Preparing for ISI entrance (Indian Statistical Institute)

Dear friends
Getting an admission offer from Indian Statistical Institute for MSc in Quantitative Economics (MSQE) is not tough if you are consistent and work for it in a proper way. In this article I have tried to explain the pattern of the exam, books to be used for preparation and some general points to be kept in mind.

There is no need for taking coaching especially for ISI entrance. If you are taking coaching for DSE entrance, it'd help in the ISI exam too. The entrance test for ISI does not have complicated, twisted questions. It's simple and straightforward if you have covered the syllabus well. I hope this article helps.

If you have any queries, or anything to share about MSQE entrance exam, feel free to post it below as comments. I'd be happy to address them. For more information about ISI, visit the website here. Good wishes.

Warm Regards,
Gaurav Poddar

There are two stages for MSQE entrance (MSc Quantitative Economics) at ISI:
Stage 1: Written test
Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1: Written test
There are two papers in the written exam. Paper 1 covers Mathematics and is objective MCQ type questions. Paper 2 covers Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and is subjective.

Paper 1: Mathematics and Elementary Statistics
This section tests Class 11th and 12th level Maths focusing mainly on Algebra and Calculus. The best way to prepare for it is to pick up RD Sharma or RS Aggarwal and revise the concepts and all the formulae. Once done, practice questions from past year Sample Papers (Links given below). Another very useful source for practicing is a book "Test of Mathematics at the 10+2 Level: Indian Statistical Institute" For elementary Statistics, if you are a DU Economics graduate student, you need not prepare. Just brush up the concepts from any book like SC Gupta.

As I had done Science at 10+2 level and had also prepared for engineering entrances, I didn't find this section tough. But remember, this is the most important paper as, if you are unable to clear the cutoff in this Paper, your Paper 2 which is subjective won't be even marked. For those who are weak at Maths, you must put in a lot of effort.

Two points that I'd like to mention from my personal experience:

1. Whenever you are practicing any question, first solve it in the way you know, which may be using a long method. Then, before moving on to the next question, stop and think if there is a shorter way to solve it. Sometimes, in the exam when you are running short of time, using short methods is always handy and saves time for tougher questions.

2. Read the instructions carefully. Sometimes, there is negative marking and sometimes there is not. In our year, nothing was mentioned. People started asking the invigilators if there is negative marking. Different invigilators told different things. In this situation, I tried to solve 80% of the questions and for 2-3 questions which I wasn't very sure of but had some idea, I took a guess and the rest I left unanswered. Under such a circumstance, I feel one shouldn't mark choices randomly on the assumption that there is no negative marking when it is not clear.

Paper 2: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
This section tests the knowledge of Micro and Macroeconomics. To put it clearly, you need to be thorough with Micro and Macro that is taught at the undergrad level in DU to B.A. Economics (H) students. And hence, the name of the books to be used will be familiar.

For Micro - (1) Hal. Varian (2) Rubenfield and Pindyck (3) Nicholson and Snyder
For Macro - (1) Dornbusch and Fischer (2) O. Blanchard (3) Development Economics by Debraj Ray (for Solow and Harrod Domar growth models) (4) Osborne (I'd recommend this for Cournot and Bertrand problems)

Practice questions from sample papers given below. That should be enough. If you are also practicing DSE past year papers, that would be great.

Two points that I'd like to mention again from my personal experience:
1. Read the instructions carefully. Usually there are 10 questions and you have to attempt as many as you can in the given very limited time. However, in our year, the instructions said clearly "Attempt any six questions" This makes life easier as you just need to pick 6 questions you know and attempt them nicely. There were students who did not read the instructions and tried attempting all the questions and couldn't give their best in the first six answers which would have been evaluated.

2. Manage your time well. This is the problem I faced. I was actually not aware of how much to write for each answer, how much should I explain. So, I spent a lot of time in the first 2-3 questions, writing the answers in the DU exam-way and had to hurry towards the end. So, manage your time. And it's NOT important to fill pages. The answer can be half a page and be correct if it makes sense.

Stage 2: Interview
Once you clear the written test, you will be called for an interview. It's a very simple process. I was given two questions, one of Maths and one of Economics and in 15 minutes I had to solve any one of them. After 15 minutes, I had to go in front of the interview panel and solve that sum on the board. That's it! If you are able to solve, you are selected. If you are unable to solve, you might not get selected. It's a do-or-a-die thing. There were absolutely no other questions. No questions on current affairs, no questions on why I want to do Masters, why ISI, etc. (I'll talk more about Interview experiences in another post)

Click on the links below to view the past year sample papers and syllabus.
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2012
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2011
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2010
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2009
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2008
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2006
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2005
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2004

Gaurav Poddar is an economics graduate from St. Stephen's College (Batch of 2013). He secured 85.2%. He also got placed at 'Bain and Company' and 'Deutsche Bank'. Currently, he is pursuing MSQE at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.