INTERVIEW-1
Here is the first interview in this series,We have with us Mukul Pathade currently in Final year of B.Tech(Electrical Engineering) from sardar patel college of engineering. He secured AIR 420 in GATE-2016 EE stream,congratulations for his success and best of luck for his future endeavours. He has shared his opinions,preparation tips and paper solving strategy with us,this will be helpful for gate aspirants to give a thrust to there gate preparation.
MUKUL PATHADE,GATE-2016,EE,AIR-420
Name
Then I started with 1 marks Q which took almost 35-40 mins. Let me tell you some Q won’t take more than 10 sec and some Q would require maximum of 2 min and if it is taking longer than that then mark it and give another shot at the end. M/C, power system conceptual questions are asked.
Then the 2 marks Q these are 30 in total I spent almost an hour and 15 min in this section. Some Q requires simple derivations while some require calculations.
i still had 45 mins in hand so I started checking my solutions through rough sheet(use this rough sheet very properly so that when u revisit the Q it would be easier for U to check).While checking I followed bottom to top approach as Q at the end carries 2 marks and was fresh in my mind so it took another 15 min to go through all 30 technical 2 marks Q,10 mins for technical 1 marks Q, and another 5-7 mins for aptitude section in the remaining time(15 min or so) I attempted the difficult Q which may take more time.
Join different online test series which will help u get variety of Q.
I did Power electronics in the month of June,
SS and networks in the month of July,
EMT and machines in month of august, followed by
Power system and control system in September (note: machines and power system should be done one after the other so that it would be easier for u to grasp the concepts)
Analog and digital October month
And the most important Math’s in November.
Go through standard gate notes of each subject like ACE or Madeeasy notes then try to solve as many Q on that topic as possible (u can skip many Qs in kanodia as many Qs are of same type).
I referred K-notes and kuestions from kreaytrx as I found those very complete and up to date with the changing gate pattern.
General aptitude: I had a phobia for this section. My aptitude wasn't so good so during last month I practiced this section daily for hour or so but everything in vain. I scored just 5/15 in this section which is way below average and that was the reason I couldn't make it to top 200.(I knew that this was going to happen but I regret that I couldn't change that). So do not take aptitude section lightly as this will decide your rank among top 500 or so.
Analog: I was weak in this subject and I skipped most of the portion like BJT and FET amplifier then the rest is easy.
Networks -G-drive+Knotes (I would suggest you to go through previous GATE Qs that would be enough)
EMT-I referred Mumbai university techmax book don’t remember the Authors name(do not refer any foreign author book those are very time consuming to study). They ask very basic Qs from this subject.
Signals and systems-I referred Gateforum (G-drive) video lectures. I never referred Oppenheim as that is a very big book to study but I referred Oppenheim video lectures from MIT OCW in 2nd year of engineering hence my concepts were clear.
Machines-Bhimbra (no other option only thing is that don’t go on reading each and everything have a copy of syllabus on your table and study only those topics which are relevant.)+Knotes.No class would teach this subject completely you need to study some topics on your own.
Power system-Nagrath and Kothari(It isnt a vast subject just stick to the syllabus ) refer other books like thereja for HVDC,Distribution systems etc+G-drive+Knotes.
Control system-Norman Nise ,Kuo and ogata for compensation part+Knotes.
Measurements-I referred Knotes for this subject as those were very precise to study.
Analog digital: For analog and digital I followed Gateforums lectures.For some topics in analog I referred Boylestad+Knotes
Power electronics: I referred G-drive. This was the most interesting subject for me everything is very logical in this subject.
Maths-I referred Kumbhojkar for Maths.
I attempted almost 40 full length mocks and many subjective test during the preparation. Attempting as many mock test as possible is the most important thing in gate preparation because here you can develop your confidence and strategy for GATE exam
Now if me an average student can score AIR-420 then u too can.
Your pointer in class has no correlation with your GATE rank remember that!!
Thankyou Mukul for your precious guidance,this will help and motivate many future gate aspirants achieve there goals.
