My GATE CSE preparation story

In my first attempt, with 4-5 months of dedicated preparation, I secured an All India Rank (AIR) of 300 out of 1.24Lakh students in GATE 2024 Computer Science with a score of 797, and an AIR of 543 in GATE Data Science with a score of 647. Please bear with me, as this is going to be a long story. I will share my journey to MTech Computer Science at IIT Kanpur, including my reasons for choosing GATE, my preparation process, resources I used and the mistakes I made along the way.

Reason for choosing GATE

I graduated with a BTech in Computer Science in 2023 and secured a decent placement and I joined that company in June 2023. My plan was to work there for a year and then pursue an MS in the US in 2024. With this goal in mind, I took recommendation letters from my professors before leaving college. Since my job operates in work from home, I had plenty of time to prepare for IELTS and handle other tasks related to my US university applications. The initial months were quite relaxed, especially during the training period.

I began my IELTS preparation in August and scheduled the exam for September 9th. However, my peaceful life was disrupted on August 27th during a team meeting. My manager announced that due to cost-cutting, the company had decided to lay off around half of the team members and would inform us individually. I was certain I would be one of them because, as a fresher, I hadn’t been given significant tasks to prove my worth. As expected, the vice president and manager called me and apologized for the situation. Here’s how the conversation went:

• Me: “Sir, I chose this company over an offer from Standard Chartered Bank. You should have informed me earlier so I could have joined them, as I rejected their offer just a month ago.”
• Vice President: “I’m sorry, this was unexpected. I’m also one of those being laid off.”
• Me: Accepting the situation, I ended the call.

I didn’t want this situation to ruin my IELTS preparation, especially since the exam was just 10 days away. I believed that I could always find another job because I had the skills to crack interviews. So, I continued my preparation and took the exam, which went very well. After the exam, I faced the reality of my situation and started applying for other jobs. I applied to hundreds of positions, but many companies required at least 2 years of experience. It was frustrating to have worked so hard to get a placement and to have good skills, only to be in this difficult position. It taught me the importance of choosing your first company wisely. Despite my efforts, many companies didn’t even send rejection letters—I don’t think they even looked at my resume. The worst part is that, even after 9 months, I haven’t received a single call from any of the companies I applied to.

Meanwhile, I scored 7.5 bands in IELTS, which is more than enough for many top universities. I was almost ready with everything needed to apply for my MS. However, being in this situation made me start worrying that the job market in the US might be similar. I began questioning what I would do if I ended up in the same situation there ? Considering the high costs of studying in the US and my family’s financial condition, I started doubting whether this was the right path. Even though the amount of opportunities and lifestyle US gives, I am a kind of person who overthinks a lot and struggles to give my full effort if I have even a 1% doubt about the path I’m choosing. So, I began exploring other alternatives. I didn’t want to join underpaying companies which pays amount that wouldn’t even cover living and rent expenses, as that would make my life even more difficult.

One day, I came across a video of Rohit Negi in YouTube, an MTech CS student at IIT Guwahati who secured the highest placement in India during his year. His journey, from being an average student to cracking the GATE exam and achieving such success, truly inspired me. Coming from a middle-class family in India, IIT is a hope and dream of many families like us. I attended IIT coaching-based schools and colleges starting from the 8th grade itself. I failed miserably in the JEE Advanced exam (that is another long story), leaving my BIG dream of studying at an IIT unfulfilled. After knowing about the opportunities that the GATE exam offers, such as government jobs in organizations like ISRO, DRDO, IOCL and MTech seat at prestigious IITs, I decided to take the GATE exam seriously and fulfil my dream of studying at an IIT.

Mindset before starting GATE preparation

During my BTech, I was the kind of student who thought any exam question, that wasn’t in the class PPTs or the famous YouTube channels I followed, was out of syllabus. Since I was from the 2019–2023 batch, almost 60-70% of my BTech happened online due to COVID. Knowing of scams that happens during online exams, my college made our exams open book. As a result, I never actually learned or remembered any of my BTech concepts. I would just gather and print all the necessary sources before the exams. For my peace of mind and to justify the fees my parents pays, 1–2 days before exam, I would watch YouTube channels like Jenny and GateSmashers, but I always skipped the GATE questions they used to solve out of fear.

