How to Score High in GATE on Your First Attempt?

Since college, we have all heard about how challenging it is to clear the GATE exam on the first attempt, with some even calling it an impossible task. Let’s dispel this myth and discuss how, every year, hundreds of students successfully clear the exam and secure good jobs and admissions to prestigious institutes on their very first try.

GATE is a national-level examination that opens the gateway to an exciting career in PSUs and in the field of research and development. It is administered and conducted in eight zones across the country by the GATE Committee comprising of Faculty members from IISc Bangalore and other seven IIT’s.

To watch success stories of students who have cleared GATE, visit: https://bit.ly/2SmR78F

Now that you are all pumped up for the GATE Exam, let’s talk about the key points to be kept in mind to clear the GATE exam in the first attempt so you don’t have to wait long for success to knock at your door. Our Strategy will be divided into 3 parts:

A. Pre –Preparation Tips:

1. Syllabus:
   Before you start the preparation for the exam, a pre-requisite is to know the exam and its syllabus. Also, you must know that of all the subjects mentioned in the syllabus all are equally important because of growing competition nothing can be left as we never know what can be the next question in the framer’s mind and special attention must be paid to the core subjects.
2. Books:
   While the market is flooded with books for GATE, it is necessary that you choose the books wisely. Studying 1 book thoroughly is better than reading 10 books for a subject, as GATE is a concept-based exam and the concepts remain the same no matter how many books you refer to. So we need to be careful about the books we choose. They should cover the syllabus, provide basic insights into the topics covered and most of all should be easy to understand so that you don’t struggle to remember the concepts.

You can also refer to the MADE EASY Postal Books, where the theory from the best books is compiled and made into one complete book for the best guidance and complete preparation.

3. Topper’s talk:

   It is also important that you read and listen to interviews of previous years toppers and their review of the exam, the preparation, and the strategies they applied to clear the exam. To view what the toppers have to say about their preparation visit us at https://bit.ly/2rp5gS0

4. Previous year papers: We are sure you have heard how much importance solving the previous years’ papers holds. But for GATE you have to be careful when looking at the previous papers as just a glance would not suffice. You will have to keep revisiting the paper every time you complete a topic or subject so that you get a fair idea of the type of questions that are asked in the exam. This will immensely help you streamline your preparation for the exam. For your convenience, we have compiled all the papers together into a book. The book is subject-wise and also topic-wise to ease the preparation and help aspirants solve questions simultaneously. You can always visit our publications website to have a look at the various options available.

B. Preparation

Now we are done knowing the basics of the exam so let’s dive into the preparation part.

4. Planning:

   Having read and heard many toppers, you have a fair idea of what this GATE exam demands: sincerity, time management, and a good plan. So keeping in mind the syllabus, topic, books, and the date of the exam you must frame a plan for yourself. A plan which will help you study better, concentrate more, revise and most of all deal with stress. Your plan must include your study hours (one warning – make practical plans and not plans of studying 10 hours straight, it never works) as well as your break times. Most importantly, keeping the date of the exam in mind, you must decide on the date or month that you must complete the syllabus so that you have enough time for revision.

5. Goals: Break your plan into small goals, maybe daily, weekly, or monthly in which you decide how you will cover your syllabus along with regular revision, practice papers, sleep, and maybe some entertainment too. But, make sure you set realistic targets as, if you set daily targets higher than what you can complete it will surely lead to disappointment at the end of the day and will affect your next day’s performance.
6. Dedication: Only forming goals isn’t enough, a sincere effort to follow the goals is also important. It may be difficult for some to sit and study for long hours, you may not understand things and may want to run away to your comfort zone (sleep) but you must remember to be consistent. Even if you start with just 2 hours daily it is okay, don’t demoralize yourself. Tiny steps lead to success, a big leap will only make you falter. Eventually, you will be in a position to increase your hours of study and will be able to make it till the end.

7. Notes:

   While studying make sure to make notes, as this will help you in the later stage of your preparation. While revising the subjects right before the exam notes come in handy and are convenient. For extra guidance on effective methods of making short notes, you can read the article “How to make short notes while preparing for GATE?“

8. Revision: Syllabus, books, notes all are done; now what remains is revision. After you are done with the Note Making you must and this is very important that you must revise the notes on at least a fortnightly or weekly basis so that your brain can process and remember everything that is repeatedly told. This may look tedious at first but In the long run, will be your ‘Brahmastra’ for the exam.
9. Practice: Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. So keep practicing whether the previous year question papers, questions from books, or test series available by various institutes:

C. Guidance

While one can prepare for the exam alone, a helping hand always escalates the process. In the same regard, we would advise you to take proper guidance from an institute. They can guide, advise and also provide you with a platform to learn, evaluate and improve your GATE Preparation Planning.  You should choose an institute that has had a stronghold in this field for decades. It would be the perfect institute for you to take guidance from. This is crucial if you want to not only clear but excel in the GATE exam on your first attempt

Following are the two most important things you should look for in a coaching institute:

1. Course: The institute should provide the students with the best faculty and the curriculum should be designed to keep in mind the needs of every student who joins the institute.

With the best study material and well-framed modules, the students should face absolutely no problem. The institute should ensure the timely completion of classes so that the students are provided ample time for revision and practice.

2. Test series: Test Series should be based on the current trend of the exam. The institute should prepare the question papers after closely analyzing the trend. It should frame questions keeping in mind the quality, quantity, and standard of the questions. Along with the step-by-step solution, video solutions too should be provided by the institute. The Test Series should be conducted keeping in mind the time, environment, and questions of the GATE Examination Pattern.

Conclusion

Clearing GATE on the first attempt is achievable, and the first step is to get familiar with the exam. Know the syllabus, read some Preparation Strategies from toppers, and then form your own goals. Make your plans accordingly and move on your journey to the summit.

We are hopeful that we have inspired you and created the spark for the GATE Exam in you. Make sure you always remain positive about yourself and about the exam. Our final advice for you is to work hard towards this exam and reach great heights.

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