GATE

The difficulty level of GATE question paper changes every year, as different IITs and IISc Bangalore conduct the competitive exam on rotational basis. However, based on the last past 5 to 10 years of GATE paper review, the difficulty level usually remains moderate to tough mostly.

There is no one IIT that is consistent with GATE question paper difficulty level. However, based on students and subject experts, it is observed that IIT Bombay and IISc Bangalore has a record of setting the toughest GATE question paper so far. Apart from that, IIT Kanpur is also known for setting difficult GATE question paper, especially for EE (electrical engineering) branch. 

Therefore, it is advised to make concepts strong while preparing for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. 

GATE counselling 2026 will be conducted by COAP and CCMT, which will be done by respective IITs and IISc on rotational basis. 

• Through COAP, students will be offered admission to IITs
• Through CCMT, students will be offered admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.

This year, IIT Roorkee is conducting COAP counselling 2026. The dates have been released. COAP registrations are ongoing. 

No, fee for raising objection is non-refundable. Candidates will have to pay a non-refundable amount of INR 500 per question. 

Candidates can check GATE 2026 exam dates on official website - gate2026.iitg.ac.in. IIT Guwahati has also released branch-wise exam dates for all 30 papers. The CBT was held on Feb 7, 8, 14, and 15 in two shifts.

GATE EC exam - Electronics and Communication Engineering paper was held on February 15 in the first shift- 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. 

Securing 25 marks in GATE is just reaching the qualifying cutoff. For SC/ST or PwD applicants, 25 marks can be average and safe for securing good GFTIs. However, targeting core branches can be impossible.

In addition, 25 marks in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering can give different results, based on the paper you have applied for. 

For example, 25 marks in GATE CSE or ECE can fetch you a lower rank. While 25 marks in GATE AG or CY might give you good options during counselling (due to low competition).

GATE qualification is relatively low compared to other postgraduate engineering entrance exams. On average, acceptance rate falls between 15 - 20%. 

Last year, as per statistical report, out of 936019 registered candidates, 747319 candidates appeared, and 8761 students qualified. 

Overall, general cutoff usually remains around 25 -30 marks out of 100 marks. However, for PSUs 75 to 85 marks are considered as a safe qualifying rate. 

No, objections cannot be raised after the declaration of GATE results. Candidates can only challenge provisional answer key. 

After the declaration of GATE result, the qualified candidates will have to participate in counselling process. It must be noted that, IIT Guwahati does not conduct GATE counselling. 

Admission counselling is done by COAP and CCMT portals. 

• Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP) is the centralised portal for counselling used by IITs and IISc that allow GATE qualified candidates to view and accept choices for M.Tech or PSU jobs based on their scores. 

• On the other hand, CCMT (Centralised counselling for MTech/MArch/M.Plan) portal used for offering M.Tech admission to NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs.