Tips from GATE 2013 Topper

Madiha Jawed | shiksha.com

Meet Vinod Kumar Datusliya, GATE 2013 topper (Mechanical Engineering) with All India Rank 1. Having completed his BE (Bachelor of Engineering) from Marine Engineering College – MERI - Calcutta, Datusliya's passion for machineries directed him towards the field of mechanical engineering. Confident about himself, he says, "I was not sure of getting the first rank but was confident that I would be among the toppers”.

In an interview with shiksha.com, Datusliya shares his experience and preparation strategies to guide the aspirants of GATE 2014.

The preparation for GATE requires at-least 7-8 months if you are starting from the bottom. I did it for 7 months and focusing on the basics is the most important. Building the concepts from the basics will make the task easier when it comes to solving the questions asked in GATE. Most of the questions in the paper hover around basic concepts which we generally don’t emphasize upon. Thus, to fetch a good rank, there should not be any room for confusion.

It's not necessary to join a coaching, but if you think that there are things which you are not able to understand and even your friends are not able to clear your doubts then it is recommended for you to take coaching.

Since Day 1, I used to study constantly for 10-12 hours. I used to solve questions on a regular basis and used to revise on fortnightly basis. I took some test series to evaluate myself and further worked out on plans to improve my performance.

I used to study at least 4-5 hours from the books so that I could clear my concepts. After finishing the theory part, I used to take upon some problems from the book to practice and apply my concepts. Moreover, I used to pick some tough problems which had application of different concepts, and finally after practicing problems I would again read theory to have clarity on the inter-relation between concepts.

I referred to different books on the concepts which were difficult and not very clear. I would then take down the notes of those concepts and revise them on a regular basis to ensure that I don’t forget them.

I spent around 2-3 hours initially and as the exam approached, the time spent went up to 10 hours a day in the month of December.

I would advise GATE 2014 aspirants to refer to books by good foreign authors for concepts and books by Indian authors for numericals. Practice book for GATE by MADE EASY is a good book to check your concepts.

There are a lot of factors which decide your success. Hard work, proper strategy, faith in your approach, proper revisions are some of the areas you need to rely upon. Self motivation is also equally important. I used to take feedback and advice from my teachers at regular intervals. My friends and family always supported me by keeping me motivated.

1. Never compromise on revision time
2. Never think that you can’t do it. Keep working hard and don’t give-up.
3. Practise as many questions as you can before the exam
4. Make a strategy of the way in which you are going to attempt the paper and practice at-least 2-3 papers based on that strategy and, if required, make changes to score maximum.
5. Never go empty stomach and without proper sleep. Keep this as your regular routine when the exam is near and don’t let negative thoughts enter your mind.

Recommended for GATE 2014 Toppers: Stress more on revisions and solve at-least 15 to 20 papers before taking the exam.