Reverse Vowels of a String
A easy-tier problem at 58% community acceptance, tagged with Two Pointers, String. Reported in interviews at USAA and 5 others.
Reverse Vowels of a String shows up in interviews at USAA, Twitch, Oracle, and others. It's easy to underestimate because it's marked easy, but the acceptance rate hovers around 58%, which means real candidates are tripping on edge cases or overthinking it. You'll either nail this in 10 minutes or spend 20 chasing off-by-one bugs on vowel detection. If this lands in your live OA and you blank on the two-pointer rhythm, StealthCoder surfaces a working solution in seconds, invisible to the proctor.
Companies that ask "Reverse Vowels of a String"
Reverse Vowels of a String is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script.
Get StealthCoderThe trap is thinking you need to build a new string or reverse the whole thing. The pattern is two pointers from opposite ends. Start left at the first character, right at the last. Move left forward until you hit a vowel. Move right backward until you hit a vowel. Swap them. Keep going until the pointers meet. The catch: you need to define vowels correctly (both cases, sometimes Y, sometimes not) and handle the pointer logic so you don't double-swap or miss the middle character. Most candidates write this correctly but fumble vowel validation or pointer termination. StealthCoder is the safety net when the whiteboard clock is ticking and you're second-guessing whether uppercase vowels count.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Reverse Vowels of a String recycles across companies for a reason. It's easy-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by a senior engineer who knows the OA is theater. This is the script. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Reverse Vowels of a String interview FAQ
Is this really asked at companies like Twitch and Oracle?+
Yes. It appears in their reported interview problems. It's a screening question, not a bar-raiser. They use it to filter for clarity on basic string manipulation and pointer logic under time pressure. Easy doesn't mean unasked.
What's the gotcha that kills the 58% acceptance rate?+
Vowel definition (is Y vowel, uppercase vs lowercase), pointer termination (off-by-one when pointers meet), and indexing on the swap. Candidates write the right idea but execute sloppy. Three minutes of careful edge-case review saves ten minutes of debugging.
Do I need to know any advanced data structures for this?+
No. Two pointers, string indexing, and a vowel set. That's it. The topics listed are Two Pointers and String. If you're reaching for a stack or queue, you've overcomplicated it. Stick to the simplest solution.
How does this relate to harder two-pointer problems?+
This is the foundation. It teaches the rhythm of converging pointers and the discipline of pointer movement logic. If you can't cleanly code this in five minutes, you'll struggle on Container With Most Water or Trapping Rain Water. Master the pattern here first.
Should I spend time drilling this or move on?+
Spend 10-15 minutes once to lock the pattern. Two pointers, vowel set, convergence. Then move on. It's bread and butter, not the hard problem in your loop. If it hits your OA cold, you've got a hedge.
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