How to Prepare for IISER Entrance Exam 2024: Prep Tips and Guidelines

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research Entrance Exam 2026 ( IISER Entrance Exam )

Manisha
Manisha Kumari
Associate Senior Executive
Updated on Apr 10, 2024 13:08 IST
IISER Entrance Exam 2024 is going to be conducted on June 9, 2024. Around 2-3 months are left for the exam and aspirants should start accelerating their preparation for the same. This Shiksha article will provide you the various tips that you can use to prepare better for IISER entrance exam 2024 and ace the entrance exam.

IISER Entrance Exam 2024 is going to be conducted on June 9, 2024. Around 2-3 months are left for the exam and aspirants should start accelerating their preparation for the same. This Shiksha article will provide you the various tips that you can use to prepare better for IISER entrance exam 2024 and ace the entrance exam.

IISER Entrance Exam

The Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) conducts the IISER Entrance Exam to offer students admission in five-year BS-MS dual degree programmes and BS degree programmes (IISER Bhopal) offered at the various institutes in India. Considered to be quite a tough exam to crack, students need plenty of preparation in order to crack the entrance exam as it is no child’s play.

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Admissions are via IAT Channel only. JEE Advanced and KVPY scorecards are no longer valid. This decision by the exam officials will now create more competition among the students as all the interested candidates have to appear in IAT 2024 exam. The IISER exam is highly competitive. To stand a chance of getting into a good university, you need to have a well-planned and comprehensive preparation strategy. While doing the IISER 2024 preparation, candidates will understand that the IISER syllabus is vast. There is a lot of material that you need to cover to be successful in the exam. A preparation plan will help you ensure that you cover all of the important topics.

Q:   What is the difficulty level of IISER entrance test?
A:

IISER entrance examination is considered to be one of the finest and the toughest exams under Science stream undergraduate entrance examination as it provides the BSMS dual degree in the most reputed and research-oriented institutions across the country which is IISERs. On a comparison note, candidates will find the examination tougher than JEE Main exam, but below JEE Advanced. Unlike JEE or NEET the IISER aptitude test asks questions from both mathematics and Biology. Subjects which are found tougher in IISER entrance examination- Organic Chemistry can easily create hassle while giving the entrance examination as there are a lot of naming reactions, its electrophilic and nucleophilic attacks which are commonly asked in the examination. For the bio-background people, the Math section is not usually unscalable. With a decent understanding of regular 11th and 12th-grade concepts, you should be able to crack a few questions without much trouble. Of course, the caveat being that you rock it in the bio section and make up for it. So ensure that you don't falter at this juncture.

Q:   What are the different channels for getting admission in IISER Colleges?
A:

Earlier, there were three channels through which candidates could get admissions to the courses offered at IISER institutions, IISc Bangalore and IIT Madras. From the academic session 2025, admissions are done through the IAT exam channel only, and the other two channels, including JEE Main and KVPY scores, have been discontinued. 

Table of contents
  • Academic Programmes Offered by IISER
  • Stepwise Preparation for IISER Entrance Exam
  • How to prepare for IISER Entrance Exam?
  • Make IISER Entrance Exam 2024 Timetable
  • Books to Read for the IISER Entrance Exam 2024

Academic Programmes Offered by IISER 

IISERs offer admission into courses leading to BS-MS Dual Degree, and BS Degree (only at IISER Bhopal) Programs. Admissions are via IAT Channel, KVPY Channel and JEE (Advanced) Channel. Programmes offered by the participating IISER institutions are mentioned below:

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Biological Sciences
● Chemical Sciences
● Earth & Climate Sciences/Earth & Environmental Sciences
● Economic Sciences
● Engineering Sciences (Chemical Engineering, Data Science & Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science)
● Geological Sciences

● Integrated & Interdisciplinary Sciences (Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Physical Sciences)
● Mathematical Sciences
 Physical Sciences

Note: Four-year BS program in Engineering Sciences and Economics Sciences is offered only by IISER Bhopal.

In order to ace the IISER Entrance Exam, students need to prepare well, get all the right material to study, sort out their time schedule, solve mock tests, know the exam pattern and marking scheme.

Here are a few step-wise preparation tips which you can apply when you are short on time and need to study straight away. Follow the below-mentioned steps on how prepare for the IISER Entrance Exam.

