Vikas Bijarniya, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK), took GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering) in 2016, and scored All India Rank (AIR) 8. He devoted one full year preparing for GATE, and the Indian Engineering Services (IES) exam. He scored AIR 96 in IES, and is currently in his hometown Jaipur, Rajasthan. He did his Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering, and is in the Engineering Services.
PaGaLGuY spoke to Bijarniya to know more about his strategies for GATE 2016. He was not really worried about his performance in GATE, and according to him, this is what helped help him secure AIR 8. Excerpts:
What was your ‘two weeks before the exam’ plan?
While studying the syllabus, I took notes of all the formulas. By the end, I had 20 to 25 formula sheets, which helped me secure AIR 8. I revised only those sheets, and I would go through them about three to four times a day. I did that to be sure, that if there is any formula-based question, I will secure easy easily in that.
What was your D-Day strategy?
I was not stressed about the exam, and it helped me perform better. I would suggest aspirants read the questions very carefully, I made a silly error, which cost me 2.66 marks (2 marks which I lost, and negative marking for wrong answer – for 1-mark multiple-choice questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. Likewise, for 2-mark multiple-choice questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer. And there is no negative marking for numerical answer type questions). Also, if required, use the virtual calculator for reasoning.
Any tips for GATE 2017 candidates?
Go through the question paper, and take on questions as they come. In first round, I did four questions out of 10, before moving to the technical section. But when I came back to General Aptitude section again, I solved nine out ten questions, and all correct.
Even if you are unable to solve some questions, don’t worry about it, and don’t lose confidence. There are only 65 questions, and you have three hours for it. There is enough time to solve the paper. Keep calm and you will be able to concentrate better. Take questions one by one, because one mistake can cost you a good rank – you will lose about 2 marks and 0.33 negative marks will be also deducted while scoring.
Vikas Bijarniya wishes all GATE 2017 candidates good luck!
Click here to read 10 tips from a GATE expert to help you crack GATE 2017.