GATE 2017 Topper Interview: Ravi Shankar Mishra AIR 3 - Computer Science Engineering

Securing a total of 994 out of 1000 marks, Ravi Shankar Mishra bagged AIR 3 in GATE 2017. A resident of Bokaro Steel City, Ravi has pursued his BTech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and is going to join Microsoft India as a Research Engineer.

According to him, the first step towards cracking the exam is having a clear knowledge of the basics. It’s only with thorough understanding, that aspirants will be able to get through GATE.

Topping the exam was something Ravi never hoped but being in the Top 10 list of GATE 2017 toppers was always an expectation.

We caught up with him to know about his preparation strategies, career plans and more. Read the full interview below.

Q. Congratulations. So, how do you feel being the GATE 2017 AIR 3 in CSE Branch?

Ans. It’s a very satisfying to have achieved a dream rank in GATE rank. I worked really hard for it and happy that I ultimately achieved it.

Q. Were you expecting to bag AIR 3?

Ans. I was expecting to be somewhere in the Top 10 list of rankers as I had 80+ marks but I was not expecting AIR 1.

Q. Tell us about your educational background.

Ans. I have done 10th and 12th from Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bokaro with 93% and 95% marks, respectively. I have pursued my BTech from IIT Kanpur in Mechanical Engineering.

Q. Is this your first attempt?

Ans. No, this was not my first attempt at the exam.

Q. What is your GATE score and normalised marks?

Ans: I secured a GATE score of 994/1000 and normalised marks of 82.56/100.

Q. Did you take coaching classes?

Ans: No, I didn’t take coaching classes but I had taken online test series.

Q. Is it necessary to take coaching classes or is self-study enough?

Ans. It depends on person to person. Some people are highly self-motivated and good in planning and execution, they can crack GATE with self-study also. Others may find coaching useful.

Q. How long have you been preparing for the exam?

Ans. I only prepared for a month as I was already very clear with basics. I just needed to revise all courses once and take some online tests.

Q.  What was your study plan like? Suggest important books and topics too.

Ans. My study plan was to revise the whole syllabus from standard books. I just skimmed through them. Then I solved previous year GATE questions and finally wrote some online mock tests.

There are already a lot of suggestions available on internet for standard books for GATE CS. Some important topics for gate is Data Structures and Algorithms, Operating Systems, Computer Networks and Engineering Maths.

Q.  What is the difference between your UG exams and GATE 2017?

Ans. UG exams generally don’t check that much breadth and clarity of concepts as they are asked from whatever a particular teacher has taught in class.

GATE can ask anything from any topic mentioned in their syllabus. Also, they are very good in setting questions that can easily differentiate between people with understanding and people with rote learning.

Q. What do you plan to do next?

Ans. I am going to join Microsoft India as Research Engineer.

Q. When did you decide to take GATE? And why GATE?

Ans. In October, I was in my 3rd semester of MTech program and was looking forward for my placements. So, in order to have a chance to apply for PSU, I applied for GATE.

Q.   Any tips for students taking the exam next year?

Ans . Clear your basics as soon as possible. Things seems very mysterious or complicated when you don’t understand them well. After thorough understanding, even highly complex things seems trivial.

14.   Tell us something about yourself, your hobbies and your family.

Ans. I belong to a middle class family from Bokaro Steel City. My father is an Ex-Airman, my mother a housewife and my elder sister is a Software Engineer. My hobbies are playing cricket, cycling and running.

GATE 2017 results were declared by IIT Roorkee on March 26. Aspirants can download GATE 2017 scorecards till May 5. Check GATE 2017 important dates here.

Also read:

GATE 2017 Topper Interview: Ameya Dravid AIR 2 - Biotechnology

GATE 2017 Topper Interview: Anirudh Tripathi AIR 1 - Production & Industrial Engg

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