GATE 2018 Topper Interview: Afraz Siddiqui AIR 36 Electrical Engineering

Currently pursuing his Masters in Power Systems Engineering from IIT Roorkee, Afraz Siddiqui secured an All India Rank (AIR) 36 in GATE 2018. He has completed his bachelors in Electrical Engineering from JSS Noida in the year 2017 and joined IIT Roorkee in the same year.

He credits all of his success to his mother. He shared, “All the credit goes to my mother. I’d like to thank her for all that she’s done for me. Being a single parent she’s managed things very well and provided me and my sister with all levels of comfort and education”. He further added, “I would also like to thank Dr. Pramod Agarwal, Department of IIT Roorkee, who taught me so well that preparing for GATE eventually became easy”.

In an interview with Shiksha, Afraz Siddiqui shared his preparation strategy, success mantras and tips for GATE 2019 aspirants.  Read the full interview below.

I was extremely happy. I was expecting the result to be out by 12 pm as in 2017 where I had viewed the result exactly at 11:56 am. However, IIT Guwahati released the result at around 2 pm. I was hitting the refresh button again and again and there was this instant when the result screen flashed in front of my eyes. All India Rank 36 it said. For a moment I froze and then shouted out to my roommate. The rest of the evening was spent collecting wishes from family, friends, etc.

I did not join any coaching institute but I did purchase some handwritten notes. These are very helpful and can help you learn the tips and tricks without having to look for them in standard books. Coaching classes - although helpful, take up a lot of your time and leave no time for self-study which I think is the most important part of preparation.

I started preparing for GATE in my 3^rd year of college days as I always dreamt of joining a leading PSU. In 2017, my GATE rank was 833.

As for my prep strategy, I used to pick up 2 subjects at a time – one difficult and the other easier one. I’d suggest to revise and practice the hard subjects n number of times until you master them. Make every subject your strength and nothing can beat you. However, I was never overconfident about my preparation as I had mostly all the subjects in 4 days.

Also, I could not prepare myself for the Aptitude section because of time constraints. As the level of Aptitude section in GATE is not that high, one can easily score 10-12 mark without any preparation. I had scored 13/15 in the GA section.

It was hard to manage time at IIT R as there were lots of things going on in the campus. So eventually I had to make some sacrifices. I used to wake up at 4 am in the morning , study for the next hours. Go for breakfast, get back with the studies and continue for the next four hours, again taking an hour long break and sit back for the third period of studies. However, in this process I had to miss some classes too, which led to decreased performance in class – hence the sacrifices.

Mock tests should be given regularly at the same time as that of the scheduled GATE paper so that you get accustomed to the exam – and nothing seems out of the league. I took a lot of mock tests. My main aim was scoring well in the mock tests. I had purchased test series of Kreatryx, Made Easy and Ace Engineering Academy, out of which I found Ace academy’s test series the most difficult and beneficial.

Time management was the part on which I had worked upon a lot as if time is mismanaged then it can lead to loss of 10-15 questions. I had made a strategy:

• First attempt 10 questions of 1 marks. Just 10, not 9 or 11.
• Jumping on to the 2 marks technical section and solving all the questions.
• By now you’d have around 1 hour 15 minutes in your hands. And your confidence would already be high as now you’ve solved the 2 marks questions.
• Finish the paper and RECHECK the marked answers.

This strategy worked really well for me and I completed the paper in 2 hours 3 minutes.

Networks- Alexander, Sadiku: This is the most basic book for Networks and should be solved completely by your 2^nd year of engineering itself. This would take time and I’d suggest every beginner to go through this book before starting to prepare for GATE.

I wish to join IOC, ONGC or PGCIL. I’ve desired for this since the last year and finally I can hope to achieve what I’ve wished for.

You’ve got a dream, you have to reach out and grab it by yourself. So don’t miss the opportunity.

Attempting the 3 hour exam is much more of a task as compared to the preparation of subjects. This is the reason why we see most of the people studying day and night are not able to perform well.

And, lastly – practice and revise your short notes. Again and again and again. Solve the previous year question bank- make it your best friend for the last three months! Nothing can beat hard work my friend

GATE 2019 exam dates have been announced and the exam is all set to be conducted online on February 2, 3, 9 and 10, 2019. IIT Madras is the conducting body of the exam next year.

GATE 2019 application forms will be available online from September 1 and the last date to apply for the exam is September 21, 2018. Candidates who miss applying during these dates can apply till October 1, 2018 on payment of a late fee of Rs 500 (USD 20 for candidates from centres abroad). Check GATE 2019 important dates!

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