Misconceptions I had about GATE

I used to think that GATE is a very difficult exam because it covers the entire syllabus of all the subjects we studied over four years of B.Tech. I believed it asks in-depth questions to test our computer science knowledge, and only those who truly understood and learned the concepts during their semesters could clear it. Only legends who studied every day in their college can crack it.

Because of these misunderstandings and lack of peer support who were interested in GATE, I never had the courage to attempt GATE during my 3rd and 4th years of college. But given my situation I was in, I had no choice but to put in my full effort to crack this exam without thinking about all these myths.

Preparation Journey

I began my GATE preparation on September 20. I know that the exam usually takes place in the first week of February. Initially, my goal was to get atleast rank within the top 1000, so that I could get into NIT Warangal because I had seen people on LinkedIn with similar ranks who were studied there and later working in FAANG companies. With only 4 to 5 months to study and knowing the competition from people who are giving GATE attempts from their 3rd year itself, I realized I needed to work really really hard to crack the exam. I decided to delete all my social media accounts and became completely offline from social life. I’m actually a huge fan of Prabhas and always used to watch his movies on the first day they come out. However, during my GATE preparation, there was his new movie called “Salaar” released, and I didn’t even watched it until my GATE exam was completed.

In the first two days, I watched videos of GATE toppers and read reviews on Quora to figure out what resources I needed for preparation. Since I didn’t have enough time for standard textbooks and found NPTEL boring, I opted for an online course instead. I came across an interview with the AIR2 rank holder who mentioned that the Applied GATE course was helpful for him, so I decided to take that course [ However I didn’t relied on only single course, I will share my actual resources below]. Since I had full-time availability, I set a goal of completing two subjects every month.

I started with TOC and Computer networks because I found those subjects interesting in college. Initial days were very productive and I was highly motivated. My daily timetable is used to look like this.

• 4AM to 9AM: Subject-1
• 10:30 to 1PM: Subject-1 continuation
• 2PM to 8PM: Subject-2

Morning time I used to keep heavy subject like computer networks and afternoon times i used to keep comparatively smaller subject. Below are the month wise subjects I studied

• September-> TOC, CN
• October -> OS, DLD
• November -> CD, DBMS, COA
• December -> DM, EM

The first month was all about watching videos and taking notes. Starting from the second month, I used to watch videos on new subjects from 4 AM to 1:30 PM with breaks. Then, from 2:30 PM to 6:30 PM, I used to solve previous year’s questions on the subjects I had completed in the previous month, using GO PDFs. From 6:30PM to 8:30PM I used to revise notes of current month subjects. I used to have weekly timetable based on number of videos I wanted to complete each day so that I can be on track. For example below is the snapshot of October’s timetable

Did I strictly follow the monthly schedule I mentioned earlier? Definitely not. Some days, I just sit idle without doing anything productive, and used to watch “Shark Tank” for entertainment. On those days, to get back on track, I watch videos of GATE toppers on YouTube and read posts on Quora about people who cracked GATE through hard work, drawing motivation from their stories. As a result, some subjects from the previous month would remain pending, causing them to clash with the subjects I was supposed to cover in the current month. However, I made an effort to get back on track by mid-November. For example, I pulled four all-nighters, sleeping for 5-6 hours during the morning, just so I could finish watching the videos on compiler design.

Sometimes, I look at the latest two years’ question papers of GATE. I would check if I could solve the questions from the topics I had already covered. If I could solve the questions correctly, or at least come up with an approach, it boosted my confidence to continue on the journey.

Resources I used in my preparation

Even though I took Applied GATE course, I didn’t rely solely on it. Sometimes, if I didn’t like the way a subject was taught, I switched to other resources. Here’s a breakdown of the resources that were most helpful:

• Discrete Maths: I enrolled in Amit Khurana’s 500rs paid course. It was a 90-hour course, and I completed it by watching 1-2 videos daily in December. I didn’t practiced previous year questions (PYQs) due to time constraints, but I used to pause the videos to solve questions in class on the go.
• Linear Algebra: I referred to the handwritten notes available on the GO Classes website and watched videos when I found something confusing in the notes. GO Classes’ linear algebra course is free.
• Calculus: I watched Sachin sir’s calculus playlist on the GO Classes YouTube channel. I completed it in just one day. It was concise and to the point.
• Probability and Statistics: I used BYJU’s probability playlist on YouTube titled “Basics of Probability | Engineering Mathematics for GATE 2023 Exam.”
• Digital Logic Design (DLD): I followed the RBR Old DLD course. The explanation was excellent from basics.
• Computer Organization and Architecture (COA): I completed Applied GATE course on COA, it has a duration of 34 hours and took me 10 days. Srikant sir’s explanations were very good. Everyone said COA is difficult but I enjoyed this course.
• Theory of Computation (TOC): Used Applied GATE course for TOC. However, for topics like Decidability, Reducibility, and Turing machines, I watched Deepak sir’s videos on the GO Classes YouTube channel, He explained these topics GOD level.
• Compiler Design: Used Applied GATE course for Compiler Design. After completing the videos, I realized I needed more clarity on some topics while solving PYQs, so I used the GO Classes channel to clear my concepts.
• Operating Systems (OS): I followed RBR old course for OS but watched the disk management topic in the Applied GATE course because it was explained more intuitively.
• Database Management System (DBMS): Applied GATE course for DBMS was very good and comprehensive.
• Computer Networks (CN): I relied only on the RBR old course for CN. His teaching style was awesome, although it took time to grasp the numerous concepts. Thanks to him, I answered every question correctly in the actual exam.
• Data Structures & Algorithms (DS & Algorithms): Because I prepared for placements in college I have some idea so, I printed out the handwritten notes available on the Applied GATE website and read them for 2 hours in the evening in November and December. If I had doubts about a specific topic, I watched videos on that topic.

Other resources thar were helpful

Special mention to gateoverflow website. This site has answers from different students for every previous year question. Reading these answers helped me understand different ways of solving a question. I also used the site to ask my doubts and even contributed some answers when I had a different approach to solving a question.

In the last 2 to 3 weeks before exams I used to watch Marathon sessions of subjects in GO classes YouTube channel. They are very helpful to me in revising concepts.

1 month before exam and Test series

During the first week of December, I took a full-length test in the Applied GATE course (which was free because I had bought the course). To my surprise, I ranked first in that test and scored around 70 marks even though I hadn’t completed the syllabus yet. I was thrilled to see the positive outcome of my hard work.

Later, on December 22, I found the GO Classes All India Mock Test 2023, which was available for free on their website. I took the test and was disheartened to see that I scored only 36 marks, despite having covered more than 80% of the syllabus. This experience made me realize that I could only solve questions similar to those I had already learned from courses or previous years. When faced with unseen questions at the GATE standard, I struggled to solve them.

I didn’t lose hope and kept pushing forward in my journey. I tried to finish the remaining syllabus before January 1st. From January 1st to February 5th, I took one full-length test every morning and then spent till the afternoon analysing the questions I got wrong. In the afternoon and evenings, I used to revise the concepts and subjects where I made mistakes during the exam.

At the same time, I made it a habit to jot down important points or formulas that I often got wrong in test series, or topics that required memorization, such as decidability properties, IEEE number representation rules, and transactions in DBMS. I would stick these notes on the wall and revise them from time to time.

I tried multiple test series during my preparation, but the ones that were most useful to me were:

• Made Easy test series: Many questions in this test series could be solved by practicing previous year questions (PYQs). It gave me a sense of the real competition because a large number of people took this test series.
• GO Classes test series: The questions were at the GATE level and required a clear understanding of concepts to solve. This test series helped me clarify many misconceptions in various topics.

My focus on each day was on improving myself in the areas where I lacked in the exam, without worrying about my rank or marks. Gradually, I saw improvement every day.

Last test I gave was GO classes All India mock test on Feb 5th, I got good marks in the test and I decided to stop giving tests and started to revise notes daily from that point of time as the exam was approaching.

Exam day

I applied for both the GATE CS and GATE DA exams because GATE DA overlaps nearly 70% of the syllabus with GATE CS except AI, ML subjects and few topics. My GATE DA exam was scheduled first, on February 3rd, 2024, before the GATE CS exam. I always had a fear that since the exam was conducted by IISc, known for its research, it might be more in-depth and the paper could be difficult. However, the GATE DA paper turned out to be easy, I attempted all the questions from GATE CS syllabus. After the DA exam, I felt a bit relieved and hopeful that the GATE CS paper would also be similar.

