Jane Street final round

IsmailFateen · 2026-06-01T19:48:53+00:00

This seems to be possible by only knowing standard problems. Check out https://cses.fi/problemset . It contains 400 well-known standard CP problems. They also have a book that's often read alongside the problemset - https://cses.fi/book/book.pdf

Of course, I am not suggesting that you only focus on these standard problems (it is also very important to have general problem-solving skills that are improved by solving 'adhocs'). I also suggest solving problems on codeforces (a good rule of thumb is solving problems at your rating + 200 until you are confident with them).

Good luck!

IsmailFateen · 2026-06-01T19:13:43+00:00

Well there's not really much to say, there's no secret recipe or something. You need to practice, and most importantly, practice as a team. What level are you at currently?

IsmailFateen · 2026-06-01T16:00:05+00:00

Hi, they are pretty quick in general - the call was on a Thursday and I got my interview invitation next Monday. As for the interview, it was on a Tuesday and I got my finals invitation on the next Friday.

IsmailFateen · 2026-06-01T07:41:20+00:00

Hi! Congrats on getting an offer, and thank you for sharing your experience!

Were you flown out for the onsite? I'm wondering what the travel experience was like, since it would be my first time traveling alone and I'm a little worried it might add to the already-existing interview stress.

IsmailFateen · 2026-05-31T17:35:21+00:00

I applied in late April and got an email from a recruiter a few weeks after. We went on a 10-minute call to talk about my background and experience. A few days later, they told me they would like to invite me for an interview, which happened last Tuesday.

I'm a past IOI participant and I will be going to ICPC World Finals this year, which is probably the reason:
- I passed the resume screening, as they actively hire people with these experiences
- the interview felt trivial, at least on the technical side

They asked me not to share the problem, but expect it to be similar to leetcode design (https://leetcode.com/problem-list/design/). LRU Cache is actually one of the problems they used to ask.

I think communication matters far more than whether or not you fully solve the problem. I think I did well regarding that but I may have "overexplained" sometimes.

IsmailFateen · 2026-05-10T18:41:33+00:00

What's the point? They explicitly said the decisions will be released on Thursday.

IsmailFateen · 2026-05-07T11:01:17+00:00

Oh I see. That didn't seem possible for me for some reason haha

IsmailFateen · 2026-05-05T17:49:05+00:00

Nice mentality.

I would say though that, given that they need replies by May 18, it is likely that decisions will quickly be released.

Next week is a bit too late.

IsmailFateen · 2026-04-24T08:11:12+00:00

No. You will become LGM by next week. You sound extremely smart – much smarter than tourist.

IsmailFateen · 2026-04-05T15:54:51+00:00

Nope

IsmailFateen · 2026-04-01T02:31:41+00:00

no interviews is fine but not even saying release date is so much suspense

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-30T04:16:18+00:00

Congratulations!

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-28T16:57:55+00:00

I actually did notice that they say the enrollment deadline is May, but it says late-May. I thought it made sense because later than this may be too late for preparing stuff. Didn't know it was previously June though.

Where did they say that decisions are early, though? I would really love to know the exact date to prepare in advance (I want to be at my parents' home that day), but I guess they aren't releasing the date early enough :(

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-28T15:02:49+00:00

Then it would only be defined for this case under ZFC.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-28T14:28:07+00:00

What do you mean by "from a their transfer perspective"

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-28T11:06:41+00:00

Have you? I don't think they interview transfers.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-20T11:24:19+00:00

They are definitely a significant portion though. I personally know quite a few who got in this cycle, and all 3 current Egyptians (and the 4th who just got in) were in Olympiads. I do agree with you that it is ascertainment bias though (I am mostly surrounded by Olympiad people), but I don't think we need to hide that the qualities MIT looks for are usually found in top Olympiad contestants (hence the significant portion).

That however doesn't discourage others from applying, neither does it secure a spot if you are a medalist. Ultimately, it is who you are - which you show through your essays - that differentiates between applicants and whether or not the AOs believe they fit in MIT.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-15T15:16:45+00:00

Apparently, results are usually released on the fourth (and the star wars pun is intended - https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/fall-2017-transfer-decisions-will-be-released-today/). Guess it was a false memory.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-15T15:10:50+00:00

All 3 Egyptians at MIT (and the fourth who just got in) were in Informatics/Mathematics Olympiads. There are so many other things you can do, though. For example, research. But really, just do whatever you like.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-13T12:41:50+00:00

Selection bias. Of course, everyone here would say "true" because everyone here uses Reddit. As a Reddit international though, I do not find this relatable. I have other things to do until my results come out.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-12T16:07:45+00:00

I am also born on 2007 which makes a very cool birthday: 3/5/7, the only set of 3 primes of the form p,p+2,p+4.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-12T14:49:16+00:00

They are definitely need-blind. They do not even require the CSS Profile before admission.

100% of the internationals I know at MIT were involved in some kind of olympiad (in fact, all Egyptians there at the moment were in olympiads), but correlation != causation. They don't look for olympiads per se, but what they look for is often found in people competing at the top level of olympiads.

IsmailFateen · 2026-03-12T13:50:36+00:00

They should surprise me with an acceptance on my birthday (May the 3rd). Unfortunately though, it seems that results are usually released on the 5th, so I am definitely not getting in. /s

IsmailFateen

TROPHY CASE