r/GATEtard

is it even worth studying for GATE anymore?

saw a post of a guy having 740-ish score in EWS category and not getting any IITs even after round 9

saw another post of a guy having 680-ish score in SC category and getting offers from iitd and iitb cs

not gonna sugarcoat it but many of us preparing for gate are average people, willing to get into top colleges on the basis of hardwork, dedication and consistency applied in a proper direction. many of them fall along the way while some make it to the last and go blank in the exam hall. still time is being wasted of lakhs of students preparing for GATE and having dreams of getting into IITs

but looking at this current scenario of the education system, what the fuck is going on? people dedicating a whole year or two aren't even getting colleges that they hoped for. not even talking only about the caste based system here, but a lot of other factors included. people are settling into something that they never expected even after giving years of hardwork to it. is it all there is?

yeah you can upskill and get better at your work and field but the feeling and still remains the same that they couldn't get into what they hoped and dreamt for. people will still get the advantage of IIT tag even if you're more smarter than them.

sorry for the rant but is it even worth appearing for gate looking at the current condition of students and the education system? what do y'all think?

reddit.com
u/TQJD-8783 — 7 hours ago
▲ 5 r/GATEtard+1 crossposts

[Bits Hyd MVLSI] vs [IIT madras Control and optimization] vs [IIT BHU DISE]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to decide between the following offers:

  • BITS Hyderabad – M.E. VLSI Design & Microelectronics
  • IIT MadrasM.Tech Control & Optimization
  • IIT BHUM.Tech DISE (Department of Electrical Engineering)

My primary goal is to get a good placement after my master's.
I have a few questions:

  1. Which of these programs would provide the best placement opportunities overall?
  2. Is the IIT Madras tag enough to outweigh the branch difference, or is a specialized VLSI program at BITS Hyderabad a better choice?
  3. How are the placement opportunities for IIT BHU DISE compared to the other two?

Thanks in advance!

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u/NoTransportation3336 — 9 hours ago

I have GATE score 727 in CS ,Not got any offer till round 9

I am looking for IIT BHU,Indore,can anyone help with what I can expect from round 10??

Category:EWS

Anyone got offer in r8 or r9?

Please help out if anyone has any knowledge or anyone has taken admission in 2026.

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u/Unknown_3304 — 12 hours ago

IS 6-7 months enough for gate CS/IT'27 (by Gate CS/IT'26 under 220 rank)

So the simple answer is "you have enough time to study, but not enough to waste" this line I heard from a teacher or youtuber i forgot whom it was, but the line is absolutely true,

If you start putting every moment of time you have from today onwards you can definitely do it, you will even have time to deal with burnout which may come if you really work hard but you can deal with it, actually you have to, no other option if you jump for it now.

But believe me I did it in 6 months, and it changed the way I see myself. JEE had made me believe I wasn't capable of a good rank, but this journey proved that I was or at least i am not that bad i was seeing myself as. Sometimes all you need is one chance to surprise yourself. (and this can be yours, so bas lg jaao and pyqs jarur se krna)

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u/SirRevolutionary1637 — 14 hours ago

B.Tech CSE 62% (6.2 CGPA, Second Division) – Will It Be a Problem for PSUs or M.Tech in the Future?

Hi everyone,

I recently graduated with my B.Tech CSE in June 2026. My final CGPA is 6.2, which is equivalent to 62% as per my university's conversion formula, and my degree is classified as Second Division.

A little about my situation:

  • B.Tech graduate (June 2026)
  • 6.2 CGPA = 62% (Second Division)
  • Attempted GATE in February with zero preparation and scored 20 marks
  • Planning to prepare seriously for GATE from now on.

My main goal is to get a PSU job through GATE. However, I also want to keep the option open for pursuing M.Tech if needed.

My biggest concern is whether my 62% (Second Division) will become a problem in the future. Specifically:

  • Do PSUs reject candidates because they have a second division or 62% in B.Tech?
  • If I get a good GATE score, will my percentage still hold me back?
  • For M.Tech admissions (IITs, NITs, IIITs, etc.), how much importance is given to B.Tech percentage compared to the GATE score?
  • Has anyone with a similar academic profile managed to get into a PSU or a good M.Tech program?

