Unlock GATE CS with AIR — 2
Here is my story of GATE 2019 preparation
I was a third-year student at M.B.M. Engineering College, Jodhpur (a regular Tier — 3 college). I knew I couldn’t get much if I had been here only. I decided to pursue masters. There was no coaching institute for GATE CS in Jodhpur. So I surfed a lot to get some content for GATE. Then I came across Ravindra Babu Ravula’s lectures.
From the very first lecture which I saw (I saw the first few lectures as a demo at youtube), it felt that it is what I wanted for GATE. Each and every concept was very well taught, it got straight up in my head. I bought the lectures (2-year course). I started watching complete lectures completing subjects step-by-step. Started with the subjects which I had in my third semester of my B.E. — Digital Logic, Computer Architecture and so on...
Now comes the importance of periodic tests. Ravula Sir provide a strict schedule for tests which is known by GATExcel Test Series where they provide 80 tests dividing each subject into 4 parts which you can take each test just after learning that particular section of the subject. After that comes subject test where you get a 3-day span to revise the entire subject and then take that test to get a complete knowledge of the test. Test Series had a beautiful schedule which I followed till the last test (Full Syllabus Mock Test). Meanwhile, I also took the test series of MadeEasy and GateForum to get the complete taste of tests of all coaching institutes. So in all, I had 270+ tests to finish in a year which was not impossible since I followed the schedule strictly.
Securing good scores in the full syllabus tests always boosted my confidence. There were some tests too where I scored low (sometimes I got 250 rank off around 1000 students) where I used to feel depressed for a while. But my parents always motivated me in such situations and never let me feel under-confident in those times.
We didn’t have a very strict schedule in our college, so many times I used to be at my home (Kishangarh, Ajmer) studying for about 6–7 hours for GATE. During semester exam or times when I used to be in the hostel (Jodhpur), I didn’t get much time because of college assignments, but I ensured that I never break the regular study schedule and give at least 3 hours time in GATE preparation. At home, my father always used to give me that push to try a little harder the next day. The talk we had when he used to come from the hospital (He is a doctor by profession) was always regarding my progress in GATE subjects. He kept me motivated during the entire year of my preparation. My mother also provided the environment of study at home, never left me alone at hard times. At the hostel, my friends (Himanshu & Abhishek were the best I got) kept me motivated. Actually, they had confidence in me more than I had in myself, always telling me “Tu Fodega GATE”. A big thanks to all of them for having faith in me always.
So, it was an on-an-average 5 hours of study per day for GATE preparation. I also referred to some of the standard books for some topics for a clearer understanding in free time. Below you can find the list of books I referred for GATE.
I also gave Computer Based tests conducted by MadeEasy just before the GATE exam which gives you final exposure of the exam. I got AIR 15 and 11 in those tests. Just, as I said earlier, never lose hopes, I got AIR 2 in the final exam. It all depends on the focus you keep on that day!
I personally recommend Ravula Sir’s lectures for GATE CS aspirants. He is the one who crafted my success. I had trust in him, always! Each and every word he spoke, just felt right!
Happiest moment of my life was 15th March 2019, the result day when THE RAVULA SIR called me and said “Hello Jay, Ravi here”, I just didn’t recognize and said “Who’s this”, he repeated, “Jay, Ravi here, What is your rank”. That was the moment I collapsed! I was talking to whom I watched and listened to approx. 1.5 years of my life. He is the biggest inspiration for me! I replied “Sir, AIR — 2” and the chat went on. Just after a few moments, my father texted me “Proud of you, beta!”. My mom rushed to newspaper vendors to publish this achievement. These instances felt like I was in heaven and I realized for the first time that Yes, hard work pays!
Altogether I would recommend future aspirants to focus on each and every detail of every subject, not to leave anything in preparation, give all tests honestly and analyzing mistakes in each of them and have trust in yourself. Never feel depressed, watch Ravula Sir’s motivational video whenever you feel like that. Watch last year’s felicitation programme’s video (I watched it over 10 times), you will feel the happiness of being on that stage every time you watch that video which will energize you.
I will add more things regarding my preparation strategy when I remember them. You can ask anything in the comments if you have any queries regarding this stuff!