GATE 2018 Topper Interview Surya Sabbavarapu AIR 32 Metallurgy

A student of NIT (National Institute of Technology), Raipur, Suryanarayana Sabbavarapu secured an AIR 32 in GATE 2018’s Metallurgical Engineering branch. Being listed in the Top 50 rank holders of GATE for the stream was something he never expected. He cracked the exam in the first go and got a scored 728 out of 1000 in GATE. His normalized score is 67.33.

Son of a watchman, Suryanarayana is inspired by Steve Jobs and loves listening to A.R Rahman compositions. In an interview with Shiksha, he talks about how he cracked the exam without any coaching classes. He also shares tips and tricks with future GATE students. Read the full interview below.

Thank you mam. I am the happiest person on this planet. I never expected to secure a rank like this.

I have been pursuing BTech Metallurgy from NIT Raipur. Now I am in my final year.

Yes. This is my first attempt. 

I appeared for the Metallurgical engineering paper. I got an AIR 32. My GATE score is 728. I got 67.33 marks out of 100.

No. I didn’t. I self-studied. 

I don’t think coaching is important for metallurgy students. Self-learning gives ultimate results.                                                                                                                                                                        

I started preparing for the exam in my 3^rd year. Initially I gathered information related to GATE by means of books, question papers, objective book, NPTEL videos. To understand basics I watched videos and lectures a lot. Initially, I used to spend 3-4 hours daily to understand concepts because I am an average student. It took more time to understand basics. Last 45 days are very crucial for GATE aspirants, I spent 10-12 hours to practice previous questions. Patience and faith are very important during last 30 days of preparation.

As far as my prep strategy is concerned, I have prepared so many time tables, but never followed .This is my favourite quote which motivated me throughout my preparation.

“Do not try to do everything. Do one thing well” - Steve Jobs.

No need to solve each and every question. There are 30 one mark questions and 35 two mark questions (Both technical + aptitude section). To get 60 marks we have to answer 20 one mark questions and 20 two mark questions. 40 out of 65 questions are enough to get 60 marks.

My Strengths: Hard working nature and Self-motivation.

My Weaknesses: Losing self-confidence while solving previous questions.

Thermodynamics, Material science, physical metallurgy, manufacturing science. Solve more numericals and objective. Try to correlate different concepts during preparation .It gives confidence. Solve all solved examples from different standard books. Concept check point & solved examples in William callister and vijendra Singh (Physical Msetallurgy) is very important for gate aspirants.

I didn’t take any mocks for GATE. I solved 2003-2017 question papers, like mock tests. After each test I assessed myself. Then focussed on weak areas. Almost 60-70% previous concepts repeating every year in my view. 

The best source for GATE metallurgy is NPTEL Videos. Especially Dr B.S.Murthy lectures and Dr.Kallol Mandal lectures on Corrosion inspired me a lot.

Try to watch all NPTEL lectures and make notes, it helps you a lot during revision. We can revise all by watching videos again at 1.5x speed and note forgotten points. Through this we learn in 3 ways (watching, hearing, and writing).Then follow standard books of respective subjects.

UG Exams based on presentation skills while GATE is based on application oriented. For GATE we have to put a lot of efforts to understand concepts and to gain confidence.

Well, I want to go for PSUs. Infact, I already have applied for IOCL,RINL, SAIL and BARC.

In my 3rd year. I wanted to pursue MTech from IISC Bangalore or IIT Bombay.

Don’t tell people your dreams, show them. Follow your dreams, they know the way.

I am from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. I belong to a below average family. My father is a watchman in an apartment and my mother a housewife. I love listening to music. I love A.R.Rahman melodies.

IIT Guwahati declared GATE 2018 results on April 16, a day before the scheduled date. The score cards of GATE 2018 are now available for download from March 20 to May 31. The exam was held on February 03 - 04 & February 10 - 11, 2018. Check GATE 2018 important dates here.

GATE 2018 final answer keys were released recently.  Along with results, GATE 2018 cut-offs too have been announced.

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