I'd really appreciate any advice or experiences. Thanks!

https://preview.redd.it/nabtemf48fbh1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=29b902f7e723c6f2d5aafb1313eec4eef5bd0f72

reddit.com
u/josefhmelton2 — 11 hours ago

My messy GATE Journey 😄

TL;DR

Don't want to read the whole thing? Here's the short version:

  • Was an art kid with zero interest in engineering, ended up in a bottom-tier college (GEC BSP, CSVTU) almost by accident.
  • Got hooked on GATE through a random YouTube OS/semaphores video, then spent years self-teaching from free resources as a "resource scavenger."
  • CSVTU scheduled end-sem exams right before GATE every year — for my first attempt this left just one free week to prepare; for my last attempt, a full month.
  • Attempt 1 (GATE 2025): 51.34 marks. Attempt 2 (GATE 2026): a brutal Shift 1, near-zero sleep the night before, and a final score of 51.85 — a gain of 0.51 marks for an entire extra year of grinding.
  • Somehow still landed offers from IITB and IITD M.Tech CS (round 7, SC category, score 606).
  • What I'd tell a newbie: learn for understanding, keep a loose direction instead of a rigid timetable, keep notes messy instead of pretty, actually use How to Solve It by Pólya, don't rely only on YouTube, solve questions continuously instead of "after finishing the syllabus," and if you have any money to spend, spend it on a proper test series instead of stitching together free content — scavenging works, but it costs you 3x the effort.

Full story below if you want the context behind all of this.

I think it's important to explain where I came from, because my preparation did not begin with a perfect plan. It evolved naturally over two years, and honestly, out of a lot of confusion about who I even wanted to be.

The Art Years

I was a pretty average, maybe even below-average student in school. I never cared much about studies — my time went into computer games, movies, and hanging out with friends. Then, during 11th and 12th standard, I discovered art. I fell in love with it. I spent countless hours drawing, learning Photoshop, creating illustrations, and improving my skills, and I genuinely believed I wanted to build my career around it.

(Here are a few of my hand-drawn digital artworks)

https://preview.redd.it/ahu32ktzadbh1.jpg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=699b5b079f2a73c2d213265c71c032f2cfee834a

https://preview.redd.it/img8fmtzadbh1.jpg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=877a0a8f493df34bd4aea1cf706c544caaf27fe6

https://preview.redd.it/vxpx2mtzadbh1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e726c41a693bb0de69b264234ebf6e3b6cd0d358

Covid hit right when I was in 11th standard, so school went fully online. That meant I spent entire days drawing and painting instead of studying. Then 12th standard exams got cancelled and we all received free results. Because of Covid, we also got four attempts at JEE Mains — four. I didn't sit for a single one. Looking back now, I regret that, because my father ended up forcing me to take a drop year and prepare for JEE anyway.

Even during that drop year, my heart wasn't in it. I still wanted to do something art-related, and it showed: I scored a 67 percentile in JEE Mains, which got me nowhere.

I gave the CGPET exam purely based on luck, since there were no negative markings, and got selected into the IT department of GEC BSP.

Joining GEC and the Reality Check

After JEE, I got admitted into a government engineering college — one of the lowest-tier institutes around. Joining that college was one of the biggest reality checks of my life.

Coming from a good private school, the difference was huge. The infrastructure was poor, the coursework felt outdated, and the overall environment was disappointing. They didn't even have a dedicated classroom for CS/IT students — we shifted from room to room like we didn't belong anywhere. This isn't a criticism of the faculty as people; it's about the institute itself — its curriculum, its facilities, its ecosystem.

It felt like I had gone from a well-maintained campus into something completely neglected.

During this time, I realized that school was something given to me by my father, but college admission depended on my own performance, and since this was the best I could get into, I convinced myself it was my actual value as a student.

On top of that, the art I'd poured myself into was getting no viewers, no followers, no clear path forward, and no support from my parents.

Even after all that, I still wasn't interested in engineering itself. My mindset going into college had been simple: "College is my part-time job. Drawing is my real career." I'd attend classes because I had to, come home, and keep practicing art. Engineering was just a temporary detour — until it wasn't.

By the end of first year, I hit a kind of existential crisis and finally dropped art altogether. It remains one of the biggest decisions of my life. After that, I started resenting my past self for not studying when it mattered. That's when it really sank in: you get nothing in life by fooling around.

