ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT GATE

WHAT IS GATE

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is the dominating factor behind admission to varied M.Tech admissions in some of the institutes of national repute. Scoring high in Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a pre-requisite not only for NITs, IITs but also for several private-owned institutions across the country. Not only this, while conducting interviews, 70% of weightage is given to GATE score and 30% is meant for academic merit. All the institutions declare the minimum percentage of marks required and GATE score is essential for almost all of these institutes. Hence, GATE is prescribed for all those who are looking for admission to M.Tech or post-graduate programme with scholarship or assistantship from the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). For all those who have already tried for admissions in M.Tech must be aware that there are numerous colleges that specify GATE score as a mandatory qualification even for admission without MHRD scholarship.

Eligibility for GATE

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

a) Bachelor’s degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

b) Master’s degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

c) Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master’s degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology or in the third or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master’s degree programme and Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.

d) Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societiesrecognized by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by IE(I), AMICE(I) by the Institute of Civil Engineers(India)-ICE(I)) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

GATE Qualification

Admission to postgraduate programmes with MHRD and some other Government scholarships/assistantships in engineering colleges/institutes is open to those who qualify in GATE examination. GATE qualified candidates with Bachelor’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture or Master’s degree in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications are eligible for admission to Master’s degree programmes in Engineering/Technology/Architecture as well as for Doctoral programmes in relevant branches of Science with MHRD or other Government scholarships/assistantships. To avail the scholarship, the candidate must secure admission to such a postgraduate programme, as per the prevailing procedure of the admitting institution. However, candidates with Master’s degree in Engineering/Technology/Architecture may seek admission to relevant Doctoral programmes with scholarship/assistantship without appearing in the GATE examination. GATE qualification is also a minimum requirement to apply for various fellowships awarded by many Government Organizations.


Why should we take GATE:

To pursue M.Tech program in a leading institute of the country. The benefits of M.Tech are:
a)More and better companies are coming for Campus Placement in leading Institutes
b)Higher salaries are being offered for M.Tech as compared to B.E.
c)M.Tech degree leads to specialization and furthering of interest in a certain area which may lead to Ph.D
d)M.Tech degree is a must for those wishing to apply for Faculty/Research positions in educational Institutes/R&D centers.
e)Scholarship is paid during M.Tech, so no headache to parents for financial requirements.
f)The M.Tech program is a 3 semester (18 months) program; so get more time to work out career opportunities.
g)MOST IMPORTANTLY to get to be a part of any Nationally reputed Educational Institute and enjoy learning and research.

Important Dates:

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

Examination Details:

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration which contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper will consist of only objective questions. All the questions are of multiple choice type.For multiple choice type questions, each question will have four choices for the answer. Q.1 to Q.25 (25 questions) carry one mark each (subtotal 25 marks). Q.26 to Q.55 (30 questions) carry two marks each (sub-total 60 marks). Questions Q.56 – Q.65 belong to General Aptitude (GA). Questions Q.56 – Q.60 (5 questions) carry 1 mark each (sub-total 5 marks) and questions Q.61 – Q.65 (5 questions) carry 2-marks each (sub-total 10 marks). Questions Q.48 – Q.51 (2 pairs) are common data questions. Question pairs (Q.52, Q.53) and (Q.54, Q.55) are linked answer questions. The answer to the second question of the linked answer questions depends on the answer to the first question of the pair. If the first question in the linked pair is wrongly answered or is unattempted, then the answer to the second question in the pair will not be evaluated.

NEGATIVE MARKING: For Q.1 – Q.25 and Q.56 – Q.60, 1/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. For Q.26 – Q.51 and Q.61 – Q.65, 2/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. The question pairs (Q.52, Q.53), and (Q.54, Q.55) are questions with linked answers. There will be negative marks only for wrong answer to the first question of the linked answer question pair i.e. for Q.52 and Q.54, 2/3 mark will be deducted for each wrong answer. There is no negative marking for Q.53 and Q.55. Questions on Engineering Mathematics will carry about 15% of the total marks (excluding General Aptitude section) in all the papers bearing the codes AG, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, IN, ME, MN, MT and PI.

Each GATE paper shall have a General Aptitude (GA) component carrying 15 marks

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.  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.

 What Next – After the Exam

After publication of GATE results, students must apply to individual Institutes to get their application forms. Institutes advertise M.Tech admissions in leading newspapers from 1st April till end July. However some Institutes do not advertise and therefore students have to get the forms themselves. In the application forms, you have to mention your GATE score alongwith other details. The concerned Institute may conduct written test and/or interview for the purpose of admission.
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 NIT's. If less than 85, you have to look for appropriate institutes.