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 )
Registration - 5 Mar '26 - 13 Apr '26
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.
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.
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 JEE Advanced and KVPY scorecards are no longer valid.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.
- 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:
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.
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.
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.
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Make IISER Entrance Exam 2024 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.
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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:
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 2 days ago
The official website to check the result of IISER 2026 is iiseradmission.in. Students have to provide the required credentials to check the exam result.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
There are 2343 seats, including supernumerary seats for BS-MS / BS / B.Tech. programmes.
BS-MS programme seat matrix
| IISER | Total Seats |
| IISER Berhampur | 300 |
| IISER Bhopal | 300 |
| IISER Kolkata | 280 |
| IISER Kolkata (BS-MS in Computational and Data Sciences) | 30 |
| IISER Pune | 288 |
| IISER Mohali | 275 |
| IISER Thiruvananthapuram | 320 |
| IISER Tirupati | 250 |
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The authority has not announced the IISER result date. Students can check the IISER Admisison 2026 website for any updates.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
IISER counselling is conducted in multiple rounds. Students who qualify the IISER entrance exam can participate in the counselling process.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
IISER entrance exam 2026 is scheduled on June 7, 2026. The exam time is from 9 AM to 12 PM. IISER Berhampur will conduct the IISER Aptitude Test 2026.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
The cutoff rank for IISER will be released online. Meanwhile, students can check the previous year cutoff of IISER to know what rank is required for admission.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
IISER question paper will be based on Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology. 15 questions are on each subject. Total marks for the IISER exam 2026 are 240. There will be 60 questions, each of which will carry 4 marks. Negative marking is done for wrong answers.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
IISER Berhampur has released the IISER 2026 exam syllabus on the official website. Students can check the exam syllabus to know the important topics and plan the preparation strategy accordingly.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Students can practice the IISER mock test free on the website iiseradmission.in. The mock test is for practice and getting familiar with the online exam. Regular practice will improve speed and help to focus on the weak topics.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
There are 2343 seats in IISER 2026. Admission to these seats will be based on IAT rank. Students need to participate in the IISER counselling process for admission. The information regarding the counselling was updated online.
V
Contributor-Level 10
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.