Sakshi Education
Practice does not make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect. It is Kolli Naveen who secured All India Rank 4 in Electronics and Communication Engineering in GATE 2016 with his excellence. He is sharing his preparation strategy with Sakshi exclusive for GATE aspirants..
Would you please tell us about yourself, your family background and your education?
I hail from Markapur, a town in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. My father K.Venkata Siva Prasad who holds a business of slates trading while my mother K.Sailaja is a homemaker. My younger brother Lokesh is currently pursuing diploma. I did my schooling in Bashyam Public School in Vijayawada. After completing my intermediate education in NRI junior college, Guntur, I joined in BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus through BITSAT in 2012. I am currently in my final semester pursuing BE (Hons.) in ECE.
Academic Profile
SSC - 92.5%
Intermediate - 95%
BE - 90%
What inspired you and guided you towards GATE?
I was keen on pursuing higher studies so I have not registered for placements. My curiosity to learn and explore working of electronic gadgets from childhood has turned into a deep passion for engineering. I wanted to explore things beyond my academics and I realized pursuing higher studies in prestigious institutes like IISc., IITs would be the right choice. This led me to take up GATE exam. My parents, BITS Pilani faculty and coaching have provided me a great support and inspired me in every way to achieve my aim.
How did you crack the GATE in the first attempt?
I had built up strong fundamentals in the courses during my initial years of graduation. In my pre-final year, I have joined coaching institute to enhance my problem-solving skills. I have attended all the coaching classes, which indeed helped me to strengthen my weak areas.
Would you explain your preparation strategy?
I can broadly divide my preparation into three phases:
1st phase: Till last 3 months before exam
During this period, I have attended most of the classes by coaching institute and applied the concepts to solve the problems. I have worked on strengthening my weak areas and learnt problem solving tricks from the coaching faculty. I have taken mock exams once a week in which I kept my primary focus on solving problems from known concepts and updated my knowledge to new concepts simultaneously.
2nd phase: Last 3 months before exam
By this time, I have learnt concepts of all the topics but I have primarily focused on those topics, which I was not very comfortable with. Moreover, I have started taking more mock tests (once in three days) and started to learn from the mistakes in the tests. By the end of this period, I was comfortable with most of the subjects barring two or three.
3rd phase: Last 1 month before exam
This is most important period. During this time, my day starts with a mock test followed by analysis and rest of the day taking note of mistakes I have committed and rectifying them. I have gone through previous year GATE papers too and started to attempt various sample papers by coaching institute. During the last week, I have revised all the concepts and have gone through my short notes where mistakes from mock tests were noted down.
What steps are to be taken to get good marks in Engineering subjects, General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics?
Engineering subjects: Being strong at your core-engineering subjects is must. Your preparation should be accompanied by vigorous problem solving. Student needs to have utmost clarity over the subject and should get exposed to variety of problems.
General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics: Student can easily score high in this section as this is mostly logical and deals with formulae occasionally. One could easily score maximum marks with minimal effort.
How many mock tests did you write before the exam? How to make use of them?
One should never neglect mock tests as they help you to adapt to the test pattern and shape a strategy for the exam. One should take up at least one mock test in a week to check their progress and increase it steadily as exam approaches nearby. I have taken up approximately 50-60 mock tests which include previous year GATE papers, sample GATE tests and AIMGATES by TIME institute. One can make optimum use only if one analyses the paper after attempting and taking note of the mistakes on a regular basis.
What are the common mistakes done by GATE aspirants?
Common mistakes during preparation: Lack of proper planning would lead to cumbersome and ineffective preparation. Students must draw plan from day one and study accordingly. Problem solving should be given equal importance as learning concepts and this would help student clear misconceptions and solve problems faster.
Common mistakes during examination: Student should not get panicked irrespective of how hard the paper is. Instead they should attempt those questions which they are confident of in the first go as this would boost their confidence levels up. Later they can get back to difficult questions. One should not stick with any question for a long time.
Role of time management...
Compared to other competitive exams, there is ample time, approximately 3minutes for each question in the exam. Hence, student has less pressure to manage time and instead should focus more on accuracy.
Do you think is it necessary to take coaching?
It’s not required as such. But it would be good if taken. It will give you enough confidence and problem solving tricks, which you might not know by yourselves.
Is it very difficult to crack GATE?
I would say ‘No’. A persistent effort backed up by self-confidence would enable anyone to achieve the desired result and same holds true for GATE too.
Your suggestions for the GATE aspirants..
What are your future plans, an M.Tech. from the IIT or to join a PSU?
I would like to pursue ME from IISc. Bangalore. Later I would like to join in a PSU in related sector and eventually enter into teaching field to produce more skilled engineers in India.
