What is GATE ?

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all -India Examination conducted by the six Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.

Objectives of GATE

To identify meritorious and motivated candidates for admission to Post Graduate Programmes in Engineering, Technology, Architecture and Pharmacy at the National level. To serve as benchmark for normalization of the Undergraduate Engineering Education in the country.

Who Appear in GATE ?

The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear in GATE:

Ø Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/Architecture/ Pharmacy and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Ø Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/ Statistics or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes. However, if the degree is in Master of Computer Applications, the candidate should have had courses in Mathematics at the Bachelor's or Master's level.

Ø Candidates in the second or higher year of the (Post B.Sc.) Four-Year Integrated Master's degree programme in Engineering/ Technology or in the third or higher year of the Five-year Integrated Master's degree/ Dual degree programme in Engineering/ Technology. Candidates with qualifications obtained through examination conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE as equivalent to B.E./ B.Tech. Those who have completed Section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

Structure of the Examination

The GATE is held every year on the second Sunday of February, across the country in over 100 cities. At present nearly 60,000 students write GATE every year.

GATE Result

        The GATE result is declared every year on 31st March and the score of the qualified candidates shows their All India Rank and Percentile Score in the discipline paper chosen by the candidates. The percentile score in each paper is calculated as follows: Let N be the total number of candidates appearing in that paper, and nc be the number of candidates who have the same all India rank c in the same paper (there can be bunching at a given all India rank), then all the candidates, whose all India rank is r, will have the same percentile score P, where P is actually the percentage {number of candidates who have secured marks less than the candidates concerned / N} The percentile score of candidate shows that the performance of the candidate was better than P percent of the candidate who appeared in this paper.

GATE Score Card

a.       Score card will be sent only to the qualified candidates. No information will be sent to candidates who are not qualified.

b.      The GATE score card is a valuable document. Care should be taken to preserve it. Additional Score Cards, (upto a maximum of two) will be issued on payment basis only once.

c.       The Score Card cannot be treated as a proof of category.

d.      The score card of the Qualified Candidates will include GATE Score, Percentile Score and Rank.

GATE Score

The GATE SCORE of a candidate is a statistical performance index in the range 0 to 1000. It reflects the ability of a candidate, irrespective of the paper or year in which he/she has qualified. Candidates with same GATE SCORE from different disciplines and/or years can be considered to be of equal ability.
  where,

m = marks obtained by the candidate.

a = average of marks of all candidates who appeared in the paper mentioned on this scorecard, in the current year.

s = standard deviation of marks of all candidates who appeared in the paper mentioned on this scorecard, in the current year.

K₁ and K₂ are determined respectively from the mean and standard deviation of marks of all candidates across all papers and years since GATE 2002.

A typical qualitative interpretation of the GATE SCORE, for example, can be as follows:

Percentile Score

       The percentile score is not the same as percentage of marks. The percentile score of a candidate shows what percentage of candidates, who appeared in the same paper in GATE 2005, scored less marks than him/her. It is calculated as follows: Let N be the total number of candidates appearing in that paper and n_c be the number of candidates who have the same all India rank c in the same paper (there can be bunching at a given all India rank). Then all the candidates, whose all India rank is r, will have the same percentile score P, where  

        The percentile score in each paper is calculated as follows: Let N be the total number of candidates appearing in that paper, and nc be the number of candidates who have the same all India rank c in the same paper (there can be bunching at a given all India rank), then all the candidates, whose all India rank is r, will have the same percentile score P, where 

P = {(no. of candidates securing marks less than the candidate concerned)/N}x100
 

·         The evaluation of the ORS is carried out by a computerized process using scanning machines, with utmost care. Requests for revaluation of the answer script and re-totaling of marks will not be entertained.

·         The GATE result and particulars of the qualified candidates will be made available to interested organizations (educational institutions, R and D laboratories, industries etc.) in India and abroad based on written request by the organization and on payment. Details can be obtained from GATE Chairmen of IITs / IISc.

Where GATE Result is used?

        Admission to Postgraduate Courses, with MHRD Scholarship / Assistantship, in Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Pharmacy at Colleges / Institutes in the country will be open only to those who qualify through GATE. Some engineering colleges/Institutes specify GATE as mandatory qualification even for admission of self-financing students.

Who can Benefit from Data on GATE Qualified Candidates

       The GATE result is currently seen as one of the bench marks for admission to post-graduate and research programmes by many Universities outside the country as well. The GATE qualified candidates in the Engineering discipline are also eligible for the award of Junior Research Fellowship in CSIR Laboratories. Many industries and business houses are using the GATE score as one of the performance indicators for making recruitments. Some industries and universities abroad have shown their interest in obtaining particulars of GATE qualified candidates. The GATE Committee has therefore decided to provide the relevant details of GATE qualified candidates to prospective users. This is a great opportunity for obtaining particulars of the top ranking engineering graduates and science post graduates who have qualified in the National level, Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. Particulars of the GATE qualified candidates in various discipline papers listed in the table can be made available to the prospective users from industries, scientific organizations, public sector and private undertakings and from Indian and universities abroad on payment of applicable charges. The information will pertain to only those candidates who have agreed that such information can be made available to prospective users.

Applicable Terms and Conditions

        Organizations desirous of using this opportunity can make an application to any of the Chairmen of the GATE Offices, IITs/IISc Bangalore. The GATE Committee has the discretionary power to make the result and other particulars of the candidates available to any non-participating institute or industry/company. The client will sign an agreement with the Organizing Institute and give an undertaking that the information available will be used exclusively for their own institute or industry/company and it will not be shared with any other agency.

