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Apple new grad / entry level interview: how to prep when you don't know where to start

jp_newgrad · 4 replies

Okay so I'm a class of 2025 grad who just started actively applying and Apple is on my list. The problem is most of what I find online is from senior/staff candidates who went through 6-round onsites. What does the new grad / ICT2 Apple interview actually look like and how should I be prepping?

Things I've gathered from scattered posts: The new grad loop is shorter. 3-4 technical rounds rather than 5-6. There's still a coding screen upfront with a recruiter-scheduler and then a technical phone screen. The onsite apparently has at least one behavioral round even for ICT2. They care about cultural fit even at new grad level. The coding difficulty tends to be medium LeetCode. I haven't seen reports of LC Hard in new grad loops but someone mentioned a harder DP question once.

What I'm actually unsure about: Does Apple new grad do a system design round? A few people said yes (lite version), others said no. How much do they weigh GPA / school brand for new grads? I'm from a non-target. How long between the technical phone screen and onsite offer? Are the behavioral questions Apple-specific (their values) or generic STAR stuff?

Any new grads who went through this in 2025 or 2026 please drop what you remember. I'm specifically trying to figure out how much system design prep I should be doing versus just grinding LC mediums.

4 replies

mobile_mara

I went through the ICT2 iOS loop about 18 months ago. No formal system design round for me, but there was a "design this feature" style question in one of the coding rounds that had a mild architecture flavor. More "how would you structure this code" than "design a distributed cache." Focus your energy on LC medium and maybe a bit of OOP design.

recruiter_rita

Non-target school is fine at Apple. The new grad pool is broad and they care way more about the technical screen performance than your GPA or school. I've seen people from regional state schools get offers while Ivy grads didn't make it past the phone screen. The filter is the code, not the credential.

jp_newgrad

This is genuinely reassuring, thank you. I was spiraling about my school.

pivot_pat

For the behavioral piece at ICT2: they will ask some version of "tell me about a project you're proud of" and "tell me about a time you had a conflict on a team." Pretty standard, just have real stories ready. Apple does care about "we make the whole widget" culture stuff so stories where you worked across disciplines land well.