Athul Prakash
Batch of 2018
GATE AIR 2 in Chemical Engineering
“The GATE is not just a test of our technical knowledge but also a test of how well we can handle the stress of a competitive exam”, says Athul Prakash, who secured an AIR of 2 in Chemical Engineering. An alumnus from the NITK Chemical Engineering batch of 2018, Athul shares his journey with Team Pulse.
Read on to know the success mantras and preparation strategies that brought him one step closer to his dream of working for a PSU.
1. First things first, Congratulations on the score. How does it feel to get a rank in the top ten? What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you came to know your rank?
Thank you very much.
Well, it feels nice. I’m overwhelmed by all the compliments I got. A lot of people who didn’t even know me congratulated me. More than anything, what made me happy was the fact that my hard work paid off and that I made my parents proud.
2. What were your thoughts right after the examination? Were you expecting such a score?
I did find the questions a bit tricky. The first few questions took me more time than it did during the mock tests. But I managed to keep myself calm and finish the exam before time. I had attempted all questions except for one. So I was confident that I would get a good rank.
3. You graduated from NITK in 2018. It’s been almost 2 years. What is the one thing from college that you still miss the most?
That’s a tough one. Almost all the moments in college – both the good and the bad. I especially miss events like Bharath Darshan and Onam celebrations. Even this year, I and my roommate watched the BD performance of Kerala on the same day itself even though it was just a couple of days before the exam.
4. When did you decide to appear for the GATE? What is the story behind it?
The company I got hired in through campus placement turned out to be disappointing. The location, my team and manager, work-life balance – none of it was in my favour. I found it hard to adjust. I was quite dissatisfied by the way my life was going. I felt like it led nowhere. So I decided to study for the GATE while working. But that didn’t turn out well either.
So it was during one of those days that I gathered up the guts to quit my job. I gave myself about 2 months to think and decide what exactly I want to do, and that’s when I decided to give another shot at GATE and I joined a coaching class in Delhi.
5. When did you start your preparation?
I joined the coaching classes by mid- June. However, I started preparing vigorously only by the end of November all thanks to the coaching centre schedules.
6. How did you go about preparing for the exam? Did you follow any fixed study schedule?
Not really. We had three hours of class daily. But the timings varied. So we couldn’t really fix upon a schedule.
Initially, I tried to read the class notes daily. But that didn’t work for me. So I started to wait for them to complete the portions of a particular subject and then start preparing for that by myself. I wouldn’t suggest that to anyone though. I cleared all my doubts, prepared short notes for all subjects and made sure that I practised all previous year question papers. Towards the end, it got a bit hectic with the increased hours of coaching, but with everyone around you working hard, you get the motivation to put even more effort and strive for the best.
7. Any specific prep strategies you want to share with the readers?
I would say the best and the most important thing would be to prepare short notes. These turn out to be extremely helpful during revisions.
Practice Mock Tests. They give you an idea of how the actual exam would be. The more you practice, the better you get at managing time and you’ll also be exposed to different kinds of questions. They sure did help me build my confidence and develop a strategy to answer the paper.
8. What study resources do you feel benefited you the most?
My class notes. I referred to the standard books only when I had doubts. But I do suggest the future aspirants to refer to the books too. At times I referred to NPTEL videos too.
9. What was the biggest hurdle you came across in your GATE preparation?
As I previously mentioned, we barely had three hours of classes daily, while my friends in the mechanical batch had almost double the number of classes. It made me quite insecure; I kept feeling like I wasn’t doing enough. So I spoke to a few of my seniors, and they told me that at this point, the lesser timings would be sufficient and later on it would catch up. But it was quite difficult to keep myself motivated then. But yeah, later as my senior had said, things did catch up and it went well.
10. Any topics you feel are a must-read for students appearing for the GATE Chemical engineering paper?
I don’t think there are specific must read topics. In my opinion, you have to be well versed in all the subjects if you are aiming for a decent rank.