Stumbling Into GATE

Everything changed during the second semester. My father had been repeatedly suggesting I look into the GATE exam. His reasoning was simple: a bachelor's degree from a college like mine probably wouldn't open many doors, but an M.Tech from a reputed institute could completely change my career.

Initially, I ignored him. But because of him, out of curiosity, I searched "GATE" on YouTube. One of the first videos that came up was an Operating Systems lecture on semaphores — a Unacademy video, though I don't remember the teacher's name. I hadn't formally studied OS, or really any core CS subject, at that point. I just clicked on it because it showed up on top.

To my surprise, I could follow it. Not only did I understand the explanations, I actually solved some of the semaphore problems along with the lecture. The questions didn't feel like textbook questions — they felt like puzzles. That single experience completely changed my perception of computer science. Instead of memorizing definitions, I was solving logic. It was satisfying in a way school had never been.

That lecture pulled me in, and I wanted more. Instead of watching random videos forever, I started looking for complete courses and studying subjects one by one. That was the real beginning of my GATE journey.

Learning My Own Way

Even then, I wasn't "serious" about cracking GATE. Third year felt far away, and the actual exam felt even farther. So my early preparation was extremely relaxed — I wasn't chasing ranks, I wasn't counting study hours, I wasn't following any timetable. I was simply learning.

Part of this came from a bad prior experience. During my JEE drop year, my father had enrolled me in a coaching institute, and those places work like machines — they move at a fixed pace for thousands of students, and if your speed doesn't match theirs, you fall behind fast. I realized that style of learning just wasn't for me.

There was also guilt driving me. My father had already spent a lot of money on my JEE drop, and I felt like I owed my parents something for all the times I hadn't taken things seriously. So for GATE, I made a deliberate choice: study from free resources only, to make up for the money I'd already burned.

That wasn't easy. Studying from free YouTube content is tedious — you have to first find a good source, and most free courses are incomplete, but a newbie doesn't know that going in. I became what I jokingly call a "resource scavenger," hunting down good lectures from different teachers across YouTube and free platforms, and stitching together my own path. There was no master strategy. I just kept learning.

Oddly enough, this ended up being the most productive period of my life. I was doing so many things for the first time — making my own notes, studying to actually understand rather than just pass, filling in gaps that went all the way back to childhood. I wasn't just preparing for GATE anymore. I was rebuilding myself, and that's genuinely how I saw it.

As I finished more subjects, my confidence slowly grew, and the more I understood, the more serious I became. My goal was never to memorize just enough to score marks. I wanted to actually get better at thinking, and to understand computer science properly. Looking back, that mindset is probably the single biggest reason I stayed consistent for as long as I did.

Even the order I studied subjects in wasn't planned. I never followed anyone's recommended sequence. Whenever a subject looked unfamiliar or intimidating, I'd often pick that one first — my logic being, "if something feels alien to me, that's probably where I'll learn the most." My routine was equally unstructured: watch a lecture, solve the questions discussed in it, move to the next topic, repeat. Only later did I start solving GATE previous-year questions topic-wise.

This phase of my preparation wasn't strategic at all. It was curiosity-driven. I wasn't trying to become a topper. I was trying to become a better computer science student.

Second Year, and the Faculty Who Made the Difference

By second year, I was properly deep into GATE prep, and around this time I also started reaching out to my professors for support.

Looking back at my college experience, I have genuinely mixed feelings, because when I say "my college was bad," I actually mean two separate things.

The first is the university my college was affiliated with — CSVTU. In my opinion, the university itself was extremely poor. The curriculum, the way academics were administered, the overall quality of education — none of it met even modest expectations. It offered very little to help students actually grow.

The second is the physical college itself — the infrastructure, classrooms, and facilities, which were in terrible shape and far below anything I'd imagined when I first enrolled in engineering.

But there was one thing that completely changed my experience: our IT faculty.

The professors were genuinely amazing — supportive, approachable, and always willing to help. Whatever criticisms I have of the institution, I'll always be grateful to the faculty members who stood by me.

