Avoid these mistakes in GATE 2019 Preperation

Posted by vishal barswal on July 6th, 2018

I have been giving information on GATE 2019 candidates for almost 3 years and I have seen many promising candidates not performing up to expectations. There are various reasons for this common problem.

• One of the biggest reason is Concentration Lapse, which means that at some point while solving the problem you may lose focus and end up committing a mistake.
• The other reason is inability to deal with Exam Pressure. No matter how many mock tests you give the pressure of the exam cannot be matched with the environment of mock tests.
• The third reason is Weak Memory, which causes us to confuse between different formulas and we may end up using incorrect formula.
• The other reason can be Weak Aptitude. Many candidates may not realize this but aptitude is just not another subject but it is related to thinking capability of an individual so if you constantly practice mind boggling questions then you will have a habit of analyzing any problem.
• The next reason is Theory vs Problem Solving. The education system in colleges is such that our major focus remains on learning whatever is needed for exam and forgetting it immediately after the exam due to which we are not able to learn any subject.
• The next reason can be the candidate not being exam oriented as we know the course is vast so if you go for in depth understanding of each concept then you may not be able to solve enough problems.
• The last reason is Weak Calculation. Due to scientific calculators available to us we generally leave the habit of solving the simplest problems by hand and we totally rely on calculators. Since, GATE has online calculator, a lot of time may get wasted in such calculations.

These are some of the causes that have come to my notice but the question should be how to get rid of these factors to score well in GATE exam. The points that I will list here will be in same order as the cause of the problem:

1. Due to smartphones and internet penetration we are engaged in our phones which reduce our concentration span. So, I would like to recommend that you keep your mobile away with internet switched off during your study hours to increase concentration. Also, read any question twice carefully before solving to see if there is any twist in the tale.
2. To deal with exam pressure you need to have multiple strategies to attempt the exam based on how the paper is. This is so because if you have a fixed strategy of attempt and paper is somewhat different then you may not be able to adapt and give your best. Also, appear in as many other exams available as possible to get acquainted with exam environment.
3. The key to better memory is constant revision because the memory inks in our brain are temporary and to make them long lasting we must constantly refresh them by revision (like DRAM). So keep a day of week reserved for revision.
4. To improve thinking ability and analytical ability keep 1 hour each day reserved for aptitude problems by any book or study material. This will help in multiple exams as well as improve your analytical thinking.
5. If you join any classes then your major focus while self-study should be to solve as many problems as possible. In my time, I used to focus only on problems and I learnt many concepts which were otherwise did not strike me while reading from standard books.
6. Read only the topics mentioned in exam course and do not over think any topic. This is so because at a time you have to be good at 10–15 subjects so you cannot be a master of all rather try to be above average so that you can solve problems of each subject.
7. To improve calculation skills, perform most of the calculations by hand like addition, subtraction , equation solving so that you do not need calculator in exam time. I have a habit of oral computation which enhanced my speed of attempt in GATE exam.

I hope this gives you a thorough list of possible reasons of failure in gate exam and you can now deal with any of these issues if these apply in your case. Nevertheless, I wish you all the best for GATE exam.