3 Months into Coding Test Prep: Algorithm Study Tips
Stuck at Baekjoon Silver 3. Barely managing DFS/BFS, and DP concepts are still confusing. I've watched YouTube lectures and read books, but I can't apply them in practice. If any pros have special study methods, please share.
4 answers
If DP is confusing, I recommend writing the recurrence relation directly on paper. At first, try hand-coding basic problems like the Fibonacci sequence more than 10 times, and you'll start to see patterns. Then, build your application skills with problems like Baekjoon's 'Largest Square.' It took me two months to figure it out too.
Do you set a time limit when solving problems? To build practical skills, if you can't solve a problem within 30 minutes, check the explanation, understand it, and then try solving it again the next day. Also, picking a problem one level above your current level on solved.ac and challenging yourself can be helpful.
I feel you... I've been stuck at Silver 2 for 4 months too. Lately, I've switched to LeetCode and Programmers to solve problems. The different problem styles give me fresh motivation. Let's keep going together! Fighting :)
Getting stuck at Silver 3 is really common. I also stayed in a similar tier for a long time, and the key was digging deep into one problem rather than solving many. For example, if you solve a DFS/BFS problem, find 5 to 10 more of the same type and practice them. Watching YouTube lectures alone can easily make you think you understand when you actually don't.