My Struggles & Complaints

  • CSVTU didn't care about GATE prep. It scheduled end-sem exams right before GATE every year. For GATE 2025, our college exams and academic activities dragged on so long that they nearly overlapped with the GATE exam itself, leaving exactly one free week to prepare.
  • The environment at college was demoralizing. Most students there were aiming for placements or a government job through SSC/CGPSC, not GATE. Nobody was actually invested in the exam except me, so I was mostly alone on this journey. Some people said they wanted to do GATE too, but they weren't fully locked in.
  • My acute hemorrhoids. I couldn't sit for more than an hour without discomfort — the pressure buildup would flare things up if I sat too long. So I had to constantly switch between sitting, standing, and lying down, and take walking breaks. Sometimes those walks or lie-downs would turn into a full anime or movie session, wasting time I didn't mean to lose.
  • An uncontrolled, forecasting mind. During mocks — and even the real exam — my brain would jump ahead and predict the outcome mid-test. If I couldn't solve a few questions in a row, I'd think "I'm going to score under 50 on this one." If I was solving questions back-to-back, I'd think "maybe I'll hit 80 this time." Both thoughts are bad — they pull focus away from the question in front of you and lead to silly mistakes.

GATE CSE 2025 — The First Attempt

For my first real attempt, I made only two investments: the GoClasses test series and the Made Easy book. I could solve previous-year questions, but it took a lot of time. GoClasses' tests were new and difficult for me, because studying from so many inconsistent free sources had left gaps and misconceptions in my knowledge.

On top of everything else, this was the attempt squeezed into that single free week between college exams and GATE — no cushion, no room to consolidate, straight from the classroom into the exam hall.

I was scoring around ~35 marks on full-length mocks. Still, I had hope — this was only my first attempt, taken in third year, with one more shot left in fourth year. I never even managed to finish Engineering Mathematics, Discrete Mathematics, or Compiler Design before the exam, simply because I couldn't find good free sources for them at the time (I later found out GoClasses actually had a free course for EM and DM on their website the whole time).

In GATE CSE 2025, I scored 51.34 marks (score 575, rank 3917) — to my own surprise. Everything suddenly looked promising. I felt like 65+ was well within reach on my next attempt, if I just practiced more and covered what I had missed.

GATE CSE 2026 — The Last Attempt

For 2026, I leaned fully into GoClasses, watching their free lectures on YouTube and their website. I genuinely enjoyed how they taught — no stress, concepts just settled into my head naturally. On test series this time, I was hitting 50–70 marks. Things looked genuinely good — and, for once, the university had actually given me a full month free before the exam.

But this was also my last attempt to prove myself — to my parents, and to myself. I was too serious for my own good, and it cost me. In the final weeks, my cortisol spiked hard; I was constantly solving and reviewing questions non-stop. I was also working through the free GateOverflow PYQ test series during this time, and regretted not having started it a month earlier.

I was still scoring 45–65 on actual GATE PYQ tests, but my performance was quietly degrading day by day without me even noticing. In the last week, I was so messed up my body wouldn't let me sleep properly. The night before the exam, I didn't sleep at all.

All of that — the sleep debt, the stress, the pressure — came crashing down on GATE CSE 2026, Shift 1. My entire system broke. The paper had too many long questions, even the aptitude section dragged, and there were new-pattern questions I hadn't seen before. I was wasting time without realizing it, probably from sheer exhaustion. I made mistakes I'm embarrassed to admit — like taking 2^(6) as 128 and blowing an easy DFA question because of it. I blamed IITG for everything, convinced Shift 1 was unfairly hard and Shift 2 unfairly easy. I kept thinking that if I'd been in Shift 2, I'd have easily scored 65–70, because those were exactly the kind of questions I had prepared for.

I had, in short, messed it up. I was depressed for weeks afterward; life felt colorless. I kept questioning everything — after all that effort, after all the support of people around me, to choke on the final exam? Were all those 65-mark mock scores just lies?

I already made up my mind to give GATE again, taking another drop, disappointing my family all over again.

Then the actual result came. I wasn't even waiting for it anymore, because I already knew I had messed it up. The result confirmed it: 51.85 marks (score 606, rank 2965).

Side by side: GATE 2025 — 51.34 marks (score 575). GATE 2026 — 51.85 marks (score 606). An entire year of grinding, sleepless nights, and a mental breakdown — for a gain of 0.51 marks.

The Offers

In frustration, I only applied to IITM, IISc, IITB, and IITD. I wanted IITM or IISc and nothing else — at that point, those two institutes felt like the entire purpose of my life.

Six rounds passed. Nothing came. My father was furious by then. It was a low point.

