I am currently stuck at the newbie level. I can barely solve Div. 4 A and B problems, and most of the time I don’t even understand the problem statements properly. It feels like I am not improving at all.
Some people suggest solving 1100–1400 rated problems, but the issue is that I cannot even understand many Div. 4 A and B problems, let alone solve them.
So my question is: what resources should I use to reach at least the Pupil level? Or should I completely give up competitive programming and focus on something else instead?
solve 1000 rated problems go on virtual contest DIV 3
learn binary search , two pointers , prefix sum
u can use usaco.guide , it is good source
go from bronze or u can start from general
u will get down vote because this question is very frequent
i hope u have a nice day :)
do 5 div 3 problems gets you specialist 4 gets you pupil 6 gets you expert, do 5 div 2 problems gets you master, 6 can get you master/im, div 1 3-4 problems gets you grandmaster (it should correspond to a consistent 6x div 2 post div 2), div 1 4-5 problems gets you igm, div 1 5-6 consistent gets you lgm...
that is not a problem in your CP skills but rather solving problems in general. Do CP only if you have passion and will to struggle. maybe try mixing some math/geometry (like school math, not cp math) I am a decent problem solver in general (I always loved doing math problems since i was young), and when i joined codeforces i saw really fast improvement in skill So id say codeforces is really good, dont focus on rating but rather skills.