I’m currently an M.Tech AI (RA) student at IIT Hyderabad, admitted in 2025, and I wanted to share my complete admission experience here. When I was preparing, there weren’t many clear explanations of the selection process, so I hope this write-up helps students who will be applying for the 2026 admissions.
Written Test
All shortlisted candidates through GATE DA/CS and from few more GATE papers, were first asked to appear for a written test.
The difficulty level felt very similar to the GATE DA 2025 paper, maybe slightly easier. Most of the questions were from:
Nothing unexpected—if you've prepared seriously for GATE DA, the test feels comfortable.
Interview Round 1: Pure Mathematics
After the written test, I was called for the first interview round. This round was 100% mathematics.
For me, almost 70% of the questions were from Linear Algebra, and the rest from Probability.
The professors focused mainly on geometric intuition, not calculations. They gave several scenarios involving lines in ℝ³ and asked about rank, augmented matrices, and number of solutions.
Some of the exact setups they asked:
Two lines intersecting in 3D
Two lines parallel
Three lines all cutting each other
Two lines parallel and one line cutting both
For each case, they asked me to explain:
Dimension of the augmented matrix
Rank of the matrix vs. augmented matrix
Whether the system is consistent
How many solutions it has
The discussion felt more like exploring geometry rather than solving equations. I actually enjoyed this part—the panel wanted to see whether you truly understand what rank means.
Then they moved to Probability, mostly around:
Independent vs. dependent events
Numerical checks for independence
Whether mutually exclusive events can be independent (and why not)
Simple questions, but with follow-ups to test clarity.
Interview Round 2: Profile & Research Fit
The second round was much more relaxed.
They asked about my interests in AI, the projects I’ve worked on, and why I wanted to join as an RA. It felt more like a conversation than an interview.
Final Thoughts
The whole process at IIT Hyderabad was fair, well-structured, and very math-focused. They weren’t looking for mugged-up answers—they wanted clear thinking and intuition.
If you're preparing, I’d say:
Strengthen your Linear Algebra fundamentals
Be comfortable with probability basics
Think visually and logically
That’s what helped me the most.
Be Confident and relaxed if you prepared well for GATE DA then it is going to be easy