11. How did you schedule answering the different sections? Any time management tips for the readers?
I firmly believe it depends on the individual- the subjects they are confident in, the type of questions they are confident about, etc. I figured out my strategy in the last month of preparations when I used to do a mock test each day. I think it is best that you figure it out for yourself.
12. What are your future plans?
I want to work in a PSU. Haven’t decided which one to focus on yet.
13. A word of advice for future aspirants.
Be clear about the concepts; make sure you understand them well. Clear all doubts and practice well. But more than anything work on building your confidence. Because ultimately, it is not just a test of our technical knowledge but also a test of how well we can handle the stress of a competitive exam. If you are confident, you needn’t worry. Keep in mind that if you found the paper to be tough despite preparing well, then it must’ve been tough for everyone else too. You don’t have to stress. Stay calm and give it your best shot.
Sabir Abdulla
Batch of 2019
GATE AIR 144 in Mechanical Engineering
Sabir Abdulla, a Mechanical Engineering graduate of the NITK Batch of 2019, in an interview with Team Pulse describes his approach to the GATE 2020. He talks about his preparation strategies and the resources he used that eventually helped him bag an AIR of 144 in Mechanical Engineering.
Read on to know his story.
1. Congratulations on the score. How does it feel to get such a rank? What was the first thought that crossed your mind when you came to know your rank?
Thank you. It’s a great feeling to get a good rank, especially when you’re not expecting anything below 200. It felt great to see the happy faces of my parents and everyone who supported me throughout.
2. What were your thoughts right after the examination? Were you expecting such a score?
I felt that the paper was difficult. The pattern of questions was different from the kind we had we practiced.
3. You graduated from NITK in 2019 a year. What is the one thing from college that you still miss the most?
I miss the hostel life at NITK and playing football with friends every evening.
4. When did you decide to appear for the GATE? What is the story behind it?
I decided to join coaching classes at the end of May. Two of my friends had already decided to go for coaching. I joined them and later on three of my seniors also joined our gang. In the end, there were 6 NITKians from three different batches of the mechanical engineering department. There was a healthy competition amongst ourselves which helped us improve day by day. I owe a lot to them.
5. When did you start your preparation?
I joined ACE engineering academy, Hyderabad and classes started on the 8th of July.
6. How did you go about preparing for the exam? Did you follow any fixed study schedule?
Classroom sessions were there for the first 6 months for about 6 hours daily.
7. Any specific prep strategies you want to share with the readers?
Once you’ve decided to appear for the exam, never stop the preparation. Be thorough with the concepts and try to by heart a few formulas. In the end, it’s a matter of memorising those results and using them in the provided three hours. Taking up an online test series will be handy because that’s how you’ll learn to manage time. Preparing the math section really well can earn close to around 20 marks.
8. What study resources do you feel benefited you the most?
In my case, classroom sessions at the coaching centre helped a lot.
9. Did your academic curriculum at NITK help you in your preparation?
Almost the whole GATE syllabus is covered in our curriculum. It shortened the time that I had to devote for learning the concepts.
10. What was the biggest hurdle you came across in your GATE preparation?
Completing the entire B. Tech. syllabus in 6 months was the biggest hurdle. ACE faculty made the task simpler and covered almost everything in their classes.
11. Any topics you feel are a must-read for students appearing for the GATE Chemical engineering paper?
Production Technology, Strength of Materials, Theory of Machines and Fluid Mechanics carry a lot of weightage in the specified order.
12. How did you schedule answering the different sections? Any time management tips for the readers?
Never spend too much time on a single question. If you find it difficult, skip to the next one. There may be simpler questions which you can solve very easily.
13. What are your future plans?
I’m still not sure. I hope to join a PSU.
14. A word of advice for future aspirants.
Till now, the GATE is a purely numerical based competitive exam. Keep that in mind and spend more time on solving papers and taking online tests rather than reading concepts over and over. Be confident and carry the confidence to the exam hall.
