How to Prepare for CMI Entrance ~ Ryan Hota

Learn from the Achiever - Ryan Hota (CMI 2022)

Ryan Hota - CMI Entrance Success Story

Ryan Hota has cracked the CMI Entrance 2022 Examination.

He shared with us how he prepared for the CMI Entrance in an interview with Cheenta. This interview will take you through the preparation journey of Ryan for CMI Entrance 2022 and can help you with some insights that you can utilize for your CMI preparation.

Here are some of the questions, that he answered in the interview.

Tell us about yourself

I am Ryan Hota, Class 12th Student from Ballygunge Govt High School, Kolkata. I recently cleared the Chennai Mathematical Institute, CMI Entrance Test and AMC 12 and IOQM 2020 earlier.

I like to read and write fiction, hike, and watch YouTube. I found an interest in math due to the YouTube channel MindYourDecisions, and later got amused and eventually engrossed by the stupidity of extreme rigor. It is probably the first philosophical idea which struck me deeply.

How did you prepare for the CMI?

With an extreme paranoia of missing out on GOOD problems, I tried to solve harder and more beautiful problems, sometimes stuck on a problem for a month. This created a need to learn more and more niche theory. This process of problem and theory led me down a rabbit hole into the outer reaches of the heart of mathematics.

Can you suggest some resources (books, YouTube channels and websites) that had helped you in your preparation?

The books which helped me a lot in my preparation were:

Problem Solving Strategies
Elementary Number Theory
Enumerative Combinatorics
Bartle & Sherbert

The YouTube channels which helped me a lot in my preparation were:

Cheenta
Blackpenredpen
3blue1brown
Wootube
Mathologer
Numberphile
Think Twice
Dr. Peyam
Metamaths
Mathemaniac
Stand-up-Maths
Michael Penn
Zach Star

The websites which helped me a lot in my preparation were:

Desmos
WolframAlpha
Symbolab
Geogebra
Wikipedia
Brilliant Math & Science Wiki
MathStackExchange
AOPS

What are you planning next?

To understand the various axiomatic theories (such as ZF), foundational set theory, fundamental logic, and various metamathetical theories, with a particular intention to eventually study Turing and Godel's metamath work in detail.

Any advice for the current aspirants?

At the start, take your high school geometry problems, the Youtube channel MindYourDecisions, and the Aops channel on ISI/CMI/Olympiad Math, along with the guidance of Cheenta's teachers. After doing all this, you should probably become aware of the type of preparation journey suitable for you. Later, you should delve a bit into selected chapters of Problem Solving Strategies.

How Cheenta helped you in your ISI - CMI preparation?

Sricharan Sir, Satyam Sir, Aritra Sir, Writabrata Sir, Ashani Sir, Srijit Sir and Raghunath Sir were all very dedicated teachers, firm yet loving. They took care of me when I was extreme stressed, and took their classes as a regular discipline. The initial classes were very helpful in learning the fundamental theory, and the later classes gave me an unyielding stream of hand-picked problems. Most importantly, they were a reassuring presence even when they were not in sight, which helped me a lot with the previously mentioned paranoia.

Sricharan Sir was the first person in my journey and he helped me a lot.