Last updated: October 24, 2026. Written by Josh Hutcheson, OnlineCourseing editor.
Update, October 24, 2026
BloomTech (formerly Lambda School) has closed. California’s Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education reports that the school closed on December 31, 2025, its last day of instruction (closure notice). Its website is still online, but do not enroll or pay through it. Parts of this page describe the school before it closed. For what it cost and what former students can do now, see our Lambda School cost guide.
QUICK VERDICT
What’s the Lambda School acceptance rate? There isn’t a published one. Lambda School — later BloomTech, which closed on December 31, 2025 — never released an official acceptance-rate percentage, and its admissions were relatively open compared with selective bootcamps: an application, a timed aptitude test, and (for the data-science track) a short skills challenge. So the honest answer isn’t a number — it’s that getting in was rarely the hard part. Getting a strong outcome was, which is exactly what the 2024 CFPB order was about.
If you’re searching for the “Lambda School acceptance rate,” you’re probably trying to gauge two things: how hard it is to get in, and whether it’s a serious, selective program. The short version is that admission was never the bottleneck — Lambda School (which rebranded to the Bloom Institute of Technology in 2022) used a relatively open, aptitude-based process rather than a competitive one. This guide walks through the actual admission steps, what “acceptance rate” really means for a bootcamp like this, and the 2024 regulatory action you should factor in before enrolling.
REGULATORY NOTICE
On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an order against BloomTech (formerly Lambda School) and founder/CEO Austen Allred. The Bureau found the company made deceptive claims about its income share agreements and its job-placement rates, and permanently banned it from consumer-lending activities. Allred was banned from student lending for ten years, and the two were fined $64,235 and $100,000. (CFPB enforcement action)
Admission in October 2026: closed. California regulators report BloomTech closed on December 31, 2025, so it no longer admits students. Its homepage still says students can “start any time” and graduate in 4–18 months; do not apply or pay through it. When we checked on 24 September 2026, tuition was $13,500 upfront or $19,000+ with deferred tuition, and the newest outcomes report it publishes covers 2022 graduates.
Is There a Real Lambda School Acceptance Rate?
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Unlike a university, Lambda School / BloomTech has never published an official acceptance-rate figure, so any specific percentage you see quoted online is a guess. What we can say from its published admissions process and years of student reporting is that the school ran a relatively open-enrollment model: the goal was to admit motivated applicants who passed a basic aptitude screen, not to filter down to a small, elite cohort. That’s a genuine trade-off. Open admission makes the program accessible to career-changers without a tech background — but it also means cohort quality and outcomes varied widely, because the entry bar did little to predict who would finish and get hired.
The Admission Process, Step by Step
Historically, getting into Lambda School / BloomTech involved four straightforward stages:
- Application. Applicants created an account and submitted basic personal and educational details — no essays, portfolio, or references required.
- Aptitude test. A timed cognitive aptitude test (the CCAT-style screen: roughly 50 questions in about 15 minutes) measuring verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning. Applicants didn’t need to answer every question — just as many as they could accurately.
- Skills challenge (data science track). Data-science applicants completed a short, timed skills challenge to confirm baseline quantitative comfort. Web-development applicants generally didn’t face a hard coding gate at entry.
- Enrollment & orientation. Admitted students verified education (a transcript, diploma, or GED — required in some states such as CA, DC, and TX), chose a start date, reviewed and signed the enrollment agreement, and attended an orientation before day one.
The whole process was designed to be low-friction. The program is no longer an option: the school closed on December 31, 2025.
How It Compares to Selective Bootcamps
It helps to see where Lambda School sat on the selectivity spectrum. Programs like Hack Reactor and App Academy have historically screened hard at the door — technical interviews, coding assessments, and single-digit or low-double-digit acceptance rates — on the theory that admitting only job-ready candidates props up their placement numbers. Lambda School took the opposite bet: cast a wide net, admit almost anyone who cleared a basic aptitude screen, and use the ISA to align incentives afterward. Neither model is inherently better, but they optimize for different things. A selective bootcamp’s high placement rate partly reflects who it let in; an open-enrollment school’s outcomes reflect how well it can actually teach a mixed-ability cohort. For a prospective student, that means a low bar to entry is not a selling point on its own — it shifts all the weight onto completion support and honest outcome reporting, the two areas where Lambda School was later found wanting.
Admission Was Easy — Outcomes Were the Real Test
Because admission was open, the number that actually matters isn’t how many people got in — it’s how many finished and got hired at the salaries the school advertised. That’s where the record is troubled. The CFPB found BloomTech’s marketed job-placement rates were not supportable, and independent reporting has documented completion and placement figures well below what was promoted for several cohorts. Getting accepted, in other words, tells you very little; the honest questions to ask are what percentage of a recent cohort finished, what percentage got a relevant job within six months, and at what salary — verified independently, not quoted from marketing.
Better-Documented Alternatives
If accessibility is what drew you to Lambda School, several open-enrollment options carry no financing risk and publish their outcomes. The IBM Data Science Professional Certificate accepts anyone, costs a small fraction of a bootcamp, and is transparent about what it is. Our guides to the best data science courses and best coding bootcamps compare cost and outcomes honestly, and our full BloomTech review covers the current state of the school in depth.
Lambda School Acceptance Rate — FAQ
Is it hard to get into Lambda School / BloomTech?
No, and it no longer admits anyone: the school closed on December 31, 2025. Admission was relatively open, based on a short aptitude test rather than a competitive selection process. There is no published acceptance rate, and getting in was rarely the difficult part — completing the program and getting hired was.
What is the Lambda School acceptance rate?
Lambda School / BloomTech has never published an official acceptance-rate figure. Any specific percentage circulating online is unverified. Its admissions model was open-enrollment with an aptitude screen, not a selective one.
What does the admissions test involve?
A timed cognitive aptitude test of roughly 50 questions covering verbal, numerical, and logical reasoning, plus a short skills challenge for data-science applicants. Some states also required applicants to verify prior education with a transcript, diploma, or GED.
Should I still apply?
No. BloomTech closed on December 31, 2025 and no longer admits students. For an open-enrollment start with published outcomes, see our best coding bootcamps guide or a self-paced certificate.
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