GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering)

About GATE

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a prestigious national-level exam in India assessing comprehensive understanding in undergraduate engineering, technology, science, or humanities subjects. It is used for admission to postgraduate programs (M.Tech, Ph.D.) at IITs/IISc and recruitment by Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). Let us understand what this exam is exactly about, in some important points:

GATE is an aptitude test for engineering graduates

This exam is nothing but an aptitude test for engineers.
General aptitude is a part of this exam, but that is not the reason why this exam is called as Aptitude Test.
This exam requires `aptitude' to crack the exam, that's why it is called an aptitude test in engineering.
This exam tests your aptitude (problem solving skills and ability to understand a problem).
Testing your aptitude means that it's not necessary that you will be able to solve every question by mugging up the formulas.
Yes, you will require the formulas but you will also require deep understanding of conceptual knowledge of the subject / topic.
Exam Structure

GATE exam is a 3hr long exam, with a total of 65 questions, with a mix of 1 and 2 marks.
There are 10 questions based on general aptitude (basic math) and the rest 55 questions are based on the technical knowledge of chemical engineering (full syllabus of chemical engineering).
There is a negative marking for the wrong answers : -0.33 for 1-mark questions and -0.66 for 2-mark questions, which adds up to the difficuly level of the exam.
There are three types of questions asked - MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions - select 1 answer), MSQs (Multiple Select Questions - select 1 or more answers) and NAT (Numerical Answer Type - type your answer using a mouse and virtual keypad). There is no negative marking for NAT and MSQs.
Eligibility and Validity

Candidates in the 3rd year or higher of any undergraduate degree (B.E./B.Tech/B.Arch/B.Sc/M.Sc)
Professionals in engineering/technology/architecture/science/commerce/arts.
GATE score is valid for three years.
Strategy to attempt the paper and time management

Attempt all 1 mark questions first in both the sections, as they are comparatively easy and small, sometimes theoretical.
Then attempt all 2 mark questions in both the sections, as they are comparatively tough and lengthy, mostly numerical based.
First 1 hr will be required to attempt the 1 mark easy questions.
Next 1.5 hr will be required to attempt the 2 mark moderate to difficult level lengthy questions.
Last 30min should be kept to think over the questions which you could not attempt or could not solve completely or for re-checking the whole paper.
If you are stuck over a question, give it a limited time of 1min to think about it.
If you can't think, move forward to the next questions, otherwise you will not be able to complete the paper.
Disclaimer: This is the strategy made by me, and is just given as an example. There is no hard and fast thumb rule that this strategy is to be followed. You may refer this strategy to make your own strategy.
List of institutes which conduct the GATE Exam

Students always have this doubt - "Does the organizing institute affect the difficulty level of the paper? Is there any such correlation?" It's a big NO.
The institute that sets the GATE exam has nothing to do with the difficulty level of the paper, because it's just an organizing institute.
The professors of all IITs are told to submit their questions, in such a way that at the end, for each subject, there are at least 10 questions.
Now all that the organizing institute does is to just select the questions from those that they have received.
Here is the list of all the institutes that set the GATE exam on rotation basis:

IISc Bangalore
IIT Bombay
IIT Delhi
IIT Guwahati
IIT Kanpur
IIT Kharagpur
IIT Madras
IIT Roorkee
Single Paper / Dual Paper concept

There used to be a single paper system in the GATE exam.
In the AY 2022-23, the GATE authorities came up with a new concept of Dual Paper.
This dual paper system allows the candidates to select two papers (two subjects) for their GATE exam.
This was done in order to open more opportunities through the GATE exam.
So, for example, one can select chemical engineering and engineering science both.
I personally do not recommend this option because the student cannot focus on both papers at one time.
Moreover, there could be exam time clashes or one might get two different centres, the exam can be missed because of that and the student also gets physically and mentally exhausted.

GATE vs JEE

Ummm......Is GATE tougher than JEE?
Did this thought ever come to your mind?
Well, no issues, here's the answer!
When you talk about any kind of comparison, it's done on the basis of factors.
On this factor, how is this better than that? This is the question asked.
So, what is that `this' in this comparison? Read on...!!

Syllabus wise

JEE has 3 subjects, while GATE has 12 subjects.
So, naturally, syllabus wise GATE is tougher than JEE

Negative and Positive Marking

JEE has 1/4 negative marks (but 4 marks for correct answer), while GATE has 1/3 negative marks for 1 mark questions and 2/3 negative marks for 2 mark questions.
JEE has all 4 mark questions while GATE has only 1 and 2 mark questions.
In JEE, the negative marking seems high, but correct answer fetches 4 marks, while in GATE, you get only 1 or 2 marks.
Hence, in case of positive and negative marking, GATE is tougher than JEE.

