Columbia University student Roy Leesays he ’s been suspendedafter he built an AI program that helped him extend the barbarous technical interviews for Meta , Facebook , Amazon , and TikTok . “ I just got kicked out of Columbia for take a stand against Leetcode interview , ” Lee pronounce in a March 26post on LinkedIn .
I spoke with Leeearlier this monthafter his narrative went viral on societal media . Lee is , or was , a sophomore at Columbia who had an eye towards calibrate in 2026 . As a information processing system scientific discipline whiz , he was all set to matriculate into the world of magnanimous tech and set ashore a Book of Job for a FAANG ( Facebook , Amazon , Apple , Netflix , and Google ) company .
He just needed to go by the technological consultation . The tech interview , or “ Leetcode ” audience is a grueling outgrowth where a job candidate is thrust into a prolonged and tedious coding test , often while an employee at the company watches . The technical consultation usually call for problems the programmer will never front on the line of work .
Roy Lee at his computer for his technical interview with Amazon.© Roy Lee via YouTube.
To take heed Lee order it , use for the tests broke him . So he build a simple prick that contain screenshots of his screen door during a proficient mental test and asks an AI organisation to solve the problems for him . He pronounce it worked and he got offers from multiple tech company . He start selling subscription to his software , dubbed Interview Coder , and put up a video on YouTube of him using it to slide by Amazon ’s technical test .
Then someone tittle-tattle to Columbia . Lee shared a copy of the letter that the University shared with him . The name of the sender is couch , but they claim to be an Amazon employee who was upset when they see Lee ’s video on YouTube . Amazon declined to gloss on Lee specifically and Columbia would n’t comment on the story , saying that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act prevented them from doing so .
“ I leak the alphabetic character , and it went exceedingly viral on X. That exclusive moment probably protected me more than anything else , ” Lee said on LinkedIn . When I spoke with him earlier this calendar month , his disciplinary audition was day aside . He shrugged it off , pronounce he would n’t be in the country and was project to entrust the university .
According to his LinkedIn post , he appeared in some capacity . “ At the hearing , Columbia forced me into a weird admission that the prick could be used to aid student jockey in a Columbia CS class . ( It ca n’t . ) and put me on academic probation , schedule another hearing for leak out all the written document , ” he said . “ A week and a half afterward , and I ’m completely kicked out from shoal . LOL ! ”
A copy of the complaint Lee shared with me earlier this calendar month come from Columbia . It had a freehanded watermark overlaid on it that said “ Not broadcast . ” He had posted this motion-picture show on societal medium as well .
Lee also partake copies of bill from his disciplinary hearing on LinkedIn and X. “ The hearing officers review the evidence presented and observe that you published documents from your corrective record , including correspondence from Student Conduct , sheath file , a photo , and video recording of your Dean ’s Discipline Hearing on February 12 , 2025 , to the online social media internet , ” the documents Lee put up said . “ Due to the nature of the violation(s ) , you are suspended from Columbia College effective now and eligible to return after May 20 , 2026 . ”
Lee is trade subs to the software that get him into so much hassle for $ 60 a calendar month . Every fight with Columbia raises his profile just a little more . “ It ’s peculiar now and an amazing storey in hindsight , but the accuracy is I was fine-tune speculative throughout this integral process , ” he order on LinkedIn . “ Taking this much risk tested my genial forcefulness to its absolute limit point , but I ’m super glad I did it . ”
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