Stepwise Preparation for IISER Entrance Exam

Step 1: Understand the IISER Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme.

Step 2: Get the prescribed syllabus for the applied course.

Step 3: Get all the study material you can to prepare better for IISER Entrance Exam. 

Step 4: Create a day to day and weekly time table on how much material you can study on a daily basis.

Step 5:  Try and solve as many question papers as you can, including sample papers and give mock tests to know your strengths and weaknesses.

How to prepare for IISER Entrance Exam?

The first step in preparing for IISER Entrance Exam is all about how you will utilize your time, how many topics you can cover in a day, how many equations can you solve from hard to easy. Studying according to a jotted out plan is always successful. Candidates can go through the following tips steps on how to prepare for the entrance test.

Know the IISER Entrance Exam Pattern

First and foremost, the candidate needs to understand the IISER Entrance Exam pattern. One should know the duration of the exam, the mode and medium of the entrance exam, how many questions will be asked and the weightage of marks. Will the question pattern be in MCQ format or have long answer questions. How many sections will there be and which section will carry the most amount of marks? Once you understand the pattern, you have a blueprint in your mind and will know exactly how to manage your time while sitting for the entrance exam.

Know the IISER Entrance Exam Marking Scheme

Along with the exam pattern, students should know the marking scheme as well. If you are not thorough with the exam pattern and marking scheme, it will be quite tough to prepare your plan before you get down to write as soon as you get the question paper. You have to know the minute details as it can help you prepare better and you better chances of scoring better. You will not have much trouble once you have the pattern in mind and know what to expect in terms of the marking scheme.

Know the IISER Entrance Exam Syllabus

Once you have the syllabus of the course you have applied for, be it Biology, Physics, Mathematics or Chemistry, it just makes the preparation process much smoother from here on. To score well in IISER Entrance Exam, candidates have to thoroughly go through the prescribed IISER 2024 syllabus. Even if its general topics which you have covered, go through them once again. Don’t leave out anything. Strategize your plans on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. There is no success without hard work and in order to get admission in IISER, you can prepare better by knowing which topics to cover in-depth and which sections will require superficial knowledge such as general studies. You can do so by following the below-mentioned pointers:

  • Segregate the subjects and topics into easy and difficult categories. Cover topics which you find challenging.
  • Cover the subjects thoroughly and know the important topics which have to be covered.
  • Note down the topics which carry maximum weightage (based on previous years’ question papers).

To know the IISER Entrance Exam syllabus, click here.

Go through Prep Books

Along with the syllabus, aspirants should purchase the required IISER Entrance Exam 2024 books. Through prep books, one tests themselves. You can identify where you fall behind and which are your strong points. It is advised that you purchase at least two to three prep books to help better understand the test. The prep books will give you an idea of the syllabus, know what type of questions that can be asked in the entrance exam and much more.

Refer to Past Years’ Question Papers

The best way to get a grip of what you can expect is by going through the IISER previous years question papers. You can understand which section has what type of questions and how many sections carry the maximum amount of marks where you can score well.

Solve Sample Papers and Mock Tests

The best way to know where you fall behind and what your weaknesses are, is by solving question papers, sample papers and mock tests. If you’re having trouble in a topic, try and answer the questions asked. You can only build on your weak aspects and can only build and become more confident.

Make IISER Entrance Exam 2024 Timetable

Here are the steps on how to make an IISER exam timetable:
  • Gather all the relevant information. This includes the exam dates, the number of papers, the duration of each paper, and the syllabus for each paper.
  • List all the papers you need to take.
  • Estimate the amount of time you need to study for each paper.
  • Allocate time for each paper in your timetable.
  • Be realistic about how much you can study in a day.
  • Schedule your study sessions around your other commitments.
  • Stick to your timetable as much as possible.
  • To identify areas where you need to improve: By reviewing your mock test results, you can identify areas where you need to improve your knowledge or understanding. This can help you focus your studies on the most important topics, maximizing your chances of success on the actual exam.
  • To boost your confidence: Taking mock tests can help you build confidence in your ability to perform well on the actual exam. By seeing yourself succeed in a simulated testing environment, you can reduce anxiety and increase your chances of success on the actual day.

Books to Read for the IISER Entrance Exam 2024

Candidates can go through the following books which are used by students to study for IISER Entrance Exam.

