IISER Mohali Interview Experience

I was a student of the Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University enrolled in the program of Bachelor of Science with Mathematics Honors for the session 2020-23. I was also an INSPIRE Scholar under the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. I wanted to go for higher studies in Mathematics, but the condition of Central Universities of our country (even the topmost ones, my case for instance) was pitiful. So, I wanted to be admitted to the top research institutes of our country. However, since my IIT JAM examinations went bad, I could not get into IITs. But still, I had a chance to get into top institutes like ISI, TIFR, and the IISERs.

The forms for applying to IISERs came up in March after the IIT JAM examination results were out. Eminent research institutions like IISERs rely very much on Statement of Purpose (SOP) and recommendation letters from trusted mentors for screening the applications rather than just on the JAM score. I was a good student of my college and my love of mathematics was also genuine, so I had no worries in writing up my SOP and getting letters of recommendation. Soon afterward, I got a call via E-mail from IISER Mohali for an offline interview which was scheduled for the 17th of May 2023. I was elated.

The day of the interview arrived, and my friend both got selected for the interview. We took the Amritsar Mail from Banaras to Ambala on the day before the interview. We had our semester exams going on then, but somehow we managed to go for the interview. We reached Mohali at 9 A.M after a tiresome journey. My friend’s interview was over at the very first half but unfortunately, I was the last interviewee and my interview took place late in the evening. I was sleepy and tired all along.

After a brief introduction, I was asked about my area of interest, to which I replied Analysis and Algebra. Three questions were asked of me during the interview. The first one was to prove that a real function that was bounded above had to be uniformly continuous. I fumbled at first but was able to chalk out the proof. Second one, was required to prove some version of Chinese remainder theorem, I also succeeded in that. Third was to find out the cardinality of the general linear group of n x n real matrices, to which I was only able to answer partly. My interview went about 50 minutes to 1 hour. But I was happy with my interview.

The interview results were out on 6th July 2023. I literally jumped to and fro after I saw my name second in the merit list. My family and friends were also very happy at my feat. My friend from BHU who also gave the interview along with me got selected into IISER Mohali. Although, his rank was in two digits and he could easily went for IIT Bombay but chose IISER Mohali. We are still classmates.