Students’ Speak: How to obtain high GATE percentile in one-month preparation

By: Payal Jajodia

Here are some tips and suggestions for obtaining high percentile in case of unplanned or last-month preparation.

Most of the students start preparing for GATE exam since their fifth semester as this gives them enough time to complete the entire syllabus along with revision. There are chances they score a good percentile in the exam. But also there are many students who at last moment decide to appear for GATE and do not have a proper plan or are running out of the time i.e. they are left with a month for the preparation for the exams. At this point, the students are really tensed, worried and depressed, as they have to cover the entire syllabus just within a month and manage some time for revision. Therefore, here are some tips and suggestions for obtaining high percentile in case of unplanned or last-month preparation.

GATE Focus Topics

For the Computer Science Engineering (CSE) branch, there are various important points to focus on. These can help you get a high percentile if they are starting to prepare for GATE a month before the exam. Most important is to focus on Verbal Ability, Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics. These two sections are the most scoring areas of the exam. From the Algorithms Section, a topic that carries the highest weightage is Sorting Algorithms and the easiest topic is Searching and Sorting Algorithms. From Programming and Data Structure, Trees carries the highest weightage and the other topics such as Stacks and Queues, Recursive are easy. From Operating System, go for Page Replacement Algorithms, Paging, CPU Scheduling and Deadlocks as these are some of the important topics and most frequently asked.

Databases Section includes SQL queries, Relational Algebra, Normalization and ER Diagrams to be focused on. The Computer Networks Section includes IP Addressing, TCP and UDP, Routing Algorithms are the most important topics and the IP Addressing carries most weightage. Computer Organization and Architecture include Pipelining, Cache Organization as important topics. The Theory of Computation deals with DFA and Regular Expressions along with the Regular Languages. Another subject i.e. Compiler Design involves Parsing, Lexical Analysis and Syntax Analysis as most weightage carrying topics. The Digital Logic will include the Combinational circuits, Multiplexers, Counters.

GATE Last Week Tips and Tricks

• The student appearing for GATE may suffer from mental stress during a week before the exam. A lot of pressure is being built on them which may be either due to less preparation or not being confident. Due to this, they might forget all that they have studied. So here are some tips and tricks so that the hard work of the students does not go in vain.
• Have at least eight hours of sleep daily before a week of the exam. Always make it a habit of taking regular intervals of at least 10 minutes during study hours. Try to revise all the important topics and notes before a week. Avoid starting any new topic a week ago. Eat healthily and do yoga or any breathing exercise daily, this sharpens your memory and makes you feel relax.
• Go through the previous years papers, mock tests, sample test papers as this will boost your confidence and try to assess yourself. Also, make a chart of important short tricks and formulae’s for Aptitude so that you just have to look at it daily and you will easily memorise it. Also, focus more on numerical and take the help of experts who have attempted the paper.
• Try to stay away from the things that distract you. Spend some quality time for outdoor activities. Always stay motivated. Also before appearing for GATE study the exam-pattern
• Go for the easy subjects first which takes less time. Check your centre location in advance so that there is no hustle. Try to keep your mind calm give your best during the exams. Engage yourselves in all those activities that make you feel good and relax. Listen to good music and enjoy the moment. Do not compare yourselves with the other Have hands-on practice for virtual calculator and keyboard as no physical calculators are provided for the exam.

GATE Self-Evaluation

Before appearing for the exam it is must to evaluate and assess yourself as this will help you to figure out your week areas where you need improvement. Go for solving the previous years’ GATE papers and examine yourself that how much time you invested behind a question. Is your speed of solving the questions is accurate, or are you able to finish the paper within the time limit? This will provide you with a lot of help during the exam time so that you can speed up your calculation speed and complete the paper within the time limit. Also, this boosts your morale and confidence. Also, do solve the mock papers which are the dummy papers for GATE as this will able you to assess yourself according to the subject and the topic where you need to focus more. This will help you to obtain a high percentile during your exams.

About the Author:

Payal Jajodia is a student at Poornima University studying Bachelor in Technology with a specialisation in Computer Science Engineering.