Quality vs Quantity: The Right Study Approach for GATE & ESE Success

The Engineering Services Examination and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, popularly known as ESE and GATE, are not just examinations—they are the passage through which engineers can change their lives. A good rank in GATE and ESE offers such opportunities that can transform the lives of engineering graduates. While ESE provides the opportunity to work directly with the central government as a Grade A, Class I officer, GATE offers a respectable job in PSUs and state governments, as well as the chance to pursue higher studies at top technical institutions in India and abroad. That’s the reason why GATE is also called the gateway to success.

But all this comes at the cost of securing a good rank in the above-mentioned exams, which is not an easy task. While GATE is known for its complex nature, ESE is famous for its vast syllabus and tough selection process. Therefore, students aiming for these exams are often found confused regarding the right approach to balance the quality and quantity of their studies to ensure success in both exams.

In this blog, MADE EASY will try to explain the right approach for GATE and ESE success, as well as how to maintain the balance between quantity and quality.

Quality Vs Quantity

Although both ESE and GATE are technical exams, they both require different temperaments and strategies. GATE is a 3-hour-long exam, whereas ESE is conducted in 5 hours. GATE is technical in nature and generally requires a lot of calculation, whereas ESE is a mixture of technical and non-technical sections. Therefore, for ESE, a broad range of knowledge is required, whereas GATE demands depth and conceptual clarity of subjects.

There is no doubt that in any competitive exam, quality of study is very important, but that doesn’t overshadow the need for quantity of study. To clear exams like GATE and ESE, both quality and quantity of study are required. Merely focusing on quality would make an aspirant master of a certain topic, but it won’t help in clearing exams; similarly, only focusing on quantity would complete the syllabus but won’t help in selection. Therefore, to ensure selection, aspirants should try to keep a balance between quality and quantity.

How to maintain quality and quantity of study during GATE and ESE preparation:

As said above, the balanced approach of quality and quantity is necessary for clearing GATE and ESE. Let us look at a few points that can help the aspirants to maintain the balance between quality and quantity of study.

Understand the syllabus properly: To maintain the balance between quality and quantity for ESE and GATE preparation, it is very important to have the official updated syllabus. This helps in filtering the topics that are not relevant from the exam point of view. Doing this would reduce the quantity and increase the quality of study, thus maintaining the balance between the two.

Making a study plan: ESE and GATE are both tough exams in their own terms, and hence both require strategic planning and execution. Therefore, aspirants who want to secure a good rank in both these exams should prepare a realistic study plan. Aspirants can also prepare a monthly/weekly planner to analyze their coverage (quantity) and depth (quality) of the content they studied.

Focus on conceptual clarity: While studying any topic, it is important to not only study it but also to focus on the important concepts. Doing this would help not only in maintaining the quantity but also the quality.

Filter the resources: During preparation, it is very important to select the right source of study. Most of the candidates use a lot of textbooks and information, which is not advisable. Students preparing for GATE or ESE can use MADE EASY books and some standard books for preparation. This would not only help the aspirant to reduce the quantity of books, but it would also save a lot of time and provide the best quantity resource.

Join a good coaching institute: A good coaching institute like MADE EASY helps in reducing the quantity and increasing the quality of study, thus maintaining the balance between the two.

Make your own notes: A lot of aspirants make the mistake of not preparing their handwritten notes and relying on textbooks for preparation. Making handwritten notes helps to filter out the relevant topics required for the exam.

Focused learning: Instead of sitting for long hours, study for short sessions with full concentration. This would help in retaining the content for a longer period of time.

Practice Smartly: Practice with previous year papers. Start with topic-wise questions and then attempt a full-length mock test. Highlight the areas where you are making mistakes and revise them from notes.

Revise regularly: Regular revision helps in retaining the concepts for a longer duration. This helps in avoiding backlogs and thus reducing quantity and improving quality of study.

These are some tips that can help to balance quantity and quality for ESE and GATE preparation. Maintaining a good balance between the two is very important because both the exams have vast as well as complex syllabi. But it is also true that with proper planning, one can easily score good marks in both these exams.

Aspirants who are looking for online/offline coaching for ESE, GATE, State Engineering Services (SES), PSUs, RRB JE, SSC JE, etc., can visit the official website of MADE EASY from here. MADE EASY has an excellent record of producing toppers in different engineering exams like ESE, GATE, etc., from the last two decades. To know more about our results, aspirants are advised to visit our official website.

FAQs:

1. What is quality education?
   Answer: Quality education means the student is understanding the concepts that he/she is studying rather than just mugging up.
2. What is the difference between quality and quantity?
   Answer: Quality means how well you have studied, quantity means how much you have studied.
3. What is the meaning of quality over quantity?
   Answer: Quality over quantity means aspirants should prioritize quality of study over quantity for better results.
4. How to memorize for competitive exams?
   Answer: Instead of memorizing aspirants should focus on learning the concepts. For those topics where
5. How much time is sufficient to prepare for a GATE?
   Answer: It depends upon the aspirants. Some have strong fundamental concepts and some don’t but 1 year of preparation is sufficient for GATE.
6. What is the best time to start GATE and ESE Preparation?
   Answer: There is no best time to start GATE and ESE preparation, aspirants should start their preparation as soon as they can.