Competitive Programming 2025 — Zero‑Rupee Roadmap
Because brain‑power beats bootcamp fees.
“Solve. Upsolve. Repeat.”
TL;DR
Free resources, current as of July 2025, to take you from zero to Codeforces Expert without paying a paisa. Stop doom‑scrolling; start solving.
Language Bootcamp (Pick ONE, Stick With It)
| Track | Links |
|---|---|
| C++ Fast‑Lane | Striver C++ Crash 2025 – refreshed STL + CP tricks LUV C++ – whiteboard‑first explanations |
| Java (if company stack demands) | University of Helsinki MOOC – interactive + certificate Java Full Course 2025 (YouTube) GreatLearning Java Basics Codecademy Learn Java |
DSA Core (Interview Fuel)
| Resource | Why It Rocks |
|---|---|
| Google TechDev DSA Path | Bite‑sized, language‑agnostic |
| Striver A‑to‑Z Sheet (2025) | 450 hand‑picked problems |
| NeetCode Free Roadmap | Guided patterns + video hints |
| USACO Guide | Interactive, Bronze→Platinum progression |
Contest Mode (Rating > Cert)
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Weekly Arena: Codeforces, AtCoder, CodeChef Starters
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Practice Filters: CFTracker | Kenkoo AtCoder Problems
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Structured Courses: Codeforces EDU modules (Binary Search, Trees…)
Target: 1600+ Codeforces OR 90 % AC on USACO Gold.
Mock Interviews & Patterns
| Tool | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Interviewing.io | Anonymous engineer mocks | Free & un‑gated |
| Pramp | Peer‑to‑peer | Audio + coder pad |
| LeetCode Discuss Patterns | Community crowdsourced | Tag‑wise archives |
Portfolio & Resume (Show, Don’t Tell)
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Build 2 mini‑projects: CP helper CLI + REST Todo API.
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Ship on GitHub Pages; link in résumé.
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Format with Reactive Resume (open‑source ATS‑friendly).
Power Tools (Quality‑of‑Life)
| Tool | Why |
|---|---|
| CP Editor 7.0 | 1‑click compile‑and‑run, code folding |
| cf‑tool | Scrapes tests, automated submit |
| AtCoder Library Problem Book | Battle‑tested templates |
Daily Loop
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15 m Warm‑up: HackerRank 30‑Days / LeetCode easy.
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30 m Core: One 1400‑rated Codeforces or ABC C.
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15 m Upsolve: Fix yesterday’s wrong answer.
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Weekend: Full 2‑hour contest + editorials.
Reality Checks
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Under 3 months? Focus on DSA sheets & mock interviews.
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CP alone won’t teach system design; marry it with one solid project.
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Paying for “Alpha Plus” won’t guarantee offers—consistent solving does.
Full Java + DSA Placement Guide (0 Rupees, 0 Tears)
| Resource | Coverage | Format | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Helsinki Java MOOC | Java basics → OOP → algorithms | Interactive + auto‑graded exercises | MOOC.fi |
| NPTEL DSA using Java | 12‑week academic deep dive into DS & Algo | Video lectures + graded assignments | Swayam |
| Scaler Topics Java DSA | 9 h modular curriculum + quizzes | Interactive text + certificate | Scaler Topics |
| Love Babbar Java DSA Playlist | 450 questions solved live in Java | YouTube playlist | YouTube |
| PepCoding DSA Level‑1 (Java) | Arrays → Recursion → DP basics | YouTube playlist + coding tasks | YouTube |
| Striver A2Z DSA Sheet | End‑to‑end roadmap + Java/C++ code | Sheet + explanation videos | takeUforward |
| Love Babbar 450 Sheet | Interview‑focused 450 DS/Algo Qs | Article + progress tracker | GeeksforGeeks |
| InterviewBit Practice (Java filter) | Coding problems + mock interviews | Online judge | InterviewBit |
| Google TechDev DSA Path (Java) | Tutorials + problems with Java snippets | Interactive modules | Google TechDev |
| GitHub Java‑DSA Course Repo | Clean Java implementations of DS & Algo | Open‑source code | GitHub |
| Sources: (java-programming.mooc.fi, onlinecourses.nptel.ac.in, scaler.com, youtube.com, youtube.com, takeuforward.org, geeksforgeeks.org, interviewbit.com, techdevguide.withgoogle.com, github.com) |
Stop scrolling, start solving.
!