Mastercard · Primly Community

Mastercard new grad / entry level interview, how to prep (going through it now)

bootcamp_bri · 5 replies

Okay I have a Mastercard new grad SWE interview coming up in two weeks and I can't find a coherent prep guide anywhere so I'm going to compile what I've found and ask for help filling the gaps.

What I know so far (from a mix of Glassdoor, here, and one Reddit thread from 2024):

Coding rounds: Mastercard's entry-level loops apparently lean medium Leetcode difficulty. A few reports mention two-sum style problems and sliding window. One person mentioned a graph BFS problem. Nobody has reported being asked a hard LC problem for new grad. That said the sample size I found is small so I'm not confident.

Behavioral component: They do include behavioral for new grads, which surprised me. The questions sound standard: tell me about a challenge you overcame, a time you worked in a team, a project you're most proud of. For a new grad this is basically college project / internship territory. I've got two solid stories from my senior capstone project but I'm worried about range.

Technical depth: I've seen conflicting reports. One post said they asked about OOP concepts and system design lite ("how would you design a URL shortener"). Another said they focused entirely on DSA with no system design. I'm guessing this varies by team and interviewer.

Process: Seems to be an OA first (online assessment, around 90 min, 2-3 coding problems on HackerRank or similar), then a technical phone screen, then a final round which could be virtual or in-person. The O'Fallon, MO office seems to be a big hub for early-career hiring.

What I'm doing to prep: Grinding Leetcode mediums, focusing on arrays, hashmaps, binary search, trees, graphs Running through STAR stories from my two internships Reading up on basic system design concepts just in case

What I need help with: Has anyone done a Mastercard new grad loop recently, specifically in 2025-2026? How many coding rounds? Did you get the OA at all stages or just for some roles? How much does Mastercard weigh GPA in the screening? I've heard enterprise financial services companies still look at it.

Any info appreciated. Trying not to spiral but this is my top target right now.

5 replies

jp_newgrad

Did my Mastercard OA in January 2026. Two coding problems: one easy-medium array manipulation, one medium graph problem (BFS). 75 minutes. No behavioral in the OA itself. After that I had a 45-min technical phone screen with one coding question (medium, I got a variant of the two-pointer thing) and maybe 20 min of behavioral at the end. Never heard back after that round which was frustrating.

I don't think GPA is a hard filter once you get past the resume screen, but I'm not sure.

backend_bekah

For the system design lite question prep, a URL shortener or a rate limiter are the classics for junior/new-grad rounds. They're not expecting you to talk about distributed consistency. They want to see that you understand basic client-server separation, can name a database choice and explain why, and can estimate rough scale. Don't overthink it.

sdr_sky

This actually helps a lot. I was trying to prep for full-on distributed systems and realizing I don't have the background. Good to know they calibrate the scope.

recruiter_rita

On GPA: large financial tech companies vary a lot. Some still have a 3.2 or 3.5 screen in the ATS, others dropped it. I can't speak to Mastercard's current policy but if your GPA is below 3.0 it's worth getting a referral to bypass the initial screen. Even a casual LinkedIn connection who works there can flag your resume.

Good luck, sounds like you're preparing seriously.

apm_aisha

O'Fallon is definitely a major new-grad hub for Mastercard. A friend from my university joined there last year for a tech rotational program. Said the team culture was pretty good, more collaborative than she expected from a financial company. Might be worth asking your recruiter specifically about the rotational vs direct-placement tracks.