Hello everyone
I’m a dropper and my JEE Main didn’t go well.
During my entire JEE prep, I realized that only Maths genuinely excites me. Because of that, I ended up neglecting Physics and Chemistry a lot—I just couldn’t get myself to like them.
Now I’ve decided to seriously target ISI 2027.
My Maths prep so far:
Black Book by Vikas Gupta (almost fully solved)
Advanced Problems in Algebra – Vikas Gupta
Advanced Problems in Coordinate Geometry – Vikas Gupta
Cengage Algebra
Calculus: Amit M. Agarwal (Arihant) + Sameer Bansal
Trigonometry: Cengage + S.L. Loney
Vectors: Black Book + class questions + JEE Main PYQs (2022–2025)
Coordinate Geometry: Class notes + Vikas Gupta
Basic Number Theory + Recurrence Relations (from class notes / Mohit Tyagi lectures)
I feel my JEE prep gave me a decent base, but I also know ISI goes much deeper, especially in proof-based Maths.
I have a few questions:
What additional topics should I cover specifically for ISI (beyond JEE level)?
How deep should I go into Number Theory, Combinatorics, and Algebra?
What books/resources are actually useful for ISI prep?
How different is the mindset/approach compared to JEE (especially for problem-solving)?
Any advice from people who prepared for or cracked ISI?
Would really appreciate honest guidance .