GATE exam is very popular among the Engineering candidates but now candidates from other disciplines can also appear for GATE exam and get their GATE score. We have gather up the essential information about GATE exam for you. Please go through it and get aware about this exam.
What is GATE Exam ?
GATE stands for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering. The first GATE exam has been conducted on 1983 and then every year this exam is conducted by all IITs and IISc Bangalore. GATE exam is a national level test to get a comprehensive understanding of undergraduate students from various disciplines such as Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Commerce, Arts, and Science. GATE exam has the approval of the Department of Higher education, Ministry of Education and the Government of India.
After appearing in the GATE exam candidate has been awarded a GATE score according to their performance in the exam. This GATE score is a qualifying score for getting admission to a Master’s Degree program in Engineering, Technology and Architecture. This score is also necessary for getting admission to the Doctoral program in relevant branches in the institution which are supported by Government Agencies.
If a candidate wants a scholarship or a financial assistant for doing master’s or doctoral program then a GATE score is mandatory, a better GATE score will increase your chances to get the scholarships because 70 % weightage is given to the GATE score.
Besides admission to higher education and getting scholarships, the GATE score is also used by many PSUs and other Companies for the recruitment process. Hence GATE exam is one of the most important exams for undergraduate engineering candidates.
Many people have a question what is the uses of gate exam? The answer is very simple. A gate exam is taken for the assessment of the candidate, to know his understanding of the engineering subjects. The primary use of gate exam is to give the candidate a score according to his/her talent so that wherever they want to apply their priority will be judged on the basis of the gate score.
Eligibility for Appearing in GATE Exam ?
A candidate who is currently in 3rd year of his/her undergraduate degree program or has already completed his/her graduation can Apply for GATE exam to get their GATE score.
A candidate should have completed at least 3 years for his Bachelor’s Degree program in relevant field.
The candidate from following degree list is eligible for appearing for GATE exam.
- B.E/ B.Tech/ B.Pharm
- B.Arch
- B.Sc/B.S
- Pharm. D (After 10+2, 6 year Degree)
- M.B.B.S /B.D.S /B.V.Sc
- M.Sc /M.A / MCA/ M.S
- M.E /M.Tech
- B.A/ B.Com
- B.Sc (Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry )
There is no AGE limit for applying to GATE exam.
How to Apply for GATE Exam ?
The Applications are accepted by only online method. A candidate have to visit a GATE website and Fill the Application form by giving necessary information. While submitting information following documents are required
- Scanned Photograph & Signature
- Valid ID card (Aadhar/PAN/voter/Driving License)
- Category certificate if applicable
- College name address with pin code
A candidate have to registered him/her self by providing valid email id and mobile number. A candidate will get selected user id and password for future logins.
Currently there are 176 centres all over the country which covers all the major cities and in future they may get increase. While applying for GATE Exam a candidate has to select 3 centres in preferential manner where first centre is likely to get allotted.
After filling the complete information a candidate has to pay the application fees by online method by using net banking or debit card.
The Application fees is as follow.
For Exam Center in India | Regular Period | Extended Period |
Female Candidates | Rs 850/- | Rs 1350/- |
SC/ST/ PwD | Rs 850/- | Rs 1350/- |
All Other | Rs 1700/- | Rs 2200/- |
GATE Exam Paper Pattern & Syllabus
Presently there are 29 subjects in GATE exam, from which candidate is permitted to appear in any one or upto two papers from 29 subjects. A candidate have to define their selected subject while filling the application.
The list of 29 subject of GATE Exam is as below :
- Aerospace Engineering
- Agricultural Engineering
- Architecture and Planning
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biotechnology
- Civil Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
- Computer Science and Information Technology
- Chemistry
- Electronics and Communication Engineering
- Electrical Engineering
- Environmental Science & Engineering
- Ecology and Evolution
- Geomatics Engineering
- Geology and Geophysics
- Instrumentation Engineering
- Mathematics
- Mechanical Engineering
- Mining Engineering
- Metallurgical Engineering
- Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering
- Petroleum Engineering
- Physics
- Production and Industrial Engineering
- Statistics
- Textile Engineering and Fibre Science
- Engineering Sciences
- Humanities & Social Sciences
- Life Sciences
The GATE exam is computer based online exam. The pattern of exam is design in such a way that there is total 100 marks out of which 15 marks are allotted to General Aptitude and 85 marks are allotted to respective subject. The total number of question is 65 and the time allowed for solving all the questions is 3 hours.
There are three different type of questions in GATE exam.
- MCQ (Multiple Choice Question) : A candidate have to select one correct option from given 4 options
- MSQ ( Multiple Select Question) : A candidate have to select multiple options from the given options
- NAT(Numerical Answers Type) : A candidate have to enter the correct answer after solving the given mathematical problem.
There is 0.75% negative marking that means if a question has allotted 1 marks and candidate has given a wrong answer, then 0.75 marks will be deducted from total marks.
The questions is design in such a way that candidates following abilities can be assessed.
- Recall ability
- Comprehension ability
- Application ability
- Analysis and Synthesis ability
List of Companies and PSU's uses GATE Exam Score for Recruitment.
BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited)- BSNL
- CIL (Coal India Limited)
- Center for Railway information system
- Chenab Valley Power Projects Limited
- Damodar Valley Corporation
- Electronics Corporation of India LTD
- GAIL
- Engineers India LTD
- IOCL
- Mazagaon Dock Shipbuilders LTD
- NALCO
- NHAI
- NLCIL
- NMDC
- Nuclear Power Corporation of India
- NTPC
- ONGC
- Power Grid Corporation of India
- POSOCO
- Rashtriya Spat Nigam
The direct recruitment has been done from past several years to Group A level post in Central Government offices on the basis of GATE score.
Note: Although GATE Exam score does’t assure a recruitment but if we observe the trend from past several years companies are using GATE score for recruitment purpose.
How to prepare for GATE Exam
A candidate who wants to prepare for GATE exam should start there preparation well before a year so they will get the enough time for preparation and solving mock exams.
A candidate should get well aware of exam syllabus and exam pattern before starting the preparation.
Join a local genuine coaching class before a year or you can join good online coaching also for your preparation.
Solving Question papers from past years gives you complete knowledge about the pattern of exam and it will boost your confidence.
A candidate can get the previous year question paper from the authorise website of GATE.
By solving a mock test candidate will know their weakness. A candidate can work on their weakness by giving enough time to particular subject.
Making a short note is very under estimated thing while preparing for any exam. You should make a short note while studying for GATE from day one.
A candidate have to increase the Speed and Accuracy of solving the problem, it will help them to get maximum marks in exam.
While preparing for GATE one can also prepare for Engineering Services Exam because the syllabus and eligibility are nearly the same and by appearing in more exams, the confidence of candidates is boosted and they get more opportunities.
FAQs
Yes, You can get a JOB with a good GATE Score as Many companies and PSUs directly recruit candidates with good GATE score.
For Female and Reserved category candidate its Rs. 850/- and for others its Rs. 1700/-
A Gate Exam Score is valid for 3 Years. You can use this score for admission, recruitment or scholarship purpose upto 3 years from the date of result.
Many Government and other organisations like DRDO, ISRO and BARC award a fellowship programs to the candidate having good GATE score.
Below 250 is a very Good score in GATE Exam. It will ensure your admission in college or recruitment in company where you apply.
There is no Age Limit for appearing in GATE exam
No, You can not use physical calculator in exam. You will be provided virtual scientific calculator on your desktop computer.