(I've visited and been a resident ... I guess I'm one of the non-high-profile ones). From my N=1 anecdotes during several visits, the vast majority of attendees were not "high profile" (whatever that definition is) ... and most people spent most time heads-down doing work or pairing/in-meetings talking about work. from what i observed, there was very little showboating. it's not like a 3-month TED conference or something :)

pgbovine's profile is not as high as it deserves to be

See http://pythontutor.com/ and http://www.pgbovine.net/cde.html - but really, all of https://github.com/pgbovine?tab=repositories is worth looking at.

I applied twice and was rejected. I didn't get the impression it was cliquish, but they're in a difficult situation.

They write thoughtful blog posts on self-reflection, building an inclusive community and working hard to improve. These are values I identify with so it's disappointing not to be given an opportunity to participate, and no feedback after putting effort into the application. On the other hand they have a popular program and have to reject a lot of people.

It's unfortunate that your acquaintance felt that way. I'll offer my own account of RC being an incredibly welcoming space to people of all backgrounds. I appreciated the diversity in both breadth and depth of experience because it allowed people to grow and learn from one another in an environment that I haven't seen replicated anywhere else.

I am a non-high profile alum. While it is true that their fundamental business model is to find people jobs, they don't push that aspect of their business at all. They will try really hard to find you a job that fits you if you want to; but it's absolutely okay if you don't either. I personally attended just for self improvement and not for a job.

During my time at Recurse Center (hackerschool at the time), there were people programming away in a bunch of different languages. I didn't actually think python was a dominant one. Maybe it is now.

My best advice to anyone who wants to attend recurse center is that: you get out of it what you put into it. You are situated in a really great environment with a potentially deep pool of experience and knowledge. Don't expect to be spoon fed information. Actively go out and talk to people and pair program with people.

Somehow it's strange that a language difference as modest as between Python and Ruby should isolate people to the point where they can't fit in even on a 12-week retreat. I mean, that would probably happen to me if I went to a Ruby gathering, but it seems kinda wrong, a waste of talent that could be pooled and applied to more advanced projects instead.

On the other hand, maybe it's precisely because the two languages are similar?

In any large school that has been running for years, there are bound to be a few students out there who had poor experiences. On the whole I've heard good things about people's experiences with this one.