Then, on round 7, I woke up to an email from IITB. I was genuinely shocked. When I checked the COAP portal, I saw I hadn't just gotten into IITB's M.Tech CS program — I'd also received an offer from IITD's M.Tech CS program.

I should mention — my category is SC. I know it might seem unfair to some that I received these offers with a low score, and honestly, even I sometimes feel unworthy of them. But twisted as the threads of fate were, they handed me this opportunity, and I accepted it.

Looking Back

Looking back at everything, here is a list of things I did right and the things I would change if I were a newbie preparing for GATE for the first time.

What I did right:

  • My mindset was correct: learn for the sake of learning, acquiring knowledge and improving yourself.
  • Cut the things which are not serving you before it's too late — for me, that was art.
  • I didn't create strict, unrealistic schedules. What I had was an overall direction — how much should be completed by this month, how much by this week, and what to do today.What "today" looked like:
    • Finish xyz portion of the course
    • Revise xyz subject
    • Solve xyz questions

What I could have done differently:

  1. Don't waste time making pretty notes — keep notes loose and messy. I was making digital notes with proper diagrams, formatting, and trying to reinvent the wheel. What I'd do now is stick with digital notes since they're faster than handwritten ones, but keep them intentionally messy so I don't get stuck in a loop of trying to make them look pretty.
  2. Use problems to sharpen your understanding and refine your knowledge. I used to solve a question, and if I got the answer, move on to the next one; if not, go straight to AI for help. I wasn't actually benefiting from the questions I was solving, because I lacked a proper framework for problem-solving. During my depression phase, I read How to Solve It by George Pólya. I'd say it's a must-read for anyone with the same problem I had.
  3. Learn from university lecture notes and books freely available online, instead of relying ONLY on YouTube. Use Google dorking techniques — for example, here's how I'd search for group theory study materials: "Group theory" site:edu filetype:pdf
  4. Continuously solve questions throughout your GATE journey. There are too many questions to save for later — telling yourself "I'll start solving questions once I've finished xyz course" will only delay your progress. You'll always learn something new from a good question if you actually engage with it, rather than bailing to a solution the moment you get stuck.
  5. I should have purchased the GoClasses course for my second attempt. Studying only from free sources created knowledge gaps and built misconceptions — exactly what GATE CSE 2026 Shift 1 targeted. Only choose the free path if you have time, because scavenger-style self-study means you'll make more mistakes and end up working three times harder than students who bought a good course.
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u/Ok_Restaurant_3281 — 18 hours ago
▲ 3 r/GATEtard+1 crossposts

Made easy CPQs

Does anyone have the CPQ or workbook pdfs of Made easy?

Edit: forgot to mention, I need CPQs of civil engineering. Also, it would be great if someone can share other study material pdfs.

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u/Cupcake_Kindly — 13 hours ago

BITS selection still does not make sense to me

Students who applied through both GATE and HD r technically blocking 2 seats.
Ex: I have been offered BITS Goa through GATE and BITS Pilani through HD Test mode. In the portal, I still have to option to toggle between the two.

Does anyone know how ts works ?

According to me :
They need to ask the students to fix one form, so next iteration there will be a lot of slide ups right ?

reddit.com
u/skill_srinu — 14 hours ago

Should I do M.Tech in India (via GATE) first, or apply directly to foreign master's programs, if my end goal is to move abroad?

Background: I just finished my CS bachelor's in 2026. My long-term goal is to move abroad; not necessarily right now, but eventually for sure. I'm trying to figure out the right path to get there.

Two options I'm weighing:

Do M.Tech in India (GATE route) first, build some leverage/experience, then look for ways to move abroad afterward.

Apply directly to foreign university master's programs now, since "higher studies" seems like the more straightforward visa/immigration path.

My core question: once someone completes M.Tech in India, how realistic is it to still move abroad afterward for further studies or work? My worry is that after M.Tech, you're expected to jump into a job, and the "clean" excuse of going abroad for higher studies isn't as available anymore; versus applying right after undergrad when it's a very normal, expected move.

Why I'm even considering the India route despite wanting out: honestly, it's family stuff. Home has gotten pretty toxic and hectic and I'd like to leave as soon as I reasonably can. But foreign master's programs are a massive financial commitment, and it would mean my family funding a big chunk of that; and I don't want to carry the guilt of using their money essentially just to get away from them. At the same time, staying here long-term is genuinely hard on me.

