IISc Bangalore: Admission 2026, Fees, Courses, Cutoff, Ranking, Placement

My brother got selected for IISc Bangalore and here is what his offer letter looked like

Studying at IISc Bangalore is difficult. Some challenges that you will face as a student are - plenty of assignments that are difficult at times, bi-weekly quizzes, surprise tests, sometimes you might not understand a concept taught in class, and some professors schedule 8 a.m. classes. You will have many sleepless nights.

However, if you dedicate yourself to your studies, focusing for long hours without the thought of comfort and fun, you will easily understand all the concepts and ace all your exams.

You will be automatically motivated to work hard seeing your peers. This is because the crowd at IISc Bangalore consists of dedicated and hardworking students.

It is ultimately your hard work and dedication that will help you perform well at IISc Bangalore.

IISc Bangalore does not grant admission solely to highly intelligent people. Rather, IISc Bangalore makes people highly intelligent. I say this out of my personal experience. 

When I entered IISc Bangalore, I knew I was not highly intelligent. I was, however, deeply inclined toward learning and research.

My interview for IISc Bangalore ran for around two hours. The interview began with-

“Plot y=k exp(cx) for different values of k and c (positive, negative, and combination)”, and it ended in my M.Tech thesis. I tried to derive all the values and answer all the questions. Whenever I got stuck, the faculty members helped me conclude.

At IISc Bangalore, you will become more and more inclined towards learning. You will understand yourself and your goals. Then, how people label you won’t be of any importance to you.

IISc Bangalore is a top research institute in India. It is ranked 1 in the NIRF India Rankings 2023: Research, surpassing other tier 1 institutions such as the IITs in the area of research.

For IISc Bangalore students, numerous future opportunities are available. Some of these are-

1. You can into some of the top research labs across the world such as Xerox Research Lab, IBM Watson, INRIA, etc.
2. You can get into Ph.D. directly with ease if you published research papers in top journals and conferences in the past. You can go to top universities like UTA, UCB, ETH, EPFL, MIT, Stanford, UCLA, and others for your higher studies.
3. You can join as a professor at IISc Bangalore/IITs, or work as a researcher anywhere in the world.

These are some future options for IISc Bangalore students. These options are open to students of all domains.

IISc takes in the majority of students through KVPY so getting in through JEE or NEET is very challe being here. It’s very difficult to be among the top rankers here as you have to be among the top 0.05% (Reserved categories).

Despite all this, one of my cousins even in his under-deprived situation managed to make it into IISc. He was from a rural background a normal state board school and did not take any special tuition for JEE/NEET till class 12. He did not even have basic internet facilities and worked hard to procure study materials. All his struggles craved only one goal, IISc. And hard work does pay off!

Finally, he made it into IISc UG through NEET after spending a drop year. What he realized towards the end was that IISc was worth every second and effort spent! 

Here are some helpful tips if you are starting your first year at IISc Bangalore:

• Humble yourself- At IISc, you will find peers who will be better than you at one thing or the other. Humble yourself and be open to the plenty of opportunities offered to you.

• Involve in Conversations- Students, especially Masters and Ph.D. students, come from various backgrounds and are of different age groups. If you converse with the people around you and learn to accept differing views, you will hear new ideas and perspectives. 

• Be prepared to deal with uncertainty- You will face uncertainty on many occasions.

Ph.D. students have to be well-prepared to face uncertainty every single day. On numerous accounts, you are left on your own with no guidance at all. Also, no amount of guidance will ever be sufficient.

Even the Bangalore weather is very uncertain. One day it might rain heavily, and the following day might be a sunny one. 

• Enjoy your stay in Bangalore- The city is filled with fun places, and IISc Bangalore is located in the heart of it. There are numerous spots around Bangalore, located within a 500 km range. There is sufficient connectivity.

Hindi and English work fine but try to learn the local language. Many South Indians prefer dialogue in English or their local languages, so Hindi might not work in every scenario. 

• Work hard during your first year - The coursework at IISc is extremely hard and more demanding than even some of the top US universities. Assignments can get tough and the concepts may not be clear in the first instant. Courses with laboratory work are harder.

• Make time for fun- Make a habit of jogging, cycling, or walking on campus. Make good friends and have healthy conversations with them. Learn a new skill, especially something that will be of use to you in the future.

• Do not break ties with Old friends- Call your old friends and arrange meetups. This will help you during times when your studies will become overwhelming.

IISc Bangalore will challenge and groom you in numerous ways. Make the most out of your stay there.

You must feel proud of your daughter for getting into IISc Bangalore. I can assure you that she will have a bright future. These are a few things I need you to know as the parent of an IISc student-

1.  The first year is quite busy so she may not be able to call home as often as you would like her to. 
2. She might leave the lab for the hostel as late as 1 AM or 2 AM sometimes, such is the nature of research work. However, the campus is safe and women are often spotted leaving the labs for the hostel at midnight.
3. The food quality in the mess is good.
4. You as a parent can visit your daughter and stay at the guest house of IISc Bangalore for a maximum of five days. You will have to pay a required amount on a per day, per person basis.
5. To reach IISc Bangalore from the airport, take the airport bus number 10. Ask the conductor to drop you off at the Tata Institute’s Main Gate. This is the most economical way to reach IISc Bangalore from the airport.
6. Always ask the bus conductor or auto driver to drop you off at the Tata Institute instead of IISc Bangalore.

These are a few tips and important points that I wanted to share with you.

I did my M.Tech in Materials Engineering from IISc Bangalore (2014-2016 batch). My first official day at IISc Bangalore was eventful and tiresome. 

I reached the faculty building early in the morning. All the necessary procedures for the day had to begin from there. I was happy because I thought that my good score would allow me to choose my hostel and mess. I had made up my mind to go for D Mess and NBH. 

When I reached the faculty office, I saw a long queue of students ahead of me. I got 125 in waiting. When my turn came, my documents were verified and after that, the mess and the hostel were to be allocated.

For this I had to visit the hostel office. I was so disappointed to find out that the hostels and mess were being allotted on the basis of the lottery system. I had the least faith in my luck. I ended up getting a hostel which was in the ‘last corner’ of IISc Bangalore (in P block). However, luckily, I got D Mess. 

Other than this incident, during my first official day at IISc Bangalore, I ended up meeting many new people and making friendships that would last a lifetime.