GATE stands for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. It is a national-level exam conducted every year for admission to postgraduate programs in engineering and science. Over 8 lakh students take the test every year in India. It is conducted collectively by IISC, Bangalore, and the seven IITs of Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee. The mode of examination is Online, through a Computer Based Test. Your GATE scores are valid for up to 3 years.
How To Prepare For GATE?
At Outright Learning Solutions, we are here to support you in your journey to cracking GATE. Study with us to improve your test scores. We cover two subjects for GATE exam preparation—Electronics & Communication Engineering and Electrical Engineering.
The first step to preparing for GATE is to have a CAN DO attitude. It is a tough road but we aim to make it easier for you with the help and support of our experts. It is important to go through the information brochure for GATE exams before you start your prep. Get to know your syllabus well. It is the key to studying smart. The next step—sign up on Outright Learning Solutions for access to learning and practice materials and a range of e-resources and begin your prep.
Besides GATE, we also support students with their preparation for a range of competitive exams. With our specialized courses, learning material, e-resources, practice tools, and the support of a team of experts, you have a better chance of success. Sign up today and get ready to learn!
Why Should You Prepare For GATE?
- Cracking the GATE exam gets you admission to a Master’s Program in IITs, NITs, and other prestigious institutions.
- Clearing GATE is essential for admission to PhD Programs in Sciences.
- GATE also helps you with financial assistance in higher education. The scholarship aid for Master’s students who have qualified GATE is currently Rs 12,400 per month.
- Some Public Sector Companies also ask to review your GATE scores when you’re applying for jobs.
- GATE scores are also helpful when applying for higher education in educational institutes abroad.
GATE Eligibility Criteria
Here’s what you should know about the updated GATE eligibility criteria:
- Both 3rd year and 4th-year students and graduates with a government-approved degree are eligible to apply.
- Master’s degree students in their final year of study are eligible to apply.
- Students belonging to Engineering, Sciences, Technology, Architecture, Commerce and Arts disciplines can appear for the GATE exam.
- Candidates can appear for a maximum of 2 papers.
- There is no age limit for applicants.
- Indian nationals, as well as foreign nationals from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates, are eligible to apply.
How To Apply For GATE
In order to sit for the GATE exam, applicants have to register and file their applications in a correct manner. The application process will be online. Here is a list of documents that you will need to fill out the form:
A Valid Photo ID
- Valid IDs include Aadhaar- UID, Voter ID, Passport, PAN Card, College ID, Employee ID, and Driving License.
- You have to upload a PDF file of any one of your valid photo ID.
- For international candidates, only a valid Passport / Government issued ID /Employee ID/ College ID will be accepted as the optimal identification document.
- The same original valid photo ID proof must be produced during the examination for validation.
SC/ ST Category Certificate
- Candidates who belong to SC/ST category will need to upload a valid proof to get the concession in the application fee.
- An appropriate certificate issued by the authorized officials.
- The same document must be produced during the time of admission.
- OBC-NCL and EWS candidates need not upload any category certificate while filling the GATE application form.
A Person with Disability (PwD Certificate)
- A Person with Disability (PwD) candidate must attach a recent PwD certificate issued by the competent authority.
- The benefit will be given to those who have a minimum 40% impairment irrespective of the type of disability.
- The same document must be produced during the time of admission.
Certificate of Dyslexia
- Dyslexic candidates should attach a proper certificate issued by any authorized Dyslexia Association.
- The GATE authorities will provide the scribe.
- The same document must be produced during the time of admission.
GATE Application Process
It’s important to go through the official Information Brochure before getting started on your application process. The GATE application process involves the following steps:
- GATE Registration
The first step is to log in to the official website and register as a New User. Then you can follow the guide and proceed accordingly. Provide the necessary details like your name, email ID, and phone number. Choose a password of your choice, and confirm your registration. Once you have registered successfully, you will get access to GOAPS with the credentials entered.
A GOAPS Enrollment ID will be generated on completing the registration process. This will be sent to the candidate’s registered email ID. You will need the Enrollment ID to fill out the GATE Application Form.
- Filling the GATE Application Form
Candidates can log in with their Enrollment ID and password to fill out their GATE Application Form. You must fill out the application form with all the necessary details which include personal information and eligibility details.
Candidates must also mention their GATE Exam details. Select the subject you are applying for. Mention your examination country and accordingly pick 3 choices for your examination center.
- Uploading Documents
Once you have filled out the GATE application form and verified all the details, the next step is uploading a scanned copy of the documents required. These are:
- Scanned copies of your photograph and signature in JPEG format
- Scanned copy of your degree certificate or mark-sheet in JPEG format
- Scanned copy of your Category Certificate in PDF format, if applicable
- Paying the GATE Application Fee
Once you have completed all the above steps, a Preview of your application will appear on the screen. Having verified all the details, you can proceed to pay your GATE Application Fee. The fee can be paid online, either through a credit or a debit card, or net banking.
The application fee once paid is neither refundable nor transferable. The application fee differs for Indian and foreign nationals. Applicants belonging to SC/ ST/ PwD Category and females get some concession in fees.
- Declaration
Applicants must read and accept a statement of declaration prior to submitting their application form. This declaration requires you to confirm if you have filled the form, with all the required details and understood every part of it. You must agree to comply with the rules and code of conduct for the upcoming GATE exam.
If any information provided by the applicant is found to be false or incorrect, his/her candidature will be canceled. You can also be held liable for legal action.
GATE Application Fee
For Indian nationals, the GATE application fee per paper is Rs 1500 for students from the Unreserved category. Fee concession is provided for female, SC, ST, and PWD candidates, who have to pay Rs 700. If you fill out the form during the extended date, the fee doubles to Rs 2000 for Unreserved students and Rs 1250 for others.
