How to Prepare for IIT JAM Mathematical Statistics (MS) ~ Spandan Ghoshal

Learn from the Achiever - Spandan Ghoshal (AIR-9)

Spandan Ghoshal - IIT JAM MS Success Story

Spandan Ghoshal has cleared the IIT JAM Mathematical Statistics (MS) 2021 Entrance Examination with a Score of 58.67 and an All India Rank (AIR) - 9.

He shared with us how he prepared for the IIT JAM MS in an interview with the Cheenta Statistics and Analytics Department. This interview will take you through the preparation journey of Spandan for IIT JAM MS 2021 and can help you with some insights that you can utilize for your IIT JAM MS preparation.

When did you start preparing for IIT JAM MS?

From 2nd Year of my B.Sc

What was your plan of preparation? How did you start?

I started my preparation by going through the syllabus of JAM MS. Then I started going through the previous year's papers of JAM MS and also started noticing the question pattern, weightage of different topics. I also started following standard books for each of the topics to increase my knowledge. Along with this I also studied carefully everything taught at my college. Since JAM MS syllabus covers almost entirely the first two-year curriculum of any Bsc Statistics course, so following college lectures and lecture notes will be very important.

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

In 2nd year I started solving problems from probability theory, linear algebra, real analysis that came in JAM and these topics had a very significant weightage. Since I was able to solve many of the problems asked, it gave me confidence that I can also crack it. I remember solving problems with my friends in our college library till 6 pm in the evening...(until the librarian told us to leave :D). But unfortunately...this trend didn't continue till JAM MS due to this corona pandemic. Everything changed including my plan, my mental fitness, and all. But then slowly I started to build up my confidence again and finally, the effort of three long years brought the result I desired :).

What did you do in the last 3 months?

In the last 3 months, I did as much revision as I could along with my Bsc curriculum and tried to solve different types of MCQ problems involving the concepts.

What did you do in the last 1 week?

Last week I revised only the topics, I felt were most important and solved the previous year's problems thoroughly.

What did you do on the last day?

On the last day I tried to be as calm as possible 😂 but it was a hard task to do (XD). I went to sleep early and didn't study anything at all to give my brain a rest.

There are just too many books out there. But how did you select your optimal combination of books? How did you select the books, that suit you?

Actually, there is no such "complete" book for JAM MS because they are not written for that but of course, we can take bits and pieces from many books which suits our need and which are relevant to the jam ms curriculum. At times it might be extremely helpful to search over Google, StackExchange quora for getting interesting and intriguing answers to different problems.

Any resources/books/courses to practice problems for/like IIT JAM MS examination?

The courses offered by Cheenta will certainly benefit any student aspiring for this jam ms entrance.

What are the important topics for all the subjects for IIT JAM MS?

Probability theory, Statistical Infernce, Linear algebra, Real analysis, and Multivariate Calculus are the most important topics.

What is a good score to get in IIT JAM MS?

60+

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

Attempt the 20 MCQ questions first as they have a huge weightage (40 marks) and also have a very significant amount of negative marking followed by other sections with higher weightage.

How did you manage your time during the exam?

Attempted 20 MSQ questions in first 1 hour then NAT 2 marks questions in next thirty to 40 minutes followed by 1 mark MCQ s and NAT 1 marks questions and lastly MSQ questions.

How did you manage your exam preparation alongside your college classes and exams?

Kept at least one hour every day for JAM whatever be the situation or be it any college exam the next day.

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

Procrastination was my no. 1 mistake as there was a time when I delayed everything and wasted my valuable time thinking that I will do my work on some other day and so on. No. 2 mistake was getting nervous at the exam hall after seeing tricky questions. This will be crucial and also keep in mind to be absolutely focused while solving any problem because silly mistakes will be crucial and deadly as well!!

Anything you want to say to the students?

I would say juniors not to get demotivated by anything, anyone, or any situation in life because always keep in mind that everyone goes through them yet some succeed and some don't. The main difference is in mindset and determination power. Also, it will be good not to waste too much time on social media and rather invest that time in your or other's well-being. Doing meditation, yoga practices will be very much helpful to keep you calm in tough situations and the ups and downs of life.