Internia

Statistics Interview Experiences

Palantir

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA

Summer 2024No Offer

University of Waterloo · Statistics

5th year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 3 past internships

Hard Interview

TechnicalMultiple rounds

Same OA format as FDSE I think but onsite was stats focused, hypothesis testing and model evaluation metrics. Behavioral was embedded into every round, that was different. Coding bar felt pretty high.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Whats the difference between L1 and L2 regularization? When would you use each?

Capital One

Data Analyst

Raleigh, NC

Winter 2026Declined Offer

University of North Carolina · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalBehavioralMultiple roundsVirtualFast process

SQL assessment was four questions, doable if you know window functions and CTEs. Power Day had two consecutive behavioral inetrviews about identifying unseen problems and explaining technical findings simply. Offer next morning

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Why did Capital One end up on your list
  2. 2.Whats the difference between a metric and a KPI?

RBC

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Winter 2025Accepted

University of Waterloo · Statistics

4th year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 3 past internships

Hard Interview

TechnicalMultiple roundsBehavioralVirtual

OA had two coding problems and the work simulation where you pick answers about leadership principles. Final round was brutal because the behavioral half they kept digging deeper on every answer like tell me more about that and what did you specifically do and I ran out of things to say. Coding was graph BFS which I got but apparently wasn't enough

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What is data lineage and why does it matter in a large organization?

Salesforce

Data Analyst

San Francisco, CA

Fall 2025No Offer

University of Wisconsin-Madison · Statistics

3rd year · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalCase studyVirtual

First round was SQL with a window function question on ranked sales data. Second was a case on measuring sales rep performance from a CRM dataset

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Describe how you'd automate a recurring reporting task using Python or a scheduling tool

Lyft

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA

Winter 2026No Offer

University of Toronto · Statistics

4th year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 2 past internships

Easy Interview

Slow process

45 min on Teams they went through my resume and wanted to know about a REST API I built and leadership questions too, felt casual but took over a month to hear back

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How do you deal with missing data? What are the trade-offs of different approaches?

Aviva

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2025No Offer

York University · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralTechnicalIn-Person

Pretty sure someone internal had a referral because they moved fast. Quick HR call then in office interview, mostly about past data work and why insurance. Some SQL conceptual questions and what tools I'd use to visualize claims data. Very casual process

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's the difference between descriptive diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive analytics?
  2. 2.How would you approach forecasting next quarter's revenue with two years of historical data?

Desjardins

Data Analyst

Montreal, QC

Summer 2026Pending Outcome

Concordia University · Statistics

2nd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

TechnicalVirtual

They asked me to walk through how I'd clean a dataset with missing values and outliers. Phone screen last week and video call with the team yesterday. Python questions and also why Desjardins over other financial institutions

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Why do you want to work at Desjardins
  2. 2.What is Tableau vs Power BI vs Looker. When would you use each?

CRA

Data Analyst

Winnipeg, MB

Summer 2026Pending Outcome

University of Manitoba · Statistics

2nd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

BehavioralVirtualSlow process

Waited months then got an interview invite in January for a position I applied to in September. 30 min behavioral interview on Zoom with two people, wanted to know what I know about the CRA and describe a time I analyzed a large dataset and also a 10 min written exercise after

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How would you handle null values in a SQL aggregation
  2. 2.How do you handle a situation where two different data sources give conflicting numbers

Uber

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA

Summer 2025No Offer

UC Berkeley · Statistics

3rd year · 2.5-2.8 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalVirtual

Technical phone screen had SQL and a stats question on modeling surge pricing demand. Explained the approach fine but yeah

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What is cross-validation and why does it matter?

Wealthsimple

Data Scientist

Toronto, ON

Winter 2026No Offer

University of Toronto · Statistics

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Average Interview

TechnicalMultiple roundsVirtual

They care a lot about how you explain your approach and the tradeoffs you made. Recruiter screen then technical, OOP modelling of financial data, then a project showcase where I presented my best ML project. Good feedback but I didn't make the cut in a competitive cycle

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Tell me about a machine learning model you built end-to-end

Johnson & Johnson

Data Scientist

New York, NY

Summer 2026Pending Outcome

Purdue University · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

Pre-recordedTechnicalBehavioralMultiple rounds

They wanted my research background summarized in 90 seconds for the pre recorded video, plus two other timed questions. Multiple rounds after, behavioral and one technical on regression modeling and handling missing data. Waiting on final round feedback now

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What is PCA and when would you use it?

DoorDash

Data Scientist

San Francisco, CA

Fall 2025No Offer

UC Berkeley · Statistics

3rd year · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalCase studyVirtual

Phone screen with someone from data asked about experiment design and SQL. Technical round was a case on measuring delivery ETA accuracy.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Why DoorDash over similar companies?
  2. 2.Describe a time your model performed well in training but poorly in production

CN Rail

Data Analyst

Montreal, QC

Summer 2026No Offer

McGill University · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralVirtual

Sustainability and safety came up, part of CN's brand. Behavioral and role specific questions about working under pressure and balancing multiple priorities. Hired hundreds of students annually so the competition exists but it's not brutal

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Write a SQL query to find the top 5 customers by total spend in each city

Rogers

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Fall 2025No Offer

York University · Statistics

3rd year · 2.5-2.8 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralVirtual

AI chatbot did the initial screening before I talked to anyone human. Then a virtual interview about handling challenges and taking responsibility for mistakes. fairly generic, nothing data specific came up at all.

