My brother appeared for the interview last year, so I think I can answer your question.
The panelists will evaluate your ability to explain new questions. They might even ask you to solve the questions on the board. You must be clear about your choice of ISI Kolkata as you will be asked the reason for the same during the interview.
Expect questions on topics such as Calculus, Geometry, Combinatorics, and Probability. Keep your basics clear, know the definitions, and practice solving problems based on the definitions.
Just keep practicing, be confident and give your best shot at the interview.
ISI Kolkata B.Stat can be an ideal fit for you, if you are interested in Mathematics and Statistics.
However, in terms of placements, doing just a B.Stat isn’t enough. Recruiting companies rarely employ students with just a B.Stat degree. If you want good placement packages do an M.Stat from ISI or a foreign university. After completing M.Stat, students usually receive an average CTC of around INR 19 LPA.
ISI Kolkata is a great option for pursuing an M.Tech in Computer Science. You will have great opportunities in Data Science and R&D. If you plan on doing a Ph.D. in Cryptography, this is the best course within India.
ISI Kolkata M.Tech CSE placement profiles for 2020-21 included 19 Data Scientist profiles, 1 Machine Learning Software Engineering profile, and 3 consultant profiles.
As evident by the placement highlights, ISI Kolkata is a great option for Data Science job roles. But if you are interested in job roles like Software Engineer then joining IISc or IIT will be better.
When choosing between a computer science or statistics perspective for ML, it's important to consider your goals. Statisticians have high standards for theoretical guarantees and usually publish in journals. It may take 5-6 years after initial conception for a method to be accepted and used. On the other hand, computer science and ML move quickly with conferences as the primary venues. Methods and code quickly spread, and people start using them.
In general, computer science is considered a better choice for ML than statistics departments. If you're considering the ISI Machine Intelligence Unit, note that it's mostly made up of statisticians who research fuzzy logic and publish in stats or application-specific journals. Their papers don't usually appear in flagship ML venues like NIPS, ICML, or KDD.
When deciding between a CS or statistics Ph.D., also consider your employment options after graduation. The majority of people in top Indian labs like MSR, Google, and XRCI are CS PhDs, if not 100%. Statistics PhDs, on the other hand, typically work in actuarial firms or investment banks, which have different work objectives.
One of my friends is an alumnus of ISI Kolkata and here is his insight into the placements for MTech CS.
Other than that you can apply for summer internships and if you perform well you will receive PPOs. But if you are expecting a job strictly related to your field after the compilation of your masters then don’t choose ISI. It is an excellent option if you want to do a Ph.D. or want a career in research.
There are three sections in the entrance exam and the level of maths is the same as what you studied in your 12th. The exam follows the pattern of most high school mathematics competitions (RMO, INMO, etc).
The three sections of the Entrance Exam consist of MCQ, A Subjective Test, and an Interview.
The books you must know are:
You should complete these all and do previous year’s papers of ISI/CMI RMO, INMO and IMO.
For Interview:
Do not overthink and do your preparation well. This will help you a lot. Be calm and try to think of cracking the exam and the latter part would be an easy task for you.
While all three institutes are prestigious institutes, my sister chose ISI Kolkata for a number of reasons. Here are a few reasons
ISI Kolkata is a great option as it offers opportunities in both, jobs and higher education.
M.Tech CS at ISI Kolkata isn’t just for CSE graduates. The student crowd includes students from all engineering streams. So, in the first year, ISI encourages students from non-CSE backgrounds to learn coding and study computer science courses. While CSE students are encouraged to take Mathematics courses such as Algebra, or Probability.
Second year course curriculum can seem a little boring for students with CS background. As the major chunk of the curriculum includes Algorithms, Networking, DBMS, etc. But you should use this opportunity to brush up on these subjects. You will also have the option to do research work, during the course tenure. Pursuing a research project can be really helpful if you are interested in doing a Ph.D. or an internship afterward.
In the second year, you will be allowed to choose a course of your choice. Try to take a subject that is relevant to your thesis work. The coursework in the third year can get extremely hectic, you will have to work on your thesis, start preparing for placement or PhD, and work on five subjects.
If you are considering pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Statistics (BStat) or Mathematics, it's important to know that Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) offers these programs at their Kolkata and Bangalore campuses. Here's what you need to know about each campus:
ISI Kolkata Campus:
ISI Bangalore Centre:
In summary, if you are specifically looking for the BStat program, ISI Kolkata is the only campus that offers it. However, if you are interested in Mathematics, the Bangalore Centre of ISI is an excellent choice, with a strong faculty and a focus on research.
ISI Kolkata has a great placement record. The placement average stays around 100%. As per the trends of last few years, ISI Kolkata placement has an average CTC of INR 17-18 LPA. Some of the major recruiters that participate in the placement drive are Goldman Sachs, Reliance, Deloitte, Walmart, Samsung, etc.