Upstart Statistics & Math Interview Questions
Master your tech interview with our curated database of real questions from top companies.
Estimate Family Proportions and Explain Regression Anomalies
On-site Statistics Round Task Overview You are given a population of families that have either 1, 2, or 3 children. You sample 100 children (i.e., the...
Estimate and Derive Regression Coefficient for X on y
Statistics & Probability Onsite — Two-Part Question Context - You have a simple linear data-generating process: y = X + ε, where X and ε are independe...
Calculate Expected Streaks in Coin Toss Sequence
Expected Number of Streaks in Coin Tosses Scenario You toss a coin repeatedly. A "streak" (a run) begins on the first toss and whenever the current to...
Assess Probability of Heads in Coin Tosses
Probability with Coin Tosses and the Normal Distribution Context Onsite data scientist screening question assessing basic probability and distribution...
Analyze HT vs HH stopping-time probabilities
Coin-Flip Stopping Game: HT vs HH You repeatedly flip a coin until either the pattern HT appears (Player A wins) or the pattern HH appears (Player B w...
Solve drunk-passenger probability and simulate outcome
Lost Boarding Pass Puzzle: Last Passenger's Seat Context: Technical screen for a Data Scientist (Statistics & Math). Setup - There are n passengers la...
Interpret A/B results with p-values and uncertainty
A/B Test: Effect Sizes, CIs, Multiple Testing, Power, and Decision Context: You ran a 14‑day experiment (2025‑08‑15 → 2025‑08‑28) with 1:1 allocation ...
Identify binomial model and compute moments
Tossing N Balls Into a Cup (Independent Hits with Probability p) You toss N independent balls toward a cup. Each ball lands in the cup with probabilit...
Determine distribution of aX+b when X~N(0,1)
Linear Transform of a Standard Normal Setup - Let X ~ N(0, 1) (standard normal). - For constants a, b ∈ ℝ, define Y = aX + b. Tasks (a) What is the ex...
Calculate Particle Survival Probability After Time t
Radioactive-Decay Style Probability Context You have 100 identical, independent particles. Each particle's lifetime is exponentially distributed with ...