My GATE 2009 Experience

GATE is an All India Competitive exam conducted by IISC and the IITs for admission in various post graduation courses in the field of engineering and science. So if u are interested in doing Mtech from these institutions then GATE is a must for u.

I decided to take this examination the moment i took admission in Under graduate college for Btech!! It may sound strange that before even i began studying for Btech , i started thinking for Mtech. But it was planned by me to try to go for Mtech from IITs. The reason was simple - I always dreamt to be an IITian. After i started studying for Btech , i developed the love to study subjects related to computer science. This further increased my hunger to go for Mtech... the intersest to study computer science.

I deceided to appear in GATE 2008 as the GATE score was valid for 2 years. I didnt have much preperation going into the examination . I gave the exam just to know how much tough it really is. The conclusion i got was that if i study a little harder and in a planned way then cracking GATE 2009 might not be difficult. That year my rank was 1904.

The preparation for GATE 2009 began after i got placed in Infosys. That gave me a huge amount of Energy and boost to study for GATE. I took admission in Gateforum , a coaching institution for GATE. Two of my friends also joined with me. I started regualrly attending the classes. I also started preparing slowly and steadly . What it did was it moved me away from the semester exam study and made me concentarte on GATE related study. More than what they taught there , the practice and staying in touch was more important for me.

The person who lifted my study for my GATE exam was our TOC and compiler teacher. I was weakest in these two subjects , but the way he taught us these subjects was simply superb. Eventually TOC became my strongest point! But more importantly he gave us huge amount of confidence and self-belief.

Also the most important point that i personally picked up from his lecture was to go for a plan study. He discussed with us how he planned his study. I would like to discuss this issue here. He showed us a notebook which was divided into 8 parts each for one module in GATE. In each part he noted down some problems and important points that were most important thing in that module. And he believed that if he practices those problems and remembers those important point and tricks then he can solve any problem from that module. He believed that 20-25 problems from a single mdoule was more than enough to cover the total module. Also when we asked me to give us that notebook he warned us that these notes will vary from person to person!!!!!I found this concept and idea an interesting one. I decided to follow his plan ... and i must say it really worked for me also. This planned study saved a hell lot of time. Also another thing that he did was prepare a one page note on some of the subjects. The objective of this plan was to study the important facts and tricks the day before the exams quickly , and doing so will save a hell lot of time.

After all the study it was time to sit for a series of Mock All india Tests. The tests were conducted by Gateforum. These tests were extremely useful for all of us. I must say that it played the single most important role in getting a decent rank in GATE 2009. In fact one of my friends didnt ever study for GATE. He appeared only the test series and guess what he was able to get rank 57! The reason for this is that the test series constantly showed where we stant in the competitition . We were told that if we are able to secure a rank of within 20 in these exams then we will surely rank with 100 in GATE 2009. Also these exams helped us in stay with constant practice . Even if u didnt study previously , here we solved problems of all kinds that covered all the areas. Also the discussion among my friends after the exams was very very important. We were able to discuss various tricks and ways to solve the problems. These helped a hell lot.

The final one month before the exam was all about constant practice and nothing else. Totally dedicated towards GATE study and nothing else.

Finally the examination day came. I was surprised to see such easy questions to begin with. I became too relaxed and started solving problems slowly and steadily. And that was the mistake i made. In the end there were some tough problems and i struggled to finish off the paper. I made a total mess of the whole exam. To make it worse when i discussed the answers with my friends i found out that i made about 8 marks of silly mistakes. All my hopes of studying in IIT was completely gone.

On march 15th the results came out. I was surprised to see the rank(87) that i eventually got.Two of my friends got 37 and 57 rank. I was extremely delighted to get this rank. At the moment i am hoping to study in IIT and fulfiling my dreams.

Some points that are essential for preparing for GATE(might be useful for 3rd years preparing for GATE) -

1. To succeed in GATE u must be truly interested in pursuing Mtech. U must have high interest in computer science. I have seen people who dont have some much love for the subject but want to pursue Mtech. U are bound to fail in such case.
2. Participating in some all India test series . I gives u constant practice in the last 5 months. Extremely useful. Also shows u where u stand and how much u need to work harder.
3. There is a myth that u need to study the books that toppers study. This is compeletely rubbish. One should study the books that he or she is most comfortable in. I didnt have any book for many subjects.
4. Forget ur semester exams and all. Just concentrate on the GATE related study. The CGPA matters liitle(it only plays a significant role in IIT Delhi).
5. A planned study is essenstial as i described above.

All The Best to everyone preparing for GATE!