---
title: Evaluation
description: Track your progress
sidebar:
  icon: check-circle
---


## The Method (three layers, strictly separated)
 
1. **Concept layer — HelloInterview lessons (UNTIMED).** Read the pattern lesson, work its interactive walkthrough problems slowly, extract the recognition triggers ("sorted array + pair target → two pointers"). No clock. Understanding is the deliverable.
2. **Application layer — NeetCode 150 A-set (TIMED, always).** Same day, solve the NC150 problems for that topic under clock: 20 min/medium, 12 min/easy, out loud, no pauses. First-attempt performance is logged.
3. **Transfer layer — B-set spaced repetition (TIMED, unseen problems).** For each concept, hold out a B-set of problems you have NEVER solved: HelloInterview's own practice problems for that pattern first, then LC pattern-tagged mediums when exhausted. Fire B-set problems at **+2 days, +5 days, +10 days** after the concept's learning day. Solving an unseen problem proves the concept transferred; re-solving a remembered one proves nothing.
## 1. Self-Evaluation Rubric (score every timed problem, A or B)
 
Score 0–2 on each axis, 10-point total, logged in the PM review:
 
| Axis | 2 | 1 | 0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Recognition** | Named the pattern ≤2 min | Found it after false start | Needed hint/gave up |
| **Plan-first** | Stated brute force + optimization path BEFORE code | Partial plan, coded early | Coded blind |
| **Execution** | Clean pass within time box | Solved over time / with bug caught late | DNF |
| **Analysis** | Complexity stated correctly + edge cases traced aloud | One of the two | Neither |
| **Verbalization** | Continuous narration throughout | Went silent under pressure | Mostly silent |
 
**Mastery states per concept (driven by B-set scores only):**
- 🟢 **Green:** 3 consecutive B-set problems ≥8/10 → concept exits rotation (spot-check weekly)
- 🟡 **Yellow:** B-set scores 6–7 → stays in +5/+10 rotation
- 🔴 **Red:** B-set score ≤5 → redo the HI lesson next morning, restart the +2/+5/+10 clock
The interview is scored on exactly these five axes. Grading yourself on them daily is the meta-rep.
 
## The 10-Hour Day (6 days/week; Sundays OFF, non-negotiable)
 
| Block | Time | Content |
|---|---|---|
| B1 | 2.0h | **HI concept layer:** today's pattern lesson + all walkthrough problems, untimed |
| B2 | 2.5h | **A-set:** today's NC150 problems for the pattern, fully timed, out loud |
| B3 | 1.5h | **B-set spaced repetition:** every problem due today at +2/+5/+10, timed, scored |
| B4 | 1.5h | **SD / Track B:** HelloInterview SD breakdowns & solo reps, mocks, or practical builds (Stripe integration, bug-squash, take-homes) per weekly schedule |
| B5 | 1.0h | **Behavioral / pipeline:** story writing & rehearsal, applications, DMs, screens |
| B6 | 0.5h | **Miss log + rubric scoring:** tag every sub-8 by failed axis; queue tomorrow's B-set |
| — | 1.0h | Breaks (2× 30 min, enforced — walk Angelo, lift, no screens) |
 
**Sustainability rule:** 60 hrs/week for 8 weeks is a real load even for you. Sundays fully off, breaks enforced, sleep ≥7h. Week 6 (onsites) is the week that counts — arriving at it cooked forfeits the whole camp.