Google 2026 New Grad Onsite: Reverse Coin Change and Course Schedule

Role: Software Engineer, New Grad
Result: Not disclosed
Report time: December 2025
Location: In person; city not disclosed
Application: Applied online

Onsite setup

The onsite had two consecutive 45-minute interviews. The candidate checked in, waited in the lobby, and then worked in a small meeting room using a Chromebook, personal email, and a whiteboard.

The interviewer offered a break between the two sessions.

Coding 1: reverse Coin Change

In ordinary Coin Change, a coin array is used to build dp[i], the number of ways to form amount i. This problem reversed that process: given the complete dp array, recover the coin array.

The candidate worked through examples with the interviewer. One hint helped them find the approach, and a second hint exposed a loop bug. They finished the implementation near the end of the session.

Practice: Recover Coins From Change Counts

Coding 2: Course Schedule variation

The candidate completed the second problem quickly. The source identified it only as a Course Schedule variation and did not preserve the graph model, inputs, output, or follow-ups.

Related practice: Course Schedule Cycle Detection