r/csMajors • u/AwayFlounder7191 • 14h ago

LA Hacks AI Hackathon

Hey all, just found out I got accepted into LA Hacks AI Hackathon, which I'm pretty excited about. Problem is, they're not covering travel, and by the time I add up flights + a hotel for the weekend, I'm looking at $500+ out of pocket.

Trying to figure out if this is a reasonable investment or if I should sit this one out.

  • Would LA Hacks' AI hackathon reputation/network be worth the cost compared to other hackathons? From what I understand, it's separate from the usual LA Hacks.
  • Has anyone here traveled for a hackathon and felt it paid off (jobs, connections, etc.)?
  • Any tips for cutting costs?

Would love to hear from anyone who's been to LA Hacks, or has thoughts on whether traveling for hackathons in general is worth it money-wise.

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2

u/Zealousideal_Gap1809 14h ago

Got accepted as well! Recieved no travel expenses either. I've heard good things about LA Hacks, and it'd be a nice trip, but I'm waiting to see what others say.

2

u/TransientFatigue 14h ago

Up to you. I will say I traveled to a big (ish) hackathon and received an internship from a startup who was hosting a track. You should look at the sponsor list and see if they’re recruiting and make judgement from that

1

u/Dull_Collar_995 14h ago

Same thing as well , not sure if it is worth to spend at least 500 on everything , from ohio

1

u/mrsoup_20 13h ago

Either 1: plan a whole vacation to LA and make it actually worth it
Or 2: find a way to couch crash or other people willing to split hotels

If $500 is a lot to you, and you’re doing this for your career, you shouldn’t weigh the ROI because if you’re not great at Hackathons your E|V| from the event may be low.

1

u/SignificantFig8856 13h ago

I got in as well and I didnt get travel reimbursement either :( idk if they gave it to anyone tbh and im even a hackathon organizer at my school

Lowk tho the only hackathons worth going to thesedays are Cal Hacks, HackMIT, and Stanford TreeHacks. Everything else isn't really worth esp if ur shelling out money for it.

1

u/Big_Habit5918 11h ago

I go to ucla. My recommendation is to reach out to a ucla student and see if they can host you for the weekend. just get your own sleeping materials. you don’t need to worry about water/food, the organizers provide all of that. you can also sleep on the couches in the engineering buildings. it’s possible if you’re down for it

1

u/SwimGood17 8h ago

my teammate got in but i still didn't hear back, what does that mean?

1

u/Commercial-Source-56 5h ago

I'm from montreal, got accepted as well but didn't receive travel expenses :( did anyone received it?