Physics

Book

Author

Concepts if Physics Volume I

H.C Verma

Concepts if Physics Volume II

H.C Verma

NCERT Physics Class XI

NCERT

NCERT Physics Class XII

NCERT

Fundamentals of Physics

Halliday, Resnik, Walker

Problems in General Physics

I.E Irodov

Chemistry

NCERT Chemistry Class XI

NCERT

NCERT Chemistry Class XII

NCERT

Organic Chemistry

Morrison and Boyd

Inorganic Chemistry for IIT JEE

O.P Tandon

Concise Inorganic Chemistry for JEE

J.D Lee

Numerical Chemistry

P Bahadur

Chemical Calculations

R.C Mukherjee

Mathematics

Problems Plus in IIT Mathematics

A Das Gupta

Comprehensive Mathematics JEE Advanced

Tata McGraw Hill

Plane Trigonometry Part 1

SL Loneyx`

For more details on the IISER Entrance Exam, you can go through the following links:

IISER Entrance Exam Important Dates

How to fill IISER Entrance Exam Application Form

How to download IISER Entrance Exam Admit Card

How to download IISER Entrance Exam Results

Read More:

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About the Author
author-image
Manisha Kumari
Associate Senior Executive
Being a post-graduate and BEd degree holder, I'm an innovative, task-driven and immensely motivated science enthusiast, making me a passionate content writer. I love providing meaningful and constructive articles in Read Full Bio
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Answered a week ago

No, the IISER Entrance Exam result can be checked only in online mode. The exam authorities will release the result or rankcard on the exam website. Students have to login with their registration credentials to download the IISER Aptitude Test result.  

V

Vipra Garg

Beginner-Level 5

Answered a week ago

IISER Entrance Exam centres are located in cities across India. The exam is not conducted outside India. In case there is a change this year, it will be updated here. 

L

Liyansha Shukla

Beginner-Level 5

Answered a week ago

No, there is no option to apply for the IISER Entrance Exam in offline mode. Students have to go to the exam website, which is iiseradmission.in to apply for the exam. The fee has to be also paid in online mode, through Credit/Debit Card or Net Banking.

P

Pooja Kalra

Beginner-Level 5

Answered a week ago

If you are planning to appear for the IISER Entrance Exam 2026, and you will write your Board exam in the same year, you will be eligible. In case you are slated to appear for the exam in 2027, you cannot take the IISER Entrance Exam 2026. The exam is expected to be conducted in May. If you do not c

...Read more

N

Nitesh Dhyani

Beginner-Level 5

Answered a week ago

No, IISER Entrance Exam is conducted in a single day and slot. The total duration of the exam is three hours. There is no break in between the test. IISER Aptitude Test is conducted in computer based mode. 

M

Manashjyoti Shukla

Beginner-Level 5

Answered 2 weeks ago

The IISER Entrance Exam Mock Test can be taken from the exam website for free. There is no fee involved for this. Neither is it necessary to register for the IISER Aptitude Test. Students can take the mock test as many times as they wish to. 

A

Aishwarya Aggarwal

Beginner-Level 5

Answered 2 weeks ago

Yes, it is mandatory to attempt all questions of the IISER Entrance Exam Mock Test at one go. The mock test gets disabled within a few minutes of inactivity. Hence, students should solve all questions within 180 minutes of starting the test. If you are unable to complete the IAT mock test in one sit

...Read more

78440886
Sreetama Datta Roy

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 2 weeks ago

Yes, the questions of the official IISER Entrance Exam Mock Test are from the syllabus. The total duration of the mock test is 3 hours. It will provide familiarity with the IISER Aptitude Test and help in preparation. 

A

Abhay Majumdar

Beginner-Level 5

Answered 3 weeks ago

The IISER entrance exam is of 240 marks. Each question carries four marks. There is a minus one mark for each wrong answer. No marks will be removed for questions not answered. There are 60 marks in each of the four sections. All questions are objective type and have four answer options. Students ha

...Read more

M

Manashjyoti Shukla

Beginner-Level 5

Answered 3 weeks ago

There is no age limit to apply or appear for the IISER Entrance Exam 2026. However, applicants must have appeared for their Board examination in 2024, 2025 or 2026. Based on this, applicants must apply for the exam. Apart from this, students should have studied Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathe

...Read more

A

Aishwarya Aggarwal

Beginner-Level 5

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