So, is doing M.Tech in India first and then trying to move abroad a valid, realistic strategy? Or is applying directly to foreign universities right after undergrad the smarter call? Anyone who's actually navigated this decision, I'd really appreciate your take, apologies for long read :/

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u/hyperjuanseena — 17 hours ago
▲ 220 r/GATEtard

GATE Advice (From Someone Who Cleared It, Everything I Learned in 4 Months of Serious GATE Prep)

"Taking a serious step is 50 percent of the journey"

~me

I prepared for only around 4 months.

The only reason that was even possible was because I had already studied every subject once in my Tier-2 college for semester exams. So I wasn't learning everything from scratch. It was more like revising everything, except this time I actually cared about understanding concepts instead of just passing exams.

The biggest mistake I made wasn't during preparation.

It was before preparation.

I wasted months deciding whether I wanted placements or GATE. Looking back, those months probably cost me more marks than anything else.

Ironically, taking that time also helped me clear my mind. Once I decided, I never looked back. No "maybe placements were better", no "should I prepare for both?". Just one goal.

If you're still confused, decide first.

Once you decide, trust yourself. Don't restart that debate every Sunday.


The first thing I'd tell anyone is have a target.

Don't just say "I'll study."

Study for what?

AIR 500?

AIR 100?

70 marks?

Your dream IIT?

Have something in mind. Then slowly work towards it. You don't reach your target in one week. You reach it by stacking small improvements over months.

Also, don't beat yourself up over one bad day.

Some days you'll barely study.

Some days you'll study 12 hours.

I cared much more about weekly progress than daily progress. If my weekly target was done, I was happy.


Now the biggest thing.

PYQs.

Everyone says solve PYQs.

I don't think enough people say how to solve them.

Around 3000-3500 PYQs is honestly enough to cover almost every important topic and variety GATE can throw at you.

But don't solve them like an attendance sheet.

Reverse engineer them.

Why was this asked?

Which concept are they testing?

What variation of this can come?

That's when preparation becomes interesting.

Here's the exact method I used, and I think it's the real reason I never needed a hundred revision cycles later. When I solved a PYQ for the first time, I never just solved it and moved on. I'd write a tiny 4-5 word key beside it. For example, if a CN question asked about signal speed in a system, I wouldn't rewrite the whole solution.

I'd just jot something like "Tx = 2Tp".

That's it.

During revision, I never solved those PYQs again. People waste way too much time doing that. Instead, I'd cover the key with my hand, look at the question, and try to remember,

"How did I solve this the first time?"

"What was the thought process?"

If I remembered it, great.

Move on.

If I got stuck, I'd look at the tiny key I'd written. That was usually enough to reconstruct the whole solution in my head.

Then...

Move on.

Don't sit there trying to reach the final numerical answer again.

You're not practising anymore.

You're revising.

There's a difference.

Using this method I could revise 300-400 PYQs in a single day, and because I kept revisiting old questions, older subjects never disappeared from my memory.

I also kept one day every week purely for revision.

No lectures.

No new PYQs.

No mocks.

Nothing.

Okay... maybe bathroom breaks 😂.

But apart from that, the entire day was only for revising old PYQs using this method. People underestimate how quickly you forget things. You finish CN today. Then OS. Then DBMS. Three weeks later you've already forgotten half of CN. Weekly revision fixes that. It keeps everything in active memory instead of making you relearn subjects every month.


And please...

Don't become someone who only remembers formulas.

Understand the concepts.

The formula is just one line.

The concept is what actually gets you marks when they twist the question.


Also...

Never skip difficult PYQs.

Seriously.

Some OS paging questions took me 1-2 hours before I even understood what the question wanted.

Not solved.

Understood.

Sometimes I'd still leave it and come back after two days. And still it didn't make any sense. But I kept at it one way or another, don't ever be ashamed of asking doubts, only then you will clear it.

And then suddenly everything made sense.

Those questions taught me more than twenty easy questions combined.

If one question takes two hours but fixes one concept forever...

that's two hours well spent.


One thing that helped me a lot was having one friend who was equally serious.

We used to talk almost every day.

After mocks we'd get on a call and discuss everything.

If I found a difficult question, I'd send it to him.

If he found something weird, he'd send it to me.

Sometimes we'd spend 30 minutes discussing one question.

