How to Prepare for CMI Data Science Entrance ~ Shramana Guin

Learn from the Achiever - Shramana Guin

Shramana Guin - CMI Data Science Success Story

Shramana Guin has cleared the CMI Data Science 2021 Entrance Examination.

She shared with us how she prepared for the CMI Data Science in an interview with the Cheenta Statistics and Analytics Department. This interview will take you through the preparation journey of Shramana for CMI Data Science 2021 and can help you with some insights that you can utilize for your preparation.

When did you start preparing for CMI Data Science Entrance Examination?

Preparations for the entrance exam started in my second year of B.Sc but the last 4 months was the ultimate hard work.

Share your preparation journey in as much detail as you can.

I looked up the syllabus written on the CMI website and solved the previous years question papers to understand the difficulty level and exam pattern. Initially I focused to topic wise thorough understanding of concepts and then proceeded to solve problems, both objective and subjective from the books I mentioned below. As programming is included in the syllabus I solved a lot of codes from my high school Computer Science book.

During the last month of my preparation I took the Mock test exam Series held by Cheenta which was very crucial for analysis of my strong and weak areas so I could work accordingly.

Any books / online resources / videos that you found useful for yourself during your preparations.

https://nptel.ac.in/courses/106/106/106106183/ [Very good online resource for Probability and Discrete Mathematics ]
First Course in Probability by Sheldon Ross
Linear Algebra Schuam Outlines
RD Sharma Objective Mathematics for High school concepts.
An Introduction to Probability and Statistics by Rohatgi Saleh.
The official website of CMI containing the past year questions and solutions :
https://www.cmi.ac.in/admissions/syllabus.php

What did you do on the last day of your exam?

I did not study much on the last day as I tried to keep myself as stress-free as possible. Just looked through the formulas and the previous question papers to ensure I did not miss out on any topic.

What do you think are the important topics for the CMI Data Science exam?

Probability
Linear Algebra(Matrices specially)
Discrete Mathematics
Number theory
Boolean Algebra
Calculus

How did you attempt the question paper? How should one attempt the question paper to maximize the marks?

As in the objective section, each question can be either single choice or multi-choice, it is very important to go through all the options carefully. There is no negative marking, so I used it to my advantage to solve all the objective questions.

Next in the subjective part I focused on Programming and logic questions as it is my strong area. Here the focus should be more on writing correctly and with proper explanation rather than solving more questions. It is important to give explanations or diagrammatic representation if any question demands so.

How did you manage your time during the exam?

Time played a huge factor here. As CMI does not check the subjective part if the objective part cutoff is not cleared, I gave equal time to both objective and subject part. As I had taken the timed Mock tests by Cheenta, I believe I was able to allocate time properly.

How did you manage your exam preparation alongside your work and exams?

Some topics like Probability and Linear algebra was already a part of my college course structure so I prepared for both side by side. During my one year of preparation, I aimed to gave at least 5 hours each week for this.

What are the mistakes you made, that you don't want your juniors to make?

I want to tell them one thing: Do not take stress at all.
Panicking will only lead to losing focus which is the most important thing during those 3 hours.
Give your best.

Anything you want to say to the students?

Do not go to solve every question from every book you lay your hands on. Figure out your strong and weak points at an early stage and work on that. Chalk out a plan for yourself. And remember, it is never too late to try.