CMI Tomato
This website is for class XI and XII students who wish to pursue B.Sc. at Chennai Mathematical Institute.
Disclaimer. This is an unofficial resource and is not affiliated to CMI.
Browse previous years' problems
Algebra
Geometry
Number theory
Calculus
Combinatorics
Probability
Complex numbers
Trigonometry
CMI entrance exam cutoff
The cutoff has been around 40% for the objective section and 40-50% overall. The objective section is used for screening.
CMI does not publish the cutoff marks but they have responded to individual requests in the past. The scores shown below were shared by former students who were privy to this data.
2024 cutoff marks
The exam was for 120 marks. 40 marks for Part A and 80 marks for Part B. Part A’s screening cutoff was 11/40. Overall cutoff marks are given below.
| Type | General Category and Males | Other categories |
|---|---|---|
| Without scholarship | 47/120 | 39/120 |
| With scholarship | 58/120 | 47/120 |
2023 cutoff marks
The exam was for 120 marks. 40 marks for Part A and 80 marks for Part B. The cutoff was 36/120 for GM category and males without scholarship. The cutoff was 33/120 for everybody else.
2021 cutoff marks
In 2021, CMI used an unconventional criteria for admission. The cut-off for Part A was 17/40 for everyone. More weightage was given to Part B marks. In the general category with scholarship, students were admitted if they had >=61 marks in total or if they had 39 or more marks in Part B. So, a student who got 17 marks in Part A and 39 marks in Part B was still admitted with scholarship. But a student with 22 marks in Part A and 38 marks in Part B was NOT admitted in that category.
| Type | General | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| With scholarship | 61/100 or 39/60 in Part B | 57/100 or 35/60 in Part B |
| Without scholarship | 56/100 or 30/60 in Part B | 50/100 or 28/60 in Part B |
There was no waiting list.
2020 cutoff marks
The cutoff marks for the year 2020 are given below. The marks are out of 94 instead of 100 since one question had a mistake.
| Type | General | Reserved |
|---|---|---|
| With scholarship | 54/94 | 44/94 |
| Without scholarship | 48/94 | 40/94 |
| Waiting list | 45/94 | 38/94 |
The cutoff marks for the previous years are given below. The marks are for general category without scholarship.
| Year | Objective (40 marks) | Overall | Vetted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 14 | 62/124 | Sayantani Bhattacharya |
| 2017 | 15 | 60/125 | Abhiroop Sanyal |
| 2018 | 15 | 50/125 | - |
| 2019 | ∼16 | 52/100 | Ankush Agarwal |
| 2020 | ∼16 | 48/94 | CMI Office |
| 2021 | 17 | 56/100 | CMI Office |
| 2023 | 8 | 36/120 | CMI Office |
| 2024 | 11 | 47/120 | CMI Office |
Preparation tips and interview experiences (pre-2016)
- 2015 Interview experience by Sanjay M who posted this on AoPS. [pdf]
- Why I joined CMI by Vipul Naik who joined CMI despite getting JEE AIR-154.
- How to prepare for CMI by Sai Krishna who joined CMI in 2013. [pdf]
- CMI entrance exam preparation experience by Ankita Sarkar who joined CMI in 2015.
Starting from 2016, admissions are based only on the written test and there is no interview.
When universities in the United States are looking to recruit mathematics students from India, one of the first places they look for applications is from CMI, if not the first place. Universities that are able to get CMI students are always very proud.
Manjul Bhargava
Admission rate
Acceptance offers are sent to around 90 candidates and about half of them enroll. This is the reason why the number varies from year to year. Approximate numbers are given below.
| Year | # Test-takers | # Offers | # Students enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 4000 | 70 | 40 |
| 2016 | 4000 | 90 | 44 |
| 2017 | 4000 | 90 | 45 |
| 2018 | 5000 | 95 | 48 |
| 2019 | 5500 | 100 | 61 |
Book
The book contains the problems and solutions from the years 2010-2021.
Buy the e-book on Gumroad (Rs. 180)
About the author
This website is maintained by Balasundar M, a teacher who has more than 15 years of experience in the industry and academia. He enjoys solving olympiad-type problems over coffee.
If you have a more elegant solution to any problem than the one presented, feel free to email him at mbalasundar08 [at] gmail.com.
Legal information
The contents of this website are hosted in accordance with principles of fair use. Please email the author about any possible infringement of copyright law before taking legal action.