Toppers Corner - Swaraj Kumar Jayswal (AIR-17)
Name: Swaraj Kumar Jayswal
AIR-17 in GATE 2018
Branch: Civil Engg. (2011-2015)
College: REC, Jaipur
Hometown: Bokaro, Jharkhand
Q1. What things motivated you to prepare for GATE?
Ans: GATE opens up many career opportunities for one. It gives you an option to take admission in leading colleges like IISc & various IITs as well as it paves path to get call from various PSUs for job with a very handsome package. My main motivation to prepare for GATE was to join a Maharatna PSU.
Q2. How did you start your preparation? Give a brief idea about it.
Ans. After my graduation, I was working in a Private Construction Company for 1.5 years. I couldn’t prepare for GATE’17 properly along with my job & ended up with just 29 marks. So, I left my job in Feb’2017 & came back home. I did self-study only from March onwards. I used to study for 6 hours in a day initially which I increased slowly to 9-10 hours with time. I used to study from the handwritten notes of coachings as well as Standard textbooks which I referred only where my concepts were weak. In the initial period of my preparation, I sticked only on developing concepts for important subjects and making short notes. I was also memorizing formulas everyday for 30 minutes. I had joined some test series and took them very religiously. Everyday, after completing any topic I used to solve plenty of numericals for that subject. I had completed my syllabus by October end for all the subjects.
Q3. What were the major challenges or hurdles in your preparation and how did you overtake these challenges?
Ans: I was doing self-study only, so if I had any doubt or get stuck in a concept, then it became difficult sometimes to clear that on my own & I had to arrange everything on my own, there was no one to guide me & tell me that my strategy was right or wrong. For this, sometimes I referred NPTEL lectures and other sources available online to clear my doubts.
One may also lose consistency in between and may enter the comfort zone & for this I everyday used to meditate without fail to keep myself focused throughout my preparation which really helped me in my journey.
I had also been through some very critical situations of my life during preparation or I may say some hardest possible when I was thinking to give up, but again this is my family who supported me & never let me down.
Q4. There are two main exam as we all know, GATE & ESE. All the students are confused whether to target GATE or ESE alone or both simultaneously. So what will be your advice to a student regarding this?
Ans: I had only prepared for GATE alone and did not target ESE. The syllabus is almost similar for both the exams. Though, I may not be the right person to advice the same since I didn’t prepare for ESE.
Q5. What was your daily schedule during preparation?
Ans: I am nocturnal so I preferred studying at night, though it’s a personal choice. I never followed a particular timetable, my schedule was quite flexible. I used to study 6-8 hours a day & had divided it into time slots but not longer than 2 hours in a single stretch, thereafter I used to take 30 minutes of break. In a day, I used to study 2 subjects so that I don’t get bored by studying a subject entire day. GATE is a numerical oriented exam, so I used to practice numerical every day of the subjects that I had already studied from textbooks. I also solved previous years of GATE and ESE.
Q6. How important is the revision in preparation and how did you plan it?
Ans: Revision is very vital to crack any exam. Every day I had allocated some time for revisions. I used to revise whatever studied on
i) That day before going to sleep,
ii) On the very next day,
iii) After a week,
iv) After a month & subsequent month.
This way, I piled up each and every subject very systematically & sequentially in my mind and avoided last month pressure of revision.
Q7. Test series is also an important part of preparation. When did you start attempting test series for GATE?
Ans: I had joined some test series. Test series is very very important because GATE needs perfection in performance in those 03 hrs of exam. One must attend as much mock as one can. I had started attempting tests from the month of July and till then I had covered some 60% of syllabus but one must not wait till completing the entire syllabus to start writing tests.
Q8. What are some of the common mistakes every students make during preparation and how should one tackle these mistakes?
Ans: Many students don’t take test series seriously and start writing tests in the very last moment, but I believe this is wrong practice and one must start attempting as early as possible and this is help you to keep in track and one may strengthen their weak topics properly.
Many students also start making short notes in the last moment which also is a wrong strategy. Last few months one must dedicate for revisions, numerical practice and in writing full length test series only.
Students should also equally focus on their accuracy while attempting tests and always should stick only to virtual calculator for the practice of numerical. In GATE, accuracy is of utmost importance where you can’t even afford losing a single mark.
Q9. What is the difference in PSU or ESE interview? What things should one keep in mind during interview as we become little nervous during interview?
Ans: For PSUs you must be good in GD, technical and HR questions. One must be prepared with his intern report and final year project if he is a fresher. You should be as much honest in the interview as you can, but again don’t disclose your negative aspects blatantly in the name of truth. Never try to bluff on any fact & always try to give a balanced and positive answer. Always show that you very confident and willing to join that particular PSU, since any company would like to select only those candidates whom they feel will stay for long.
Q10. Any other advice to future candidates?
Ans: Never get demotivated if you get less marks in any test series. Try to note down your silly mistakes and weak points in a small notebook and practice them back. Give regular mock tests and keep revising everything at regular intervals. Plan your preparation well in advance and try to divide it into phases. Do some meditation to keep yourself focused throughout your preparation if you find it tough to maintain the consistency and feel less focused. Eat healthy foods & don’t eat anything of outside like junk foods, because what we eat reflects our body & so our mind and diet matters. Always focus on making yourself better day by day and rejoice every milestone you cover, since success is never a one-day story, it’s a journey. Remember, Hard work alone takes you nowhere, the direction and strategy must be correct TOO.
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