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How would you test whether the conversion rates between two segments are significantly different

Reserve Bank of India

Data Scientist

Summer 2025Accepted

University of Toronto · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

TechnicalResume Review

Asked about my resume in depth- past projects and how they connected to what I am studying

Wealthsimple

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026No Offer

University of Toronto · Statistics

2nd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 0 past internships

Hard Interview

TechnicalMultiple roundsVirtualCase study

Screening call then CoderPad for an hour. The interviewer kept nudging when you got stuck on the SQL, appreciated that. Then an in-person day with 4 sessions, they gave a mini case about using data to improve a process

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How do you approach segment analysis to find who is driving a metric change?

Google

Data Scientist

Waterloo, ON

Fall 2025No Offer

University of Waterloo · Statistics

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Easy Interview

TechnicalMultiple roundsVirtual

application took forever just to set up the account. Got an email for an interview like 3 months later and by that point I forgot I even applied. Two people on the call asking basic behavioral stuff, tell me about a time you worked on a team, how do you handle deadlines. Also some questions about databases which were easy. It was painfully slow and I already accepted something else by the time they got back to me

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How do you decide which model to use when starting a new problem?
  2. 2.How would you approach building a recommendation system from scratch

Google

Software Engineer

Fall 2022Pending Outcome

University of British Columbia · Statistics

3rd year · 0 past internships

Technical

It was alright, but needed to grind a lot. Would recommend doing a lot of leetcode medium and easy and have a good understanding of the basics.

AstraZeneca

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026Accepted

University of Toronto · Statistics

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

Pre-recordedBehavioralMultiple rounds

Smart interview recording then team interview. Behavioral and logical stuff. got the call a few days later

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Write a SQL query to find employees who earn more than their direct manager

FreshBooks

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2025No Offer

University of Waterloo · Statistics

2nd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

TechnicalVirtual

They dug deep into my past projects and specific design decisions. HR call first then the technical round.Some REST api questions too. Process felt organized and communication was good, just didn't make the cut

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What excites you most about the opportunity at FreshBooks?
  2. 2.What's the difference between a histogram and a bar chart? When do you use each?

TD Asset Management

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2026Accepted

University of Waterloo · Statistics

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Average Interview

TechnicalBehavioralVirtual

SQL and Python experience mattered a lot. Technical first with accounting and portfolio attribution, then behavioral qs later on

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's a window function? Walk me through an example using RANK() or LAG()

Marble AI

Data Science

Fall 2025Accepted

University of Waterloo · Statistics

3rd year · 2 past internships

EasyVirtualFast processResume ReviewBehavioral

15 mins, really easy, heard it's way harder for FTEs with like 4 rounds but for intern ig they didn't really care all that much

Clio

Data Analyst

Vancouver, BC

Winter 2026No Offer

Simon Fraser University · Statistics

3rd year · 2.9-3.2 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralVirtual

No coding at all. Recruiter call, project discussion, culture round. Rejected, said they wanted a specific background

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How do you prioritize which insights to include in a report?

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)

Data Analyst

Ottawa, ON

Winter 2026No Offer

University of Ottawa · Statistics

3rd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 1 past internship

Easy Interview

BehavioralVirtual

They really wanted to know what I knew about recent immigration targets and policy changes dumb for a co-op if u ask me. Behavioral interview about my data background and an example of using data to influence a decision. Competitive pool for this one

Questions Asked

  1. 1.Whats the difference between HAVING and WHERE in SQL?

Dayforce

Data Analyst

Toronto, ON

Summer 2025No Offer

McMaster University · Statistics

2nd year · 3.3-3.6 GPA · 0 past internships

Easy Interview

TechnicalVirtualPoor Communication

Data role covered JavaScript basics for some reason. HR interview first, then a technical screen. SQL manipulation questions too. Behavioral and personality stuff in HR. Communication from the recruiter was delayed a couple times

Questions Asked

  1. 1.How would you build a churn prediction flag using SQL and historical data
  2. 2.How do you balance speed and rigor when a business partner needs a quick answer?

Bank of Canada

Data Analyst

Ottawa, ON

Summer 2026Accepted

University of Ottawa · Statistics

4th year · 3.7+ GPA · 2 past internships

Easy Interview

BehavioralTechnicalSlow processMultiple rounds

Standard behavioral stuff, why Bank of Canada and a prioritizing tasks scenario. Panel format, rotating questioners. HR call before that was quick

Questions Asked

  1. 1.What's the difference between DAU and MAU and what does the ratio tell you?

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