There are ample of resources on Internet with advises and suggestions on the possibility of clearing GATE in five months, or how fruitful it is. But, of course, at the end of the day, it depends from person to person and the individual capacities.On a personal note, if you have a definite focus, and a will to study , it is of course not difficult to to crack GATE in 5 months time. GATE is not an exam where you need to mug up stuff. All you need to do is Understand the topics and Practice a lot. Now this is where you require the maximum time. I am putting up a sample plan of GATE Preparation which you can follow.
Go through the syllabus properly
Before you start with the GATE preparation, go through the syllabus properly. It is important to know what to study, but it is more important to know what not to study.The possibility of the number of questions asked, the kind of questions asked is important. Make sure you mark the weight age for each chapter, so that you know which ones are important and which ones can be left. Also know, it is not required to study all the topics and chapters. GATE requires us to clear the cut off. That’s it.
Study easier subjects first
It is always preferred to study the easier subjects before and the harder subjects later as studying them before might make us lose interest. Make sure you study at least one chapter everyday.Read the topics one by one.One Tough subject and one easy subject should be prepared each day.Make notes from the books of both the subjects.You can choose 2 light subjects too with a tough one and make proper notes. Making notes is important. You should also make a topic wise list of important formulas along with the notes. One more important point to discuss here is, do not read everything thoroughly. The syllabus is as avid as your BE/B TECH syllabus. So completion of 4 years of syllabus in 5 months is the goal to achieve. Having a thorough reading will not solve the problems.
Maths and General Aptitude
Do keep a check on your performance in the Mathematics and General Aptitude.They are easy to score and simpler. Do not take a high jump here. With everyday practice session, make sure you also practice a few sums of general aptitude and Maths everyday. This will be a good change from the monotonous routine of studying technical subjects. Take some good book and revise your concepts. General Aptitude of GATE is basic but without revising it becomes difficult to solve.
Revisions are a must for GATE Preparation
Now by the time you finish your weekly targeted chapters, put your weekends up for revision of whatever you have studied in that week. This way the concepts will be more stronger and you’ll be able to brush up and revise everything. Practicing will enable you to know what type of questions come in GATE and how to solve them. Devote a day for practicing every week.
Previous year’s Practice Papers.
Now by the time you are done with revising all the important topics, you need to start giving your complete time for practicing GATE papers.Now this is where you should keep your self made notes in hand. Keep your notes and list of formulas in hand while you practice.You can easily go through the Previous year’s papers that are available Online. Questions don’t get repeated but pattern will. Practicing will enable you to know what type of questions come in GATE and how to solve them.I would suggest that one should understand concepts behind the questions asked in the previous GATE papers rather than memorizing them. These practice papers will turn out to be more beneficial than you think especially when dealing with Time Management.
A few Don’ts
- Don’t opt for a thorough reading when you start studying . Remember, It is highly impossible to read all the books thoroughly in such a quick span. Also not everything given in the book is important. Having that edge and knowing what not to study is important.
- Do not take General Aptitude for granted. It is the most scoring subject but needs high practice.
- Do not refer to any topper or senior’s notes. They are highly misleading. I do not intend to say, that they are wrong. But, everyone has their own cult to draw notes and bring their own strategies to the study. Plan your strategies instead of referring to someone else’s.
- Do not read too many books. Reading too many books referred by different people may cause nothing but confusion and mess in the study. Refer to standard books and keep your studies as less messy as possible.
Apart from this, I’ll suggest you to enroll yourself in any online course which offers you insightful guidance and a lot of practice papers for your study.
The last five months is the most crucial period for the GATE Preparation. Hope you all do well. You can write back to me for any query over your GATE Preparation.
