DE Shaw | Online Assessment | Collect maximum points from Tree | Jan 2025
Question Details
Question1: Min-cost-to-remove-all-array-elements Question 2: A connected unweighted undirected graph with N nodes andN-1 edges (tree) was given where each node were labled from 0 to N-1, Also a value K were given...
Full Details
Question1: Min-cost-to-remove-all-array-elements
Question 2:
A connected unweighted undirected graph with N nodes andN-1 edges (tree) was given where each node were labled from 0 to N-1, Also a value K were given as well.
Each node were having a value, given in an array, where ith index would tell the value of the ith Node where 0<=i<N.
The tree was rooted at 0th Node. You need to collect points from all the node values. Points can be calculated from node values using any two of the given methods.
type 1: Go to a Node sayx and collect array[x]-K to add it in points.
type 2: Go to a Node x divide node value and all of it\'s subtree node\'s values by 2 permanently, then add the current node value post dividing (i.e. arr[x]/2) to points.
Calculate the maximum Points which can be collected by using any of the Types (In each node you can choose any type to collect points independently).
1<=N<=10^5
-10^5<=array[i]<=10^5
-10^9<=K<=10^9
class Solution {
\tpublic int maxPoints(int[] edges, int[] nodeValues, int N, int K) {
\t\t// Write your code here
\t}
}
About This Question
This is a reported interview question from a d.e. shaw interview for a swe role during the oa round reported in 2025.
It covers the following topics: Arrays, Binary Tree, Graph .
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This question was reported by a candidate who interviewed at D.E. Shaw. LeakCode aggregates interview reports from 10+ sources, including 1Point3Acres, Glassdoor, LeetCode Discuss, Blind, Reddit, Indeed, and Nowcoder. Each report is translated where necessary, deduplicated against existing entries, and tagged by company, role, round type, and reporting date.
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For broader preparation context, the D.E. Shaw interview process typically includes a recruiter screen, one or two technical phone screens, and a 4-5 round on-site loop covering coding, system design (at L4+ levels), and behavioral. Reports tagged on LeakCode show the round-by-round distribution and typical difficulty calibration. To browse questions filtered by round type and seniority, use the company hub linked above.
How To Practice This Type of Question
Solve similar problems on LeetCode under timed conditions (25-35 minutes per medium difficulty). The goal is pattern recognition: recognize the underlying technique (sliding window, two-pointer, BFS, memoized recursion, etc.) within 60-90 seconds of reading. Strong candidates verbalize their hypothesis out loud before coding, then iterate based on feedback. Weak candidates dive into implementation immediately, lose time on the wrong approach, and run out of time for follow-ups.
Companies update their question pools every 2-4 months. The exact wording of any given question may have been retired by the time you interview. Focus your prep on the pattern, not the specific problem. The patterns that appear in D.E. Shaw reports consistently are the ones worth investing in; one-off niche problems are not.
During Your D.E. Shaw Round
Apply the standard interview round template: clarify requirements (2-3 minutes), state your approach out loud and confirm direction with the interviewer (3-5 minutes), code with narration (15-25 minutes), test with concrete examples including edge cases (5 minutes), discuss optimization or trade-offs if time permits (5 minutes). This template is universally accepted across FAANG and adjacent companies; deviating from it produces weaker interviewer feedback signal.
The single most predictive failure mode in D.E. Shaw reports tagged "no hire": not asking clarifying questions. Interviewers are explicitly trained to weight this. Strong candidates ask 3-5 clarifying questions even on problems that look obvious; weak candidates dive into code immediately. The clarifying-question check is often the first signal recorded in the interviewer's written notes.