People always say,

"You only truly understand something when you can explain it."

They're right.

So many times I thought I understood a topic until I tried explaining it.

Then I realized...

"Nope... I actually don't know why this works."

The opposite happened too.

Sometimes he'd explain the exact same concept from a completely different angle and suddenly it'd click.

If you can find one person who's genuinely serious, don't lose them.

It helps much more than people think.


People ask me whether offline coaching or online coaching is better.

Honestly...

I did offline coaching.

My friend prepared online through GO.

Both of us ended up doing well.

So I don't think that's what decides your rank.

I still used online resources almost every single day.

Especially AI.

Whenever I felt like I understood how something worked but not why, I'd just keep asking questions until I was satisfied. Sometimes I'd spend an hour just diving into the theory behind one concept because I was curious.

I also used GO's online PYQs a lot.

One underrated thing there is the comments.

You'll find five different students explaining the same question in five different ways. Sometimes one random comment from someone who had struggled with that exact question made more sense than the official solution.

Never limit yourself to one resource.

If something explains it better...

use it.


Mocks...

This is where I think most people waste their effort.

Giving a mock is easy.

Analysing it is the actual work.

I used to spend at least an hour after every mock. Sometimes even more. I wrote down every topic I wasn't confident in.

Not just wrong questions.

Even the questions I got right because of elimination.

Even the questions I guessed.

Even the ones that took too much time.

By the end I'd have one full page.

OS Paging.

Cache Mapping.

CN Numericals.

TOC.

DBMS Transactions.

Whatever made me uncomfortable went on that page. That became my revision list.

Do this for every mock. After 10-15 mocks you'll notice something funny.

The same topics keep coming back.

Those aren't random mistakes.

Those are patterns.

Fix the pattern.

Your score automatically goes up.

One thing I think is overrated is topic-wise tests. Honestly, I never found much value in them. They're basically another way of solving PYQs. If your concepts are weak, solve more PYQs. If your concepts are decent, start giving full-length mocks. That's where the real learning begins.

A full-length mock doesn't just test subjects.

It tests you.

Can you switch from TOC to CN to Aptitude without your brain freezing?

Can you manage time?

Do you panic after getting stuck on one question?

Do you spend 15 minutes trying to save one question when you should've moved on?

Do you make silly mistakes under pressure?

Subject tests don't teach you that.

Full-length mocks do.

That's why after finishing around 4-5 subjects, I'd say start giving full mocks. Don't wait for the syllabus to end.


Talking about mistakes...

I genuinely think I could've been around AIR 400 if not for two silly mistakes in the actual paper.

That's how brutal GATE is.

Two questions.

That's it.

And those mistakes weren't because I didn't know the concepts.

They were habits.

Reading too quickly.

Trusting myself too much.

Missing one word.

One thing I realised pretty late is that your actual competition isn't concepts.

It's your own habits.

You'll only notice these patterns if you actually sit down and analyse the paper.

Maybe you always rush the first 30 minutes.

Maybe you panic after one difficult question.

Maybe every silly mistake comes from calculation.

Maybe every wrong answer comes from overconfidence.

You can't completely eliminate silly mistakes.

But you can reduce them.

How?

Mocks.

Analysis.

Pattern recognition.

Again mocks.

Again analysis.

It's literally a loop 😭.


I also want to talk about relaxation because I think people misunderstand what "serious preparation" means.

I wasn't studying 15 hours every day.

I watched YouTube almost daily.

I watched movies.

I enjoyed myself.

The only rule I had was this:

Relax in a way that doesn't make you forget your goal.

There's a difference between relaxing and escaping.

Watching one movie after finishing your work?

Amazing.

Opening Instagram for "five minutes" and scrolling for two hours?

That's not relaxation anymore.

That's avoiding work.

I even put App Timers on Instagram and Snapchat.

15-20 minutes.

It sounds silly.

But it actually worked.

Every time I opened those apps it felt like spending money from a wallet with only ₹20 left.

Time is money in this metaphor 😂

I also completely flipped my schedule.

I liked studying at night.

So I slept during the day.

Honestly...

that solved half my distractions.

Nobody disturbed me.

No random visitors.

No unnecessary conversations.

No one asking me to come somewhere.

Because I was sleeping during the day, I naturally skipped most functions and family gatherings.

Not because I hated them.

Because for those four months I had already decided what mattered more.

