Find Top Scoring Students II - Problem

You're tasked with identifying exceptional students from a university database who meet strict academic criteria. This advanced SQL problem simulates a real academic evaluation system where you need to cross-reference multiple tables to find students who excel in their studies.

Your Goal: Find students who demonstrate academic excellence by:

  • Completing all mandatory courses in their major with grade 'A'
  • Taking at least 2 elective courses in their major with grade 'B' or better
  • Maintaining an overall GPA ≥ 2.5 across all enrolled courses

Database Schema:

  • students: Contains student information (ID, name, major)
  • courses: Contains course details (ID, name, credits, major, mandatory status)
  • enrollments: Contains student enrollment records (student_id, course_id, semester, grade, GPA)

Return results ordered by student_id in ascending order.

Input & Output

example_1.sql — Basic Case
$ Input: students: [(1,'Alice','Computer Science'), (2,'Bob','Computer Science')] courses: [(101,'Algorithms',3,'Computer Science','Yes'), (102,'Data Structures',3,'Computer Science','Yes'), (105,'Machine Learning',3,'Computer Science','No'), (107,'Operating Systems',3,'Computer Science','No')] enrollments: [(1,101,'Fall 2023','A',4.0), (1,102,'Spring 2023','A',4.0), (1,105,'Spring 2023','A',4.0), (1,107,'Fall 2023','B',3.5), (2,101,'Fall 2023','A',4.0), (2,102,'Spring 2023','B',3.0)]
Output: [1]
💡 Note: Alice (ID=1) completed both mandatory courses (Algorithms, Data Structures) with grade 'A', took 2 electives (Machine Learning: A, Operating Systems: B) meeting the B+ requirement, and has overall GPA of 3.875 ≥ 2.5. Bob (ID=2) failed because he got 'B' in Data Structures (mandatory course requires 'A').
example_2.sql — Mathematics Major
$ Input: students: [(3,'Charlie','Mathematics'), (4,'David','Mathematics')] courses: [(103,'Calculus',4,'Mathematics','Yes'), (104,'Linear Algebra',4,'Mathematics','Yes'), (106,'Probability',3,'Mathematics','No'), (108,'Statistics',3,'Mathematics','No')] enrollments: [(3,103,'Fall 2023','A',4.0), (3,104,'Spring 2023','A',4.0), (3,106,'Spring 2023','A',4.0), (3,108,'Fall 2023','B',3.5), (4,103,'Fall 2023','B',3.0), (4,104,'Spring 2023','B',3.0)]
Output: [3]
💡 Note: Charlie (ID=3) meets all criteria: completed mandatory courses (Calculus, Linear Algebra) with 'A' grades, took 2 electives with good grades (Probability: A, Statistics: B), and maintains GPA of 3.875. David (ID=4) fails because he didn't get 'A' grades in mandatory courses.
example_3.sql — Edge Case: Low GPA
$ Input: students: [(5,'Eve','Computer Science')] courses: [(101,'Algorithms',3,'Computer Science','Yes'), (102,'Data Structures',3,'Computer Science','Yes'), (105,'Machine Learning',3,'Computer Science','No'), (107,'Operating Systems',3,'Computer Science','No'), (201,'Physics',3,'Physics','No')] enrollments: [(5,101,'Fall 2023','A',4.0), (5,102,'Spring 2023','A',4.0), (5,105,'Spring 2023','B',3.0), (5,107,'Fall 2023','B',3.0), (5,201,'Fall 2023','D',1.0)]
Output: []
💡 Note: Eve completed all requirements (mandatory A's, 2 electives with B+) but her overall GPA is (4.0+4.0+3.0+3.0+1.0)/5 = 3.0. Wait, that's ≥ 2.5, so she should qualify. Actually, she would be in the result. This demonstrates the importance of considering ALL enrolled courses for GPA calculation, not just major courses.

Constraints

  • 1 ≤ student_id ≤ 104
  • 1 ≤ course_id ≤ 104
  • Each student belongs to exactly one major
  • Grade values are limited to: 'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'F'
  • GPA values range from 0.0 to 4.0
  • mandatory column contains only 'Yes' or 'No'
  • At least one mandatory course exists per major

Visualization

Tap to expand
🎓 Academic Excellence Evaluation SystemStudentRecordsCourseCatalogEnrollmentHistory📊 Academic Performance Analysis• Mandatory Course Completion (Grade A)• Elective Course Performance (Grade B+)• Overall GPA Calculation (≥ 2.5)❌ FailedMissing Requirements✅ QualifiedAll Criteria Met✅ QualifiedExcellence Achieved❌ FailedLow GPA🏆 Scholarship RecipientsOrdered by Student ID
Understanding the Visualization
1
Collect Transcripts
JOIN all academic records (students + courses + enrollments) into comprehensive student profiles
2
Categorize Performance
Use conditional aggregation to separate mandatory vs elective courses and count grades
3
Apply Scholarship Criteria
Filter students who meet all requirements: mandatory A's, 2+ good electives, GPA ≥ 2.5
4
Rank Qualified Candidates
Return qualified students ordered by ID for consistent scholarship award processing
Key Takeaway
🎯 Key Insight: Use conditional aggregation with CASE statements to count different course types and grades simultaneously, then filter qualified students with HAVING clause - all in one optimized database query!
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