angelinvesting.html#f2n>

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dnsworks
If anybody needs a couch to crash on, I've got one free in SOMA, just a couple
of blocks from BART.