I still met friends once in a while.

Went out.

Had food.

Laughed.

Then came back.

Don't become a robot.

But also don't let your relaxation slowly replace your preparation.


And yes...

You'll burn out.

Everyone does.

Whenever I reached that point, forcing myself to study just made things worse.

So I'd stop.

Completely.

Two or three days.

Movies.

YouTube.

Games.

Meeting friends.

Sleeping.

Whatever I genuinely wanted to do.

No guilt.

Just enjoy those days.

The funny thing is...

By the third day I'd usually start feeling restless.

Almost ashamed 😭.

I'd be watching another movie and think,

"Bhai... enough now. I actually want to study."

If you're serious about your preparation, that feeling comes naturally.

You don't need motivation.

Your own mind starts pulling you back.

Sometimes the best thing you can do for your preparation...

is stop preparing for two days.


Finally...

The syllabus is huge.

You'll always think someone else has finished more lectures.

Solved more PYQs.

Scored higher in mocks.

Knows more than you.

Ignore it.

They're not writing your paper.

You are.

Just keep moving.

One lecture.

One concept.

One difficult PYQ.

One mock.

Then analyse it.

Repeat.

You'll look back after a few months and wonder how you managed to learn so much.

The syllabus is vast.

You have to start somewhere.

So...

Start.

Mock.

Analyse.

Revise.

Mock.

Analyse.

Revise.

It sounds repetitive.

Because it is.

That's literally what preparation became during the last two months.

And honestly...

I think that's where most of my rank came from.

Start TODAY

PS : sorry if it feels like AI, i needed to use that to consolidate all my respnes to other people and my advices into one post, but the words are still mine so don't worry✌🏻.

Ps ka Ps : this is my YT interview. If you would like to watch that too.....Don't judge 😭🙏🏼 YT interview

u/_sameold_sameold_ — 1 day ago
▲ 3 r/GATEtard+1 crossposts

Recording MadeEasy lectures on Mac

I tried recording Made Easy lectures using OBS (Macbook M1, Chrome Browser). The site probably detected this and a black screen was streaming while OBS was capturing the screen. Is there a way to bypass this? (I don't have any pirate-ish intentions with recording - I just don't like the 1.5X thingy, and want the freedom to come back to my lectures any number of times). Let me know if there are alternate applications that I can use to handle this. I'm sure OBS is able to record everything it is seeing (tried recording YouTube on incognito, worked well), but Made Easy guys are smart and are somehow detecting the screen getting captured.

reddit.com
u/Ok_Lifeguard7706 — 11 hours ago

anyone here who just started second year?

i feel kinda alone lol , noone in my college seems bothered about GATE .. anyone here prepping?

GATE CSE btw..

First year mai bas DSA kiya aur codeforces pe contests dena chalu kiya..

reddit.com
u/Turbulent_Shine3616 — 15 hours ago

Working at TCS (₹52k in-hand), GATE 2026 Score 447 (OBC) – Should I Apply for CCMT Spot Round or Focus on Switching?

Hi everyone,

I'm currently working at TCS with an in-hand salary of around ₹52k per month. My GATE 2026 score is 447 (OBC category).

One thing that's making me think is that if I continue at TCS, I'll probably need to stay for another 2–3 years before I can make a good switch. On the other hand, I'm wondering if pursuing M.Tech from a good NIT through CCMT Spot/Special Rounds could be a better long-term option.

My questions are:

- With a GATE score of 447 (OBC), do I have a realistic chance of getting a decent NIT in the CCMT Spot/Special Round if I apply now?

- Would you recommend continuing in TCS and focusing on DSA, system design, and switching to a better company, or going for M.Tech if I get a good college?

- Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you choose, and how did it work out?

I'm genuinely confused about my career path and would really appreciate any suggestions or experiences.

Thank you!

reddit.com
u/Advanced_World_7536 — 21 hours ago

Gate cse exam preparation doubt

I started today (july 5 2026)is to collect resources. Is to good start to gate 2027.

Is it possible to crack gate better in nearly 7 months preparation

If any free resources can you share please

reddit.com
u/Lonely-Mycologist840 — 14 hours ago

i want to start prep for gate cse . kindly suggest which is the best paid source- go classes,igate,unacademy or pw. or any other else please suggest.

reddit.com
u/Aayushji1893 — 16 hours ago