I'm surprised nobody in the comments or even in the OP has mentioned the prevalence of "How to get into YC", "How to hack your way into YC", etc. submissions that pop up on HN every cycle. There really have been a lot of those and they usually try to spell out a concise set of rules or patterns for each question/step. Even when PG gets interviewed and asked the question "What kind of companies do you accept?" I wonder if he realizes that this is bait for prospective applicants and blog post fodder instead of a genuine opportunity to endorse the quality of startups accepted into YC (to make these companies look good).

Has there ever been a write-up on "how to get into YC" by someone who followed such a guide and got in?

- Someone who was rejected 4+ times, and doesn't believe in that kind of stuff anymore