Goldman Sachs Placement Papers 2024 - Previous Year OA Questions & Solutions

Company Overview

This page contains Goldman Sachs placement papers from 2024 with previous year online assessment questions, solutions, and exam patterns.

2024 Pattern

The 2024 Goldman Sachs placement process emphasized DSA mastery, system design, and mathematical aptitude. Online assessment included 2-3 coding problems and mathematical aptitude questions.

Goldman Sachs Online Assessment 2024 Pattern

Section	Questions	Time	Difficulty	Focus Areas
Coding Problems	2-3	60 min	Medium-Hard	Arrays, trees, graphs, DP
Mathematical Aptitude	5-7	30 min	Medium	Probability, statistics, quantitative

Total: 2-3 coding + 5-7 math, 90 minutes

Platform: HackerRank or similar
Languages Allowed: C, C++, Java, Python
Success Rate: ~15-20% cleared OA and advanced to interviews

Goldman Sachs Placement Papers 2024 - Actual Questions & Solutions

DSA Coding Problems (2024)

Question 1: Stock Buy Sell

Q1: You are given an array prices where prices[i] is the price of a given stock on day i. Find the maximum profit you can achieve.

Example:

Input: prices = [7,1,5,3,6,4]
Output: 5

Solution (Java):

public int maxProfit(int[] prices) {
    int minPrice = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
    int maxProfit = 0;

    for (int price : prices) {
        if (price < minPrice) {
            minPrice = price;
        } else if (price - minPrice > maxProfit) {
            maxProfit = price - minPrice;
        }
    }

    return maxProfit;
}

Time Complexity: O(n)
Space Complexity: O(1)

Key Insights from 2024 Goldman Sachs Online Assessment

1. Coding Section is Critical: Must solve 2-3 coding problems correctly to advance
2. Mathematical Aptitude: Strong emphasis on probability, statistics, and quantitative reasoning
3. Time Management: 2-3 coding problems in 60 minutes + 5-7 math questions in 30 minutes requires excellent speed
4. Success Rate: Only 15-20% cleared OA and advanced to interviews
5. Platform: HackerRank or similar platforms
6. Focus Areas: Arrays, trees, graphs, dynamic programming, probability, statistics

Goldman Sachs 2024 Interview Experiences

Based on candidate experiences from 2024 Goldman Sachs interviews:

2024 Interview Process:

1. Online Assessment (90 minutes): 2-3 coding problems + 5-7 mathematical aptitude questions
2. Technical Phone Screen (45-60 minutes): Coding problems, algorithm discussions, mathematical problems
3. Onsite Interviews (4-6 rounds, 45-60 minutes each):
   • Coding rounds (2-3): Algorithms, data structures, problem-solving
   • Mathematical/Quantitative rounds: Probability, statistics, brain teasers
   • Behavioral rounds: Company fit, motivation, problem-solving approach
   • System Design rounds: For senior roles

Common 2024 Interview Topics:

• Coding: Arrays, strings, trees, graphs, dynamic programming, stock market problems
• Mathematical: Probability, statistics, brain teasers, quantitative reasoning
• Behavioral: Motivation, resilience, learning agility, decision-making
• Finance Knowledge: How Goldman Sachs makes money, market trends, financial concepts

2024 Interview Questions Examples:

Behavioral Questions:

• “Why do you want to join Goldman Sachs?”
• “Walk me through your résumé.”
• “Tell me about a time when you remained motivated despite facing several setbacks.”
• “Talk about a failure you had in the workplace and what you did about it.”
• “What is one topic you recently learned?”
• “What is a recent story you’ve read in a financial publication?”
• “Tell me about your most interesting subject.”
• “Tell me about a time you changed your decision based on newly introduced information.”

Technical/Finance Questions:

• “How does Goldman Sachs make money?”
• “Which is more important: cost or revenue synergies?”
• “Does a car wash or a gym have a higher CapEx?”
• “If you have a basket of assets and are trying to create a portfolio, does individual security selection matter more if the assets have low or high correlation?”
• “What metrics would you look at to analyze the performance of a portfolio?”
• “What are drawbacks of the reward-to-variability (Sharpe) ratio?”
• “Are stock returns normally distributed?”
• “Describe the estimation equations for the Hidden Markov Model.”

Brain Teasers:

• “How many tennis balls can fit in a Boeing 747?”
• “What is the angle between the hands of a clock at 1:15pm?”
• “What are the odds of drawing two aces in a row from a normal deck of cards?”
• “If you were a worker here, how would you design an email software so that we can improve the efficiency around here?”
• “In a best of three tennis match between two people, is it more likely the match will end in two or three games?”

Success Tips:

• Strong coding performance is essential - solve problems optimally
• Practice mathematical aptitude - probability, statistics, brain teasers
• Understand Goldman Sachs’ business model and how they make money
• Prepare behavioral examples using STAR format
• Stay updated on financial news and market trends
• Practice brain teasers and quantitative reasoning
• Be ready for unconventional questions

For detailed interview experiences, visit Goldman Sachs Interview Experience page.

Preparation Tips for Goldman Sachs 2024 Pattern

1. Master Coding Fundamentals: Focus on solving 2-3 coding problems correctly - arrays, trees, graphs, DP
2. Practice Mathematical Aptitude: Strong focus on probability, statistics, quantitative reasoning
3. Practice Previous Year Papers: Solve Goldman Sachs OA papers from 2020-2024 to understand patterns
4. Time Management: Practice completing 2-3 coding problems in 60 minutes, math questions in 30 minutes
5. LeetCode Practice: Solve 200+ LeetCode problems focusing on arrays, strings, trees, graphs (medium-hard difficulty)
6. Financial Knowledge: Understand how investment banks make money, market trends, financial concepts
7. Brain Teasers: Practice brain teasers and quantitative reasoning problems
8. Behavioral Preparation: Prepare examples using STAR format - motivation, resilience, learning
9. Mock Tests: Take timed practice tests to improve speed and accuracy
10. Stay Updated: Read financial publications and stay updated on market trends

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Practice 2024 papers to understand Goldman Sachs OA pattern and prepare effectively!