Payment Terms and Procedural Details

        The GATE result and the other particulars of the GATE qualified candidates can be made available to the non-participating institutes and industries/companies on payment basis when specific requests are received from them. Combination of formats in which the data are available are given below:

College wise, State wise, Gender wise, Category wise (GN/SC/ST), All India Rank wise. The charges applicable per discipline for furnishing the relevant particulars are as follows: *

Organizations within India : Rs. 30,000/- per discipline for 100 candidates or part thereof

Organizations outside India : US $ 10,000/- or equivalent per discipline for 100 candidates or part thereof

* Subject to change from time to time

The concerned organization shall pay the entire amount in advance to the Organizing Institute.

Important Dates:

1. Availability of GATE forms: October, 1^st week
2. Last Date for filling up forms: November, 1^st week
3. Exam Date: 2^nd Sunday of February
4. Results: March 31^st

General Information and Results are also published on the Web.

Examination Details:

1.        The examination is a single paper of 3 hours duration and generally consists of Section A (Objective Type) which is of 75 marks and Section B (Problem Type) which is of 75 marks. Total: 150 marks.

2.        You have to opt for your subject and study as per the syllabus mentioned in the GATE brochure (available in the Library).

3.        The subjects of our interest are Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering., Electrical Engineering and Instrumentation Engineering. Other subjects are also available such as Mathematics, Physics, etc (consult the GATE brochure).

4.        Generally a large number of students appear for the Computer Science subject in order to do a M.Tech in Computer Science.

5.        Old question papers are available in the shops.

6.        Results of qualified candidates in GATE will give All India Rank and indicate percentile score. For example, a percentile score of 99 means you are in the top 1% category of the candidates who appeared for GATE.

7.        Candidates who get less than 70 percentile get no score card.

8.        GATE scores are valid for 2 years. You may reappear the GATE exam if you are not satisfied with the earlier score and the new score (if better than the old one) will be used for admission purposes.

After the Exam, what next:

1.        After publication of GATE results, students must apply to individual Institutes to get their application forms.

2.        Institutes advertise M.Tech admissions in leading newspapers from 1^st April till end July. However some Institutes do not advertise and therefore students have to get the forms themselves.

3.        In the application forms, you have to mention your GATE score alongwith other details.

4.        The concerned Institute may conduct written test and/or interview for the purpose of admission.

5.        General thumb rules: If your Gate score in Computer Science is 96 percentile or more then you can try for IITs, if between 85 - 96 percentile, then apply for top RECs, JADAVPUR, SHIBPUR, ROORKEE, etc. If less than 85, you have to look for appropriate institutes.

Scholarship:

          During the pursuit of M.Tech, you are paid a scholarship of Rs. 5000.00 per month by the Government of India. This amount is enough for living expenses including purchase of books, etc. The scholarship is paid for the entire 18 months M.Tech period.

GATE Coaching:

For those interested in GATE coaching, the following organizations offer correspondence courses:

1. Brilliant Tutorials
2. Elite Academy
3. Master's Academy

Fees is generally in the range of Rs. 3000 - Rs 5000 for the entire course.

GATE - Preparation Tips

1.Material Collection

·         Syllabus

·         All the relevant books based on the subject Divide the books in two groups - (1) Fundamental and basic concepts (2) Problem oriented

·         Some books helpful for pre-requisite knowledge on the subject

·         Some good guide books for GATE

·         Previous questions papers

2.Keep contact with some expert and GATE experienced persons

3.Study - Syllabus and Previous questions papers

4.Start from the first chapter

·         read at least 5 books, it will widen your knowledge if necessary consult with the books for pre-requisite knowledge or with some expert)

·         Note down the probable concepts definitions, unit, dimension etc.)

·         Note down necessary theories, formulae etc

·         Solve problems as maximum as possible from text books, Guide books etc)

·         Think about various tricks in solving problems if necessary, note it)

·         Go for series of self tests based on this chapter take other's help to conduct tests)

·         Continue the self tests until getting a very good score

5.Solve more and more problems, discover more and more new tricks…

6.Follow the same procedure for the rest chapters

7.Finally, go for self tests based on whole syllabus take other's help to conduct these tests)

8.On the exam day…you will be at the Pick, who can stop you?

The pattern of GATE examination has been CHANGED from 2005.

·         Main Papers

The question paper will be fully objective type for a total of 150 marks divided into three groups:

              i.            Group I: Question Numbers 1 to 30 (30 questions) will carry one mark each.

              ii.            Group II: Question numbers 31 to 80 (50 questions) will carry two marks each.

              iii.            Group III: Question Numbers 81a to 85b (10 questions) will carry two marks each. Each number in this series (81,82,83,84,85) will have two sub-questions (a & b). The answer to part 'b' will be linked to the correct answer to part 'a', as described below in Section (e)(vi).

a.       Each question will have four choices for the answer. Only one choice is correct.

b.      Wrong answers carry 25% negative marks in Q1 to Q80 and Q81a, 82a, 83a, 84a and 85a. Marks for correct answers to Q81b, 82b, 83b, 84b and 85b will be given only if the answer to the corresponding part 'a' is correct. However, Q81b, 82b, 83b, 84b and 85b will not carry any negative marks.

c.       Papers bearing the code AG, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, IT, ME, MN, MT, PI, TF will contain questions on Engineering Mathematics to the extent of 20 to 25 marks.

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