Name
MUKUL H PATHADE
College
SARDAR PATEL COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
YEAR
2016
All India Rank (AIR)
420
Score(out of 1000)
783
Marks(out of 100)
63.08
1.How was GATE paper this year? Give us some insights into GATE-2016 paper and compare it to past year question paper?
Paper was very easy (analogy:IIT ki jagh AIEEE ka paper tha) as compared to 2015 and I expected this to happen because no scientific calculator was allowed. If your basics are clear then paper was very easy, there were many direct formula based questions so if u know the formula then that was enough.
2.How did you feel after seeing first few questions? Did you feel relaxed and calm or you were anxious during first few questions? If you felt anxious then how did you calm yourself?
Yes if your future depends on one exam then it is obvious that you would get anxious a bit but I had done Vipassana(meditation) course which helped me to remain calm.I was pretty comfortable with technical section but was trying my luck in aptitude section.
3.How did you go about attempting the paper? How did you distribute time among various sections like did you attempt 1 mark questions or 2 marks questions first? Please give a detailed description of time management strategy you followed?
I completed aptitude section in maximum of 15-17 mins.(though many of my answers were incorrect!)
Then I started with 1 marks Q which took almost 35-40 mins. Let me tell you some Q won’t take more than 10 sec and some Q would require maximum of 2 min and if it is taking longer than that then mark it and give another shot at the end. M/C, power system conceptual questions are asked.
Then the 2 marks Q these are 30 in total I spent almost an hour and 15 min in this section. Some Q requires simple derivations while some require calculations.
i still had 45 mins in hand so I started checking my solutions through rough sheet(use this rough sheet very properly so that when u revisit the Q it would be easier for U to check).While checking I followed bottom to top approach as Q at the end carries 2 marks and was fresh in my mind so it took another 15 min to go through all 30 technical 2 marks Q,10 mins for technical 1 marks Q, and another 5-7 mins for aptitude section in the remaining time(15 min or so) I attempted the difficult Q which may take more time.
Then I started with 1 marks Q which took almost 35-40 mins. Let me tell you some Q won’t take more than 10 sec and some Q would require maximum of 2 min and if it is taking longer than that then mark it and give another shot at the end. M/C, power system conceptual questions are asked.
Then the 2 marks Q these are 30 in total I spent almost an hour and 15 min in this section. Some Q requires simple derivations while some require calculations.
i still had 45 mins in hand so I started checking my solutions through rough sheet(use this rough sheet very properly so that when u revisit the Q it would be easier for U to check).While checking I followed bottom to top approach as Q at the end carries 2 marks and was fresh in my mind so it took another 15 min to go through all 30 technical 2 marks Q,10 mins for technical 1 marks Q, and another 5-7 mins for aptitude section in the remaining time(15 min or so) I attempted the difficult Q which may take more time.
4.What was the impact of Online Calculator on GATE Exam? How did you prepare yourself to tackle the Online Calculator?
Only thing it did was it made the paper easier for electrical stream and I mean very easy. Now you don't need to practice for complex phasor calculations which made machines, power system, networks easier.
5.What do you feel about the increasing weightage of Numerical Answer Type Questions? How to improve accuracy in order to score well in Numerical Answer Type Questions?
I feel that was the main factor which separated students who actually prepared for months (4-5) before the exam and the students which started preparing month or 2 before the exam. Practice numerical type Q that’s the only way.
Join different online test series which will help u get variety of Q.
Join different online test series which will help u get variety of Q.
6.When did you start preparing for GATE exam?
I started preparing in the month of June. Most of my concepts were clear so I was pretty confident about technical section.
7.Up to what date were you able to complete the course once? What was your target as to how many questions to practice in each subject? What was the sequence in which you prepared the subjects?
I completed my total gate course in month of November, I was pretty confident about every technical subject except few those were Analog, measurements and EMT. I started revising the other technical subjects with the notes I had prepared from the first revision.
I did Power electronics in the month of June,
SS and networks in the month of July,
EMT and machines in month of august, followed by
Power system and control system in September (note: machines and power system should be done one after the other so that it would be easier for u to grasp the concepts)
Analog and digital October month
And the most important Math’s in November.
Go through standard gate notes of each subject like ACE or Madeeasy notes then try to solve as many Q on that topic as possible (u can skip many Qs in kanodia as many Qs are of same type).
