ISI M.Math Exam Experience

The Indian Statistical Institute is one the premier research institutes of the country especially in the fields of statistics and mathematics. It is also one of the oldest institutions of its kind in the world. Some of the top mathematicians of our country have had their fair share of “connection” with the ISI and it has nurtured and is catering to the needs of some of the brightest minds of the country.

I was already invested in mathematics from a young age, I did my Bachelors from Banaras Hindu University and passed my course in the first division with distinction. I was a INSPIRE scholar under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. So quite naturally, I also aimed for ISI. Among the four centers of ISI, Bangalore and Kolkata offer course in Masters of Mathematics. The forms are generally out in March and the entrance exam is conducted in the month of May.

The exam was scheduled on 15th of May 2023 somewhere in Varanasi (I don’t remember my test center) in the morning shift. I along with my friends booked an auto early in the morning and went to give the exam with the minimal preparation as our semester exams were going on. The exam started at 9 in the morning. The ISI entrance exams are conducted in pen/paper mode. It is conducted in three parts, objective, subjective and the interview. The entrance exam covers the objective and the subjective part, with the condition that the subjective paper will only be graded if the candidate clears the cut off of the objective round.

I did not have much difficulty in solving the objective part, the questions were mostly conceptual and fun to do. Questions mainly consisted of beginning graduate level algebra and analysis and some combinatorics and number theory. I faced difficulty in the subjective round, which consisted of 8 questions, out of which I could do only the last two well. The questions were mainly from linear algebra, group theory, ring theory and number theory.

Anyways, the results were out in the month of June and as I expected I could not clear the ISI exam. Now that I have failed the exam, I can tell what one needs to do to sail through both the entrance and the interview. First of all, remember if one does good in the subjective round, the interview questions are relatively easier. For acing the subjective round, you need to solve all the previous year subjective round questions, so that you may know what to expect from an ISI subjective round test. Read good books for clearing your basic concepts, for instance, Hoffman and Kunze for linear algebra, Dummit & Foote for abstract algebra, baby Rudin for analysis and Burton for Elementary number theory (optional). Best of Luck to all !