The last few days before my GATE CS exam were tough. Unexpected situations and personal problems my family faced made it hard for me to concentrate on the exam. I couldn’t stop thinking about them and even had trouble sleeping. My exam was scheduled for the afternoon session on February 10th, 2024. I tried to give my best during the exam. I felt that except for a few questions, every question was manageable. The paper was moderate and doable. I attempted almost 60 questions out of 65 but had to leave some questions due to time constraints. One of them was a lengthy algorithm code where we need to select the option that fills the missing code.

Rank predictor

I used the Gateoverflow rank predictor even before the results were out. By submitting my response sheet link my estimated GATE CS rank is around 305-315.

Final result🤗

I achieved an All India rank of 300 out of 1.23 lakh people who appeared for the exam. I’m really happy with the result and glad that I met the expectations I set for myself before starting my preparation.

Key Learnings and Mistakes in my GATE Preparation

• I underestimated entire aptitude section, which carries 15 marks in the GATE exam. This led to errors in simple questions like profit and loss type questions in the aptitude section. A little daily practice, at least 30 minutes, in the month before the exam could have easily secured 15/15 marks in this section, as it is highly scoring. I recommend practicing aptitude PYQs from all branches and focusing on weak topics in free time.
• It’s crucial to start preparation with discrete maths and probability. These subjects are foundational, as concepts from them are used in problems across all GATE subjects. Learning these subjects early improves your analytical and problem-solving skills. I faced difficulties in other subjects because I didn’t prioritize these subjects initially.
• I could have saved time by choosing a single reliable resource for my entire GATE preparation or by knowing about all good resources beforehand. I had to switch courses at times, which wasted time. Talking to top rankers on LinkedIn or from your college can help in wisely selecting preparation resources and saving time.
• Don’t lose motivation in the middle of your preparation. Always remember why you started in the first place. There were times when I felt demotivated because I couldn’t solve problems, and I even started applying to foreign universities. But I kept going.
• The test series phase is improvement phase. During this phase, avoid getting demotivated by low scores and refrain from having high expectations when you got good scores. Focus on learning from new problems and mistakes daily to improve continuously. Analyse and understand on what topic you are lacking based on wrong answers and focus on that.
• On the exam day, carefully read and understand every word of each question. I made the mistake of overlooking some questions and making assumptions where rules were clearly stated. For instance, despite solving many questions on finite automata and regular expressions, I made a mistake in the actual exam in a basic even or odd type regular expression question by misinterpreting the question.
• While watching course videos, don’t skip a concept if you don’t understand it. You’ll likely have to revisit it later when you encounter problems or when subsequent topics build on it. Aim to grasp concepts in one go to avoid wasting time on multiple viewings. If a topic isn’t clear from one source, switch to another resource and learn from there.
• Instead of just reading notes during revision, try writing short notes with the important points from your big FAT notes. This way, you can avoid feeling sleepy during revision. Next time you want to revise, read those short notes to quickly review all the important points.
• I’ve seen some people skip subjects like COA and still go for the exam. Please don’t do this. If GATE asks easy questions from the subject you skipped, you could be out of the competition. If you’re short on time, at least try to learn the important topics in that subject. For example, if you’re thinking of skipping COA, at least study pipelining and caching because there’s always at least one question on these topics every year.
• PYQ PYQ PYQ PYQ PYQ……..Previous Year Questions (PYQs) are like the Bhagavad Gita for GATE aspirants. Understanding every PYQ and its options is very very important. Simply practicing all PYQs can help you achieve a top 500 rank for sure. Even if you’re short on time, focus on atleast last 15 years’ papers. Gateoverflow has a feature where you can select a year and attempt that year’s GATE paper, which you can utilize. When I first solved PYQs after watching videos, I could only solve less than half of them. Don’t get discouraged by this. Mark all the difficult and interesting questions and solve them repeatedly to build your confidence.

Finally I want to say one thing, Trust me GATE is a type of exam which respects your hard work and opens GATE for many opportunities in your life.

I hope whoever reads this finds my preparation journey helpful. Aim for the top 100 and remember to prepare for the worst, and no matter what happens around you or how difficult the question paper is, just give your best. Be consistent and enjoy the process.

Thanks for reading this far! If you have more questions or need more information about preparation, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn https://in.linkedin.com/in/vinayedula . All the best✨.