Students’ Speak: Should you re-attempt or continue with you GATE score?

By: Swapnaneel Bhuiya

If you feel that you are not getting an institute of your choice to do your M.Tech or a job in a public sector undertaking (PSU) of your choice, then you may opt for re-attempt

Not all of the students who appear for Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering (GATE) score well. Most of the students appearing for the exam are generally disappointed about getting a low or an unsatisfactory score.  In such a situation, the first and foremost thing to do is to keep yourself motivated and not lose hope. There are multiple options that you could grab hold of in case you have not been able ace GATE exam or are unable to get admission into an institution of your choice basis your score.

There are some institutes that conduct their own entrance examination for PG programmes, including Indian Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT), IIIT Bangalore, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information and Communication Technology (DAIICT), Indian Statistical Institute (ISI Kolkata), Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines), Dhanbad and Birla Institute of Technology & Science (BITS Pilani). You can always apply for these institutes.

Whether to re-attempt or continue with it?

This is one of the first questions that strike an aspirant -- whether they should stick to their existing score and find what next they could do or prepare again and re-attempt. Many institutes do accept low percentiles provided that you qualified the base cutoff. Now if you feel that you are not getting an institute of your choice to do your MTech or a job in a public sector undertaking (PSU) of your choice, then you may opt for re attempt. However, before you begin the process, do the following:

• Ask yourself, why do you want to crack GATE. Is it that important?
• Don't get into the flow of emotions. You need to be calculative.
• Discuss with your family.
• There are many options for you. You could re-attempt GATE or try for a job (or if you already have a job) and preparing along. You could also completely quit GATE and look for another career path.

Now, if you have decided to re-attempt GATE, this is what you must do:

• Be calculative in preparing for the exam along with your work.
• If you don't have a job, at present, then think upon the pros and cons of preparing along with the job and without a job. Discuss with your family what is better for you.
• Analyse where you stand. Be true to yourself. Even if you end up analysing yourself at level 0, that's perfectly fine.
• Think of why things didn't go well the previous times.
• Start fresh with more determination. Focus more on understanding. You can also go for coaching if you are financially stable and your family has no issues with it.

Plus, the advantage with GATE is that you can attempt it multiple times. So even if you get low marks, your battle isn’t over. You can still try and win it next time, just change your strategy.

Should one opt for other organisations if they don’t get the option to get into the desired PSU?

Every year over 40 PSUs announce recruitment through GATE. In 2019, direct recruitment through GATE was announced by many PSUs such as ONGC, IOCL, HPCL, SAIL, BSNL and DRDO. Pay packages offered ranged between Rs 7-11 lakh per annum. However, the icing on the cake for most students were the perks and job security. This is the reason why GATE sees a large number of applicants who apply to get a job in a PSU. So, if you have qualified in GATE with a good score, your path to a PSU job can become a reality.

If you do not get a chance in any PSUs your journey does not end. You would still have a plethora of choices such as going overseas for higher studies, opt for a specialisation, pursue post-graduation, among others. If you have a dream of joining a PSU then re-attempt, otherwise go for some other organization.

Whatever your decision, follow these tips in case you have a low GATE 2020 score:

• Analyse your situation: Feeling awful about what has been done in the past will do you no good for your future. Therefore, you must try to analyse your situation and find out your best course of action. Think about what options are open to you for your future. Are you willing to wait for next year to give your GATE exams again?
  Or, do you wish to move on and try something else? Doing so will help you a lot in figuring out what course of action you can and should take. Another thing you need to analyse is what areas you lack in, where your errors lie and how to overcome them.
• Create a good routine: Your lifestyle contributes a lot to your success as well as to your failures. Make sure that you build a new routine and follow it diligently. Doing so will help heal your mind and heart after failing your GATE exam. Try to incorporate healthy habits into your routine and also those activities that make you happy, be it playing a sport, gym, listening to music, dancing or creative activity.
  All these things can help reduce your depressive thoughts and make you see your future in a better life. The more motivated you are, the better your chances of improving.
• Do not compare yourself with others: People comparing you with other aspirants is as it is annoying. Do not start doing it yourself, too. Comparing yourself with others always proves to be extremely disheartening. Refrain from doing so even if your friends or acquaintances have managed to clear the GATE exam. Instead, try to focus on making yourself better.
  Keep away all the bad thoughts and improve your habits and knowledge so that you can yourself pass the exam if you attempt it the next time.
• Take advice from an experienced person: Look around and you will find a number of examples and inspirations. Try talking to someone who has previously been in your situation and managed to succeed later. Seeking their advice will help you understand how to improve your approach for the exam. Also, talk to someone who managed to clear their GATE exam in their very first try. They will be your inspiration who can help motivate you to get better.
• Take some time off: If you think that your failure means that you should stop living your life, well that’s where you are wrong. Failing your GATE exam might have nothing to do with the efforts you put into preparing for it, but with the approach with which you prepared for it. Therefore, try to stop putting the blame on yourself and take some time off to relax and freshen your mind. This will help you to get started again with a clear and fresh mind and rejuvenate your senses.
• Open up with your family: Your family is undoubtedly your backbone. Therefore, at times when you are feeling low, their support and encouragement can help lift your spirits. Make sure you do not put yourself in a shell and be reserved about your concerns and decisions! Discuss with them everything that is going on in your mind regarding your future plans, your current feelings and everything else. Their guidance and advice can help you in a way in which nothing else can.
• Be open to opportunities: It is often said that once an opportunity is lost, it remains lost forever. Therefore, make sure you do not restrict your choices and open yourself up to as many opportunities and exposures as possible. You do not know what might be best for you. Therefore, while preparing for your GATE exam, start looking up other competitive exams that you can give or other projects and jobs that you can take part in.

About the Author:

Swapnaneel Bhuiya is a fourth-year student in Mining Engineering at Indian Institute of Engineering Science And Technology (IIEST), Shibpur. He appeared for JEE in 2016 and scored 140 in his first attempt.