I referred K-notes and kuestions from kreaytrx as I found those very complete and up to date with the changing gate pattern.
8.Which subjects according to you require more practice and which subjects need to be read from standard textbooks?
Maths: They can ask anything from math’s we studied in 4 semesters of our engineering be in constant touch with this subject, do not overlook this subject.
General aptitude: I had a phobia for this section. My aptitude wasn't so good so during last month I practiced this section daily for hour or so but everything in vain. I scored just 5/15 in this section which is way below average and that was the reason I couldn't make it to top 200.(I knew that this was going to happen but I regret that I couldn't change that). So do not take aptitude section lightly as this will decide your rank among top 500 or so.
Analog: I was weak in this subject and I skipped most of the portion like BJT and FET amplifier then the rest is easy.
I actually loved studying other core subjects and once your concepts are clear then those subjects are like piece of cake.
9.Which study material and standard books would you recommend for GATE Aspirants in each subject?
If you can afford then I would suggest u to buy G-Drive (Gateforums online video lectures).
Networks -G-drive+Knotes (I would suggest you to go through previous GATE Qs that would be enough)
EMT-I referred Mumbai university techmax book don’t remember the Authors name(do not refer any foreign author book those are very time consuming to study). They ask very basic Qs from this subject.
Signals and systems-I referred Gateforum (G-drive) video lectures. I never referred Oppenheim as that is a very big book to study but I referred Oppenheim video lectures from MIT OCW in 2nd year of engineering hence my concepts were clear.
Machines-Bhimbra (no other option only thing is that don’t go on reading each and everything have a copy of syllabus on your table and study only those topics which are relevant.)+Knotes.No class would teach this subject completely you need to study some topics on your own.
Power system-Nagrath and Kothari(It isnt a vast subject just stick to the syllabus ) refer other books like thereja for HVDC,Distribution systems etc+G-drive+Knotes.
Control system-Norman Nise ,Kuo and ogata for compensation part+Knotes.
Measurements-I referred Knotes for this subject as those were very precise to study.
Analog digital: For analog and digital I followed Gateforums lectures.For some topics in analog I referred Boylestad+Knotes
Power electronics: I referred G-drive. This was the most interesting subject for me everything is very logical in this subject.
Maths-I referred Kumbhojkar for Maths.
10.How did you keep the subjects fresh in your memory the entire time? Did you revise the subjects regularly or you left the revision for last few months? What was your strategy for revision in the last few months?
I used to revise subjects after a month or so .
11.What is the role of mock tests in your success in GATE exam? How many mock tests did you attempt? When did you start attempting mock tests?
Mock tests are there just to boost your confidence.
I attempted almost 40 full length mocks and many subjective test during the preparation. Attempting as many mock test as possible is the most important thing in gate preparation because here you can develop your confidence and strategy for GATE exam
I attempted almost 40 full length mocks and many subjective test during the preparation. Attempting as many mock test as possible is the most important thing in gate preparation because here you can develop your confidence and strategy for GATE exam
12.How was your score in Mock Tests? Is there any correlation between mock test performance and actual GATE performance?
I consistently scored around 55-60 in mock tests and papers were comparatively tougher than the Actual gate-2016 paper where I scored 63.08 .so yes u get an overall idea where u stand in the competition I expected myself to be in top 200 but I had to pay the price for negligence of General Aptitude section in GATE preparation.
13.What is the role of undergraduate studies or college studies in your GATE prep?
I don't think that my undergraduate studies helped me in any way. I am an average guy with 8.5 pointer we normally study night before exam. so my only aim was to break the stereotype that only toppers can score good in GATE.
14.How did you motivate yourself for such a long journey towards GATE?
My Family!!!!!!
15.What is the success mantra that you would like to give to other GATE aspirants which has been critical for your preparation as well?
Self-confidence chahiye bas. Youtube pe ivan joseph ka video dekho 13min ka TED talk hai that thing motivated me throughout this journey.
Now if me an average student can score AIR-420 then u too can.
Now if me an average student can score AIR-420 then u too can.
Your pointer in class has no correlation with your GATE rank remember that!!
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