I hail from Markapur, a town in Prakasam district in Andhra Pradesh. My father K.Venkata Siva Prasad who holds a business of slates trading while my mother K.Sailaja is a homemaker. My younger brother Lokesh is currently pursuing diploma. I did my schooling in Bashyam Public School in Vijayawada. After completing my intermediate education in NRI junior college, Guntur, I joined in BITS Pilani, Hyderabad campus through BITSAT in 2012. I am currently in my final semester pursuing BE (Hons.) in ECE.
Academic Profile
SSC - 92.5%
Intermediate - 95%
BE - 90%
What inspired you and guided you towards GATE?
I was keen on pursuing higher studies so I have not registered for placements. My curiosity to learn and explore working of electronic gadgets from childhood has turned into a deep passion for engineering. I wanted to explore things beyond my academics and I realized pursuing higher studies in prestigious institutes like IISc., IITs would be the right choice. This led me to take up GATE exam. My parents, BITS Pilani faculty and coaching have provided me a great support and inspired me in every way to achieve my aim.
How did you crack the GATE in the first attempt?
I had built up strong fundamentals in the courses during my initial years of graduation. In my pre-final year, I have joined coaching institute to enhance my problem-solving skills. I have attended all the coaching classes, which indeed helped me to strengthen my weak areas.
Would you explain your preparation strategy?
I can broadly divide my preparation into three phases:
1st phase: Till last 3 months before exam
During this period, I have attended most of the classes by coaching institute and applied the concepts to solve the problems. I have worked on strengthening my weak areas and learnt problem solving tricks from the coaching faculty. I have taken mock exams once a week in which I kept my primary focus on solving problems from known concepts and updated my knowledge to new concepts simultaneously.
2nd phase: Last 3 months before exam
By this time, I have learnt concepts of all the topics but I have primarily focused on those topics, which I was not very comfortable with. Moreover, I have started taking more mock tests (once in three days) and started to learn from the mistakes in the tests. By the end of this period, I was comfortable with most of the subjects barring two or three.
3rd phase: Last 1 month before exam
This is most important period. During this time, my day starts with a mock test followed by analysis and rest of the day taking note of mistakes I have committed and rectifying them. I have gone through previous year GATE papers too and started to attempt various sample papers by coaching institute. During the last week, I have revised all the concepts and have gone through my short notes where mistakes from mock tests were noted down.
What steps are to be taken to get good marks in Engineering subjects, General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics?
Engineering subjects: Being strong at your core-engineering subjects is must. Your preparation should be accompanied by vigorous problem solving. Student needs to have utmost clarity over the subject and should get exposed to variety of problems.
General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics: Student can easily score high in this section as this is mostly logical and deals with formulae occasionally. One could easily score maximum marks with minimal effort.
How many mock tests did you write before the exam? How to make use of them?
One should never neglect mock tests as they help you to adapt to the test pattern and shape a strategy for the exam. One should take up at least one mock test in a week to check their progress and increase it steadily as exam approaches nearby. I have taken up approximately 50-60 mock tests which include previous year GATE papers, sample GATE tests and AIMGATES by TIME institute. One can make optimum use only if one analyses the paper after attempting and taking note of the mistakes on a regular basis.
What are the common mistakes done by GATE aspirants?
Common mistakes during preparation: Lack of proper planning would lead to cumbersome and ineffective preparation. Students must draw plan from day one and study accordingly. Problem solving should be given equal importance as learning concepts and this would help student clear misconceptions and solve problems faster.
Common mistakes during examination: Student should not get panicked irrespective of how hard the paper is. Instead they should attempt those questions which they are confident of in the first go as this would boost their confidence levels up. Later they can get back to difficult questions. One should not stick with any question for a long time.
Role of time management...
Compared to other competitive exams, there is ample time, approximately 3minutes for each question in the exam. Hence, student has less pressure to manage time and instead should focus more on accuracy.
Do you think is it necessary to take coaching?
It’s not required as such. But it would be good if taken. It will give you enough confidence and problem solving tricks, which you might not know by yourselves.
Is it very difficult to crack GATE?
I would say ‘No’. A persistent effort backed up by self-confidence would enable anyone to achieve the desired result and same holds true for GATE too.
Your suggestions for the GATE aspirants..
- Build up strong fundamentals.
- Take up as many practice tests as possible.
- Finally, believe in yourself, have lot of patience. As the syllabus is very much, it would take lot of time (months) to feel confident enough. Do not give up in the middle.
- Without worrying about the results give your best till the end.
- All our efforts will be definitely rewarded very well.
What are your future plans, an M.Tech. from the IIT or to join a PSU?
I would like to pursue ME from IISc. Bangalore. Later I would like to join in a PSU in related sector and eventually enter into teaching field to produce more skilled engineers in India.
Published date : 28 Mar 2016 11:49AM
