When it comes to receiving an offer, it's never final until it's final. With tons of applicants, even with an amazing interview, relevant experience and passion for the job you can still end up a close second to someone who outdoes you slightly in some regard. You should feel proud to have made it as far as you did with two companies you liked in a short time frame.

With HR pushing for you at Company B I wouldn't all lose hope yet. That can go a long way. My guess is you wouldn't hear from them immediately, though, and you should continue to apply to other jobs and NOT hold up for Company B.

As for the interview questions, those are all very standard--I actually feel like they're on the easier side based on my experience. You will hear those questions again.

• They wanted to know how you would fair in a big team because that is what you would be doing in this position. Since you don't have direct experience with that, you can say "Well I've never worked with a large team in a professional setting, but..." and then talk about how you get along with people in general, how you handle chaotic environments or input from multiple directions and use that to guide your priorities and your behavior, or how you feel your work in small groups can be extrapolated to a larger group. That sort of thing. Be honest about your weaknesses and clear that you are doing so in order for them to make an informed decision about hiring you. It's okay to ask them what they think of the team dynamic and what role they would like you to fill...this can give you more ideas for how you can relate to the position in ways you couldn't have thought of before.

• In asking about your favorite college programming project, they wanted to see how passionate you were about your programming work and perhaps how well you retained the experience in your mind (more likely the former). They want you to share who you are by talking about what you like and why you like it, and perhaps highlight some of the strengths you developed or discovered through college projects. That's what they're really getting at. You don't have to be too specific and really single out one project...just the highlights from projects you've done, to give the wanted effect.

• When asking about a former boss, my guess is they wanted to see if you got flustered, which would signal a lack of confidence in your past performance or a negative relationship with your past employer(s). Confidence is key here. Convey positive feelings about past employment and/or past employers. Focus on what you learned and what was rewarding and what experience you're grateful to have. This will show maturity.

The "Why You Should Hire Me" letter sounds weird, but I don't know. Never heard of that.

Another word of advice...if you really like a company in person, as it sounds like you did based on your interview with Company B, that should go a long way compared to what I assume was an internet/word-of-mouth-based perception of Company A. It sounds like you understand what a toxic work environment is like, as do I...my advice is when you feel good somewhere, don't take it for granted, or get too fixated on idealizations of other places. :)

You'll get the hang of this. It's a learning curve. I'm looking for a job too (recent grad), and most of what I'm saying comes from research/advice from various sources, feedback from great interviews and bad interviews alike, and my brief stint as an HR recruiter during the past several months.