This time, we are sharing a real-life experience of one of our students. She has a master's degree in computer science from a top 20 university in North America, and is applying for the 2026 New Grad position this fall. She has already invested in several big companies, including TikTok, Meta, Stripe, etc. Although she has a good foundation in algorithms, she has been stuck in "partial OA" in several OAs. Although she has a good foundation in algorithms, she has been stuck in the problem of "part of the case failed" in many OA - obviously the questions are written out, but she always passes only 80%~90%.
Later, she found us at Programhelp, hoping to improve her code stability and case thinking in the real world. We helped her to brush a few Stripe OA sessions remotely and summarized the company's question patterns and common traps. Here is her latest Stripe 2026 New Grad OA ‘s review and lessons learned.
Stripe 2026 New Grad OA Test Format and Schedule
- Platform: HackerRank (some fields are self-developed systems)
- Question volume: 1 Programming Question
- Duration: 60 minutes
- language restrictionPython, Java, C++ are all acceptable.
- Number of cases: approximately 17 (including multiple hidden cases)
- Evaluation criteria: Logical correctness, boundary handling, output format consistency
Stripe was designed with the idea of "measuring a candidate's true coding ability with one question". So although there is only one question, the difficulty is not low. Most people who take it for the first time will find that they have no problem writing logic, but they always get stuck at the last few test points.
realistic reproduction of actual questions
Question.
You are given three lists.
merch- a list of merchants, each with a name and an initial score.trans- a list of transactions, each containing merchant namem, customer idc, and amounth.rules- a list of rule thresholds for scoring.
You need to calculate the final score of each merchant based on transaction behavior.
Rules are as follows.
- Group transactions by
(m, c). If a merchant-customer pair has at least 3 transactions, add the total transaction amount of that pair to the merchant's score. - Then, group again by
(m, c, h). If this combination also appears 3 or more times, add their total amount again to the same merchant's score. - After processing all records, output each merchant's name and final score, sorted alphabetically by merchant name.
- Use strict comparison (
>) for thresholds and make sure your numeric output has consistent formatting.
Ideas and Realization Logic
- Data structure preparation
Willmerchconvert to{merchant_name: score}Dictionary structure for subsequent accrual. Simultaneous reading of transaction datatrans, constructing two types of groupings:- first layer
(m, c)→ List of transaction amounts - second layer
(m, c, h)→ List of transaction amounts
- first layer
- Tier 1 statistics: by (m, c)
Iterate over all(m, c)combination, if the number of strokes ≥ 3, the total amount is added to that merchant score. - Second level statistics: by (m, c, h)
Group statistics again and add up the amounts when the conditions are met. - Output Sorting and Format Control
Finally, sort the output by name for the merchant"Merchant, score"To ensure uniformity of formatting and precision, otherwise you may be judged incorrectly in a hidden case.
Frequently Asked Questions and Treadmill Points
1. Too many cases and too much hiding
This OA has a total of 17 test samples, many of which are boundary cases:
- The amount is 0 or negative;
- Merchant no trades;
- Repeated transactions by multiple groups of customers;
- The output sequence is strictly required.
2. Floating-point precision issues
Stripe's system is very sensitive to the amount output, if the floating point calculation produces errors or extra decimal places, it will directly lead to "case fail". It is recommended to unify round before output.
3. Order of output
Be sure to sort the output by merchant name or some tests will fail.
4. Time and complexity control
Although there is only one question, there are many levels of logic and it is easy to time out when nested loops are used. It is recommended to use defaultdict(list) Or Counter Improving statistical efficiency.
Difficulty and Preparation Recommendations
| dimension (math.) | evaluations |
|---|---|
| algorithmic logic | Upper middle class |
| Attention to detail | Extremely high |
| Number of cases | Approx. 17 |
| timing | 60 minutes (not a lot of pressure) |
The overall difficulty was moderate to high, and examined the candidate's command of data grouping logic, boundary judgment, and output consistency rather than algorithmic complexity. Where many people dropped marks was precisely in not dealing with extreme inputs, such as empty transactions, single customers, or duplicate amounts.
Taking you to stand out in fall recruiting
When many students do Stripe OA for the first time, they are misled by the "seemingly simple" appearance of the questions and end up getting stuck at 2~3 hidden test points.
Programhelp based on hundreds of Stripe OA battle experience, the team summarizes the question patterns and test traps, and provides Traceless Online + Concealed Voice Assist service, accompanied by a high degree of covertness throughout the whole process, to help you get a steady score within the time limit.
With the help of Programhelp's untraceable assistants, many students have succeeded in getting all AC Stripe OA within 60 minutes and successfully entered the next round of technical interviews.
This is the most mature solution for OA support that requires high security, stealth, and stable results.
Extended Reading Recommendations
- Stripe OA Real Exam Questions Sharing & Preparation Insights
Share multiple Stripe OA real questions and solutions, focusing on analyzing hidden test points and time allocation strategies, suitable for students who want to understand the question types systematically. - 2025 TikTok Interview Process Full Process + Detailed Questions
The complete process from resume screening to VO, combined with real questions and test explanations, will help you make less mistakes in TikTok interview. - Meta Online Assessment 2026 Four Questions with Full Explanations
An in-depth breakdown of the Meta OA 4-question logic and algorithmic question ideas, with time allocation strategies and coping skills to help you stabilize your AC.
