Success story- Shankhoneel Ghosh- GATE 2016 AIR 3

Dear fellow apsirant,

My name is Shankhoneel Ghosh and I am about to graduate with a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Jadavpur University, Kolkata in 2016. I qualified GATE 2016 with an All India Rank of 3 and a GATE Score of 920.

Personal and emotional reasons aside, I think that the best way to prepare for GATE is to first and foremost accept that you may be faced with the minutest detail that was taught during the four and a half years of architectural education. Thus, it is imperative that you should have kept your eyes and ears open during that time.

Once you have achieved the desired mindset, delve into old question papers. Yes, I know that questions from previous years are seldom repeated, but the trick here is that, instead of working your way through the entire GATE syllabus topic­by­topic, which can be never­ending and inconsequential, you make your way through the syllabus question­by­question. Since every next question in the papers is from a different subject than the last, your brain is always on a circuit. This won't happen if you, say, start with a particular subject, e.g., 'History of Architecture', because your brain is concentrating on one subject at a time and the other subjects take a backseat. So, always circuit train, because that's what competitive exams are all about.

Two, practice question papers. Yes, I cannot stress enough on it. Here's a thumb rule. Practice the last five years 3 times, practice the five years previous to that 2 times, and practice the five years previous to THAT 1 time. I practiced 2015­2011 three times each, 2010­2006 two times each, and 2005­2001 one time each.

Start with sufficient time in hand. I began preparing right after the end of my 4th year 2nd semester, which is about 8 months prior to the examination, although I lost 3­4 months in between during August­November due to work related to design submissions and thesis. Go into beast mode during the last month, i.e., January.

During the initial stages of your preparation, take your time through each question, there's no need to rush. If you think that you have any doubts regarding the underlying concept of any question, leave no stone unturned in getting to its depth. Because remember, the questions do not remain the same, but the concepts do.

As you roll back through the years, it's okay to cut yourself some slack. Because you have done the lion's share of the work while working out the last 5 years' questions.

Another thing is that, when you're working the same question for the second time (or third time), one benefit you receive is that your mind recapitulates the concepts that were involved. The other benefit is that getting the answer correct (even from memory) does your confidence a world of good.

You need quality study material, because you have to keep the volume of study from getting out of hand by making it concise. It goes without saying that the internet is of great help. Aside from that, Ms. Minu Pradeep's blog inspired me and took me a long way; check it out. http://gatepreparchitecture.blogspot.in/

And if you indeed need some volume, this set of 7 books available on amazon.in has the important aspects covered. This is not an advertisement, but credit should be given where credit is due.

http://www.amazon.in/GATE­ARCHITECTURE­Reference­BookQuestion/dp/B018PMF7TI/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1459535163&sr=8­3&keywords=gate+architecture 

It's a bit costly. I purchased it from amazon.in for Rs. 4,721. May be available elsewhere too. Contact the content owners at http://gatearchitecture.com/ Once again, this is in no way an advertisement.

Finally, exercise everyday, eat at regular intervals, and get plenty of sleep, because these are the pillars of life.

Thank you for reading,
All the best,
Shankhoneel