**Status**: 4th year, BS CS Top 50 CS school\n**Position**: Software Engineering Intern\n**Location**: Remote\nEverything is a Summer 2021 internship unless noted otherwise.\n\n**Note**: I am not comfortable putting specific questions up. It\'s not like they\'d really help you anyway, there\'s basically no chance of getting asked the same question. They all focused on data structures and algorithms.\n\n**Google (Reject)**\nOnline assesment (September 14)\n2 technical phone interviews (September 28)\nRejected on October 12\n\n**Amazon (Offer)**\n3 part online assesment (debug, algos, work simulation | September 12-14)\n1 techinal phone interview (October 1)\nOffer on October 5\n\n**Dropbox (Reject)**\nHackerRank (August 24)\n1 techinal phone interview (September 21)\nOnsite (2 techinical, 1 behavioral | October 12)\nRejected on October 20\n\n**Pinterest (Offer, accepted)**\n1 online challenge (via Karat)\n2 techinical phone interviews (Karat, then Pinterest engineer)\nOffer on October 15\n\n**Coursera (Offer, accepted)**\n*Winter 2021 SWE internship*\nHackerRank\n1 techinical phone interview (September 18)\n1 recruiter call\nOffer on October 7\n\n**Affirm (Offer)**\n2 techincal phone interviews\nOnsite (3 technical, 1 behavioral | October 5)\nOffer on October 8\n\n**Lyft (Offer)**\nByteboard assessment\n2 technical video interviews\n\n**Reflection**\nI\'m really grateful I ended up with a few offers. I was pretty bad at data structures, algos, and interviewing but after about 3 months of practicing, I felt really confident. I ended up doing 300 LCs (40/50/10) and 8 professional mock interviews (probably a bit overkill) but I\'m happy I did them. I did a little bit of EPI as well. By my last interviews, I was pretty comfortable answering almost any question with good speed too. Question difficulties ranged from easy to hard.\n\nI used to think there was some shortcut, but it just comes down to practice. The more you practice, the better you\'ll do! Make a study schedule that works for you, and stay consistent. I did maybe 4-5 new problems a day at first, then did a bit less once I started feeling burnout. Focus on the fundamentals (arrays, strings, DFS, BFS, graphs, etc.). I also recommend using Anki to review old problems (this helped ingrain common patterns in my head). Don\'t focus on memorizing problems, but recognizing those common patterns. \n\nI don\'t go to a great school for CS, I did all of my learning and prep outside of school. I\'m not super smart either, I think I got like a B- in lower division DS & Algos and have a below average GPA for my major (~3.2 vs 3.4 average). I had a TERRIBLE GPA freshman year, but after realizing that I needed to put in work, I rebounded. I don\'t think GPA is super important, but rather the projects and experiences you have on your resume.\n\nThe offers I accepted will be my first internships so I\'m super excited! \n\nI hope this post inspires people to keep grinding. I was getting anxious in August when I wasn\'t hearing back from a lot of companies, but it takes time and patience. Don\'t be discouraged by some rejections, just keep on going.

Status: 4th year, BS CS Top 50 CS school\nPosition: Software Engineering Intern\nLocation: Remote\nEverything is a Summer 2021 internship unless noted otherwise