For foreign nationals belonging to Dubai and Singapore, the GATE application fee per paper is USD 100. Students who come from Addis Ababa, Colombo, Dhaka, and Kathmandu have to pay a fee of USD 50 in order to apply. The late charges applicable during the extended period are USD 20.
GATE Syllabus
The revised and updated GATE exam syllabus is released every year. All papers contain a section on General Aptitude. The rest of the paper comprises engineering mathematics and questions from the core subject. The marks allotted to various sections differ accordingly:
- General Aptitude Questions carry a total of 15 marks
- Engineering Mathematics Questions carry a total of 13-15 marks
- Core Questions from the specific subject carry a total of 70-72 marks
GATE aspirants need to go through the syllabus well before they begin their prep. By getting to know your topics beforehand, you can plan and study smart. Looking at GATE’s previous year’s papers can prove very helpful as well. The detailed GATE exam syllabus for Electrical Engineering (EE) and Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC) is available on our website.
GATE General Aptitude
General Aptitude is common for all the papers. Candidates must prepare well for this section as it carries a very high weightage of 15%. General Aptitude consists of Numerical Ability and Verbal Ability questions. To solve these questions, you don’t have to apply complex formulas but use your common sense. Numerical Ability means basic math problems. Verbal Ability will test your vocabulary, reading, and comprehension skills.
The GATE General Aptitude Syllabus will cover the following topics:
- Numerical Ability: Numerical computation, numerical estimation, numerical reasoning and data interpretation.
- Verbal Ability: English grammar, sentence completion, verbal analogies, word groups, instructions, critical reasoning and verbal deduction.
GATE Exam Pattern
The GATE exam will be held in online mode, through a Computer Based Test. The exam duration is 3 hours. The paper for GATE Exam consists of 65 questions in total. All questions will be objective type.
There will be 3 main types of questions:
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
They carry either 1 or 2 marks each. For every question, there will be four given choices, out of which only one will be the correct option. The negative marking for questions carrying 1 mark is 0.33. The negative marking for questions carrying 2 marks is 0.66.
- Multiple Select Questions (MSQ)
They carry 1 or 2 marks each. Every question will have four given choices, out of which there may be one or more than one correct answer. There is no negative marking. No partial marks are allotted for partially correct choice combinations.
- Numerical Answer Type (NAT)
They carry 1 or 2 marks each. These are not choice-based questions. The answer will be a real number that the candidate can enter with the help of a virtual numeric keyboard displayed on the monitor screen. There is no negative marking.
GATE Papers
Candidates applying for GATE can select a maximum of 2 papers. There are a total of 27 papers or subjects for GATE that you can opt for according to your eligibility basis. While filling out the application form, you will need to know the subject code for the paper you would like to choose.
This is a list of all the GATE papers with their appropriate subject codes:
| Paper | Subject Code |
| Aerospace Engineering | AE |
| Agricultural Engineering | AG |
| Architecture and Planning | AR |
| Biomedical | BM |
| Biotechnology | BT |
| Civil Engineering | CE |
| Chemical Engineering | CH |
| Computer Science and Information Technology | CS |
| Chemistry | CY |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | EC |
| Environmental Science and Engineering | ES |
| Ecology and Evolution | EY |
| Geology and Geophysics | GG |
| Instrumentation Engineering | IN |
| Mathematics | MA |
| Mechanical Engineering | ME |
| Mining Engineering | MN |
| Metallurgical Engineering | MT |
| Petroleum Engineering | PE |
| Physics | PH |
| Production and Industrial Engineering | PI |
| Textile Engineering and Fiber Science | TF |
| Engineering Sciences | XE |
| Life Sciences | XL |
| Humanities and Social Sciences | XH |
| Statistics | ST |
GATE Scores
The GATE exam scores are usually declared a month after the exam has taken place. Your GATE scores are valid for a period of 3 years hence. Your GATE scorecard will contain the following details:
- GATE score on a scale of 1000
- GATE marks obtained out of 100
- Qualifying marks for General, OBC and SC/ST/PwD candidates
- GATE All India Rank
- Number of candidates who appeared for the GATE paper
GATE Marks
The GATE question paper will have 65 questions which add up to a total of 100 marks. The marks obtained will tell you how you have performed in your GATE exam.
GATE SCORES
The GATE score is calculated according to a normalization process. Calculated out of 1000, it is a normalized score across the different sets of question papers. It so happens that due to a large number of students, the exam for one subject might be conducted in 3 different time slots. The question paper for all the slots will vary. There might be a different difficulty level for each. Thus, the GATE score is calculated to compare and rank students accordingly.
GATE RANK
The GATE All India Rank (AIR) of a candidate depends upon the marks obtained in the GATE exam. All the qualifying students have ranked accordingly. Based on their AIR, they can apply to colleges and universities for suitable programs of study.
GATE Cut-Off
The GATE cut-off is released by different institutes after the exam has been conducted. Based on the cut-off, students can check their eligibility for admissions. The cut-off is calculated by taking various factors into consideration. These include the total number of students who have appeared for the exam, the difficulty level of the paper, and the availability of seats. Concession is duly provided for OBC, SC/ST, or PwD candidates.
GATE Scholarship
Qualifying GATE also offers students a chance to get financial assistance or scholarship for Masters or Ph.D. programs of study. The GATE scholarship is provided by institutions supported by the MHRD or other Government institutions. The minimum eligibility criteria are qualifying for the GATE exam.
The scholarship aid for Master’s students who have qualified GATE is currently Rs 12,400 per month. For students enrolled in a Ph.D. program, the GATE scholarship amount is currently Rs 25,000 per month.