Students appearing

Students appearing for JEE are above 14 Lakh, while for GATE, above 10 Lakh.
Hence, the competition is tougher in JEE, so as per this aspect, GATE is easier than JEE.

Number of exams to get into IITs

To get an IIT for BTech, you need to clear JEE Mains and JEE Advanced both, whereas for MTech in IITs, you need to appear only for GATE exam.
Also, you have 2 attempts for JEE, so most students appear twice, unlike GATE.
According to this aspect, GATE is easier than JEE.

So, it's up to you to decide what is tough for you and what is easy for you!

NRI - Eligibility and Application Process

Eligibility

You must have completed or be in the final year of Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Science
No age limit
NRIs are allowed to apply (they can take the exam in India).
Note that the international centers have been deprecated by the GATE authorities, so now the NRIs have to visit India to give the exam.

Paper choice and registration

Choose your paper (e.g. Chemical Engineering)
Register on the GOAPS portal.
The link and other details will be available in the month of August every year.
Your phone number is required for the registration, you need not have an Indian phone number, your phone number is also accepted.
Fill your personal details such as name, DOB, nationality, followed by educational qualification and the recent education's academic details
Documents include the passport size photo, passport as a valid photo ID, degree certificate / provisional certificate, school ID, etc.
Print the admit card, which is released a few week's before the exam.

Test Series

Since the GATE exam holds a very high importance in India for PG admissions / PSU jobs, there are many organizations offering test series. This makes it difficult to choose the best one.

GATE Trinity and Chemgate are the top best test series for the GATE exam. Choose a test series which has maximum number of Full Length Tests (FLTs)

After the first 3 months of preparation (May or June), start giving the subject wise tests, at least thrice per test.

Expectations - 30% marks in the first attempt, 60% marks in the second attempt and 90% or more in the third attempt.

If this is happening in every subject-wise tests, then you're going in the right direction.

Do not feel demotivated if you don't score well in a test, because these tests are there to show you your mistakes like a mirror, not to threaten you or insult you like a human.

A combination of Full Length Tests and Previous Year Papers is to be started in December. In one week, there should be two previous papers and two full length tests, and the rest 3 days are to be given for analysis of each test.

Keep a record of how you've scored in every test, subject-wise or full length, so as to motivate you as well as to keep you on your toes.

In a test series, the marks are the second priority, the first priority should be to assess your weak areas, mistakes and proper time management.

Note: If you score 100/100 in all your tests, it does not guarantee that you will score 100/100 in your main exam, and if you score 0/100 in all your tests, it does not guarantee that you will score 0/100 in your main exam.

Mistakes To Avoid

Conceptual Mistakes

Conceptual mistakes are those which happen because of lack of conceptual knowledge or its application.
These mistakes happen only because you are not able to decode the question, and this happens because of weak concepts.
To avoid such mistakes, one should know how to identify that the question is based on which concept, what is the situation given, what could be the exact block diagram for the same, what is the flow of the process given, what are the values given, etc.
Thinking about all this is necessary to avoid such mistakes.

Calculation Mistakes

90% of the students focus on fast solving, rather than fast and correct solving, and hence make calculation mistakes.
The mistakes are like - forgot to make the units consistent, did not read the part of a sentence, did the wrong calculation or the correct calculation in the wrong way, etc. To avoid such mistakes, first read the whole question before starting the solving.
Sometimes the student selects the wrong option even after knowing the correct answer. So, just keep yourself calm at that time, give yourself 30 sec for 1 mark question and 60 sec for 2 mark question so as to ensure that you are doing the right thing.

Strategies to Study Chemical Engineering Subjects

Know the subject well:
When you start learning a subject, get an overview of the subject by looking at the syllabus and contents.

Try to grasp all the concepts of chemical engineering:
Whichever subject you are going to learn, first make a glossary of concepts that you would be learning.

Get your hands dirty by trying out various things using the labs in your institute or through simulations:
Chemical engineering is all about practical applications and not only theoretical knowledge. Whichever concept you are learning, just try applying it practically in your daily life or by simulating it.

Start studying mathematical subjects first:
Mathematical subjects take time to learn, as you have to apply your prior mathematical knowledge in your domain. It is not just plain solving of mathematical sums, so you need to understand how to apply both mathematical and chemical knowledge. Subjects like Process Calculations, Heat and Mass Transfer, Fluid Mechanics, etc., are mathematical, so they need to be taken first.