A humid classroom on a hot summer day long before a pandemic had made its entrance. The creaks of wooden desks and chairs. The subtle air of student discontent. The squeak of chalk against a large blackboard. The professor writes an equation on the board and looks at the class with a shark-like grin. He is inviting a daring student to come up and solve the question.

There is something very intellectually endearing about an individual who is sure of what he wants at an early stage of the whole engineering fiasco. One such individual at hand, a person whom Whiteboard had the opportunity of interviewing recently, is Krishna Meerendra Sir from Electrical Engineering, who secured AIR-20 in GATE ‘21. Not to mention he literally made IET history by achieving the lowest rank ever from the EE branch! It was precisely 5:02 PM in the evening when a certain WB member rang up Krishna Sir to gather bits of knowledge we knew he was sure to have.

Q- Firstly, congratulations on your great rank Sir! When did you decide that GATE was what you wanted to do? I guess it was an informed decision?

Krishna Sir- Thank you!

I have always been one with an inclination towards the technical strata of education. Coming from a very small district (in fact, one of the smallest districts in India), Shravasti, I had no knowledge of what lay beyond engineering. That was why as soon as I became aware of the options I had before me, I understood that GATE was what I had to prepare for. With the help of my seniors, I was able to understand the direction I wanted to go in much better. From the second semester itself, my mind was ready. Looking at previous year’s papers, analyzing the pattern, and contacting the right people about how to go about preparation, I knew the choice I was making was the right one. I was in the third semester when I started preparation in the earnest. And so, my long journey had begun.

Q- Could you explain how you began your preparation? What were the resources you employed for the process?

Krishna Sir- During my first year I’ll have to admit, I wasn’t the most serious of students. But that all changed when I decisively made up my mind about GATE. In order to focus in the best way possible, I considered it necessary to do away with all distractions to devote a majority of my time to studies. This was especially helpful for self-studies in the evening after classes were over. Further, I had joined this very popular coaching institute, Made Easy. I needed that sense of competition to push me on, which I knew a coaching like that would give me. Coming to resources, I always paid attention in both coaching and college. Since GATE is an examination where a lot of the syllabus coincides with the B.Tech syllabus, I didn’t really have to look far and wide for material to study. Of course, for the topics I couldn’t understand, I bought books that would help me in clearing concepts, turned to teachers to help solve doubts, and obviously, solving previous paper questions in order to keep myself on track.

Just as the professor is losing hope of any willing volunteer, a chair is scraped against the floor. One student, usually a quiet creature, stands up and walks towards the board.

Q- A huge part of the whole prep process is self-studies. What was the strategy you employed for doing so? Any specific tips which helped you achieve this awesome rank?

Krishna Sir- Yes, for any aspirant, it is basically his own hard work that builds towards success. All the study material in the world cannot do that. A few things which I was rigorous about during my preparation were consulting my Mistakes Notebook, analysing a practice paper after giving it, and making short notes of my own. I’ll elaborate on all of that. My mistakes notebook is something I relied upon heavily. I’ve seen many students repeat the same mistakes again and again. It’s this loop that makes them lose marks in the simplest of things. In order to overcome this, I started writing down all my mistakes and would regularly revise them. You should be aware of both your strong points and your weak points after all. Another thing was a complete analysis of the whole question paper. Mostly, after you’ve given a paper, you take a look at the questions you did wrong and that’s it. But actually, there is a need to analyse the whole thing. It gives you a more comprehensive view of what you did right and wrong. But most people consider this a waste of time and skip it. A good tip is also timing yourself while attempting any question. This is not only whilst you attempt practice papers but while doing questions in general. Turn on a timer and see how quickly you were able to solve the questions. This will help in the long run. Lastly, I believe in making my own short notes and a separate set of notes with formulae for each topic. Yes, the coaching material might be helpful and very accurate, but only your own notes make sense at the last minute.

Q- What was your general strategy during preparation? Did you find your mind wandering whilst studying during the lockdown? How did you overcome it, if so?

Krishna Sir- Planning is an excellent motivator for getting stuff done. I would daily sit down and plan the next day. Whether it was which topics I had to cover, how many practice tests I had to give, how many hours I’d be doing what, etc. Writing down a rough schedule helped keep me in focus. I’d advise students not to overdo it though. Set achievable targets. Planning a whole week ahead leaves a lot of room for unforeseen circumstances to mess up your timetable. This only leads to stress. Further, planning only on the basis of time or syllabus is not a good idea. Try to fix your targets such that you complete a specific portion of your course in the allotted time. Secondly, for lockdown, I basically followed my schedule as per normal. My family knew not to disturb me during that crucial period. As for distractions, I kept myself as far away from social media as possible. I tried to be as disciplined as I could. It’s not like I never felt demotivated. Sometimes I would find myself being frustrated about the low marks I had gotten on some practice tests and would wonder whether I’d be able to do what I have set out to. In such situations, I found my friends and family very supportive. Talking to them regarding the problems I was dealing with helped me overcome them to quite an extent.

The student stares at the equation for a solid minute. The whole class gazes at him with doubt. But then, he picks up chalk and starts to write. The Professor suddenly seems unsure whether the question he gave was even difficult or not.

Q- Any mistakes that you identified in your previous attempt that you would like to expand on?

Krishna Sir - Definitely. I had appeared in 2020 for the GATE exam in which I got a rank of 472. It was lower than I expected, still I started pursuing MTech from IIT Madras. Thing was, I gave around 400 tests that year. Just before the exam too, I gave practice tests, which resulted in me being exhausted to an extent during the examination. Hence, I was under a lot of pressure too. I was a bit disheartened but was able to recover from that incident and start preparing for the next year. So mainly, giving too many tests, that too very near your actual exam is not such a good idea.

Q- How would you rate the GATE exam in terms of difficulty? People usually take a lot of pressure as it’s a ‘big examination’?

Krishna Sir- Of course, in general, yes, GATE is a pretty big deal. Usually, the GATE exam depends on your level of preparation. For this year in particular the paper was easier than in previous years. Now, taking pressure is very normal. But remember, it’s all in your head. Work according to the syllabus. Honestly, it’s not that big. Increase accuracy and speed and you’ll probably do well. If you have the right amount of practice and are calm during the exam, you can assuredly get a decent rank. It’s not as scary as it seems.

It’s been a very short while, but the student stops writing. The professor is consulting the answer booklet. The students think he’s probably hit a dead end.

Q- Any words in particular for aspirants preparing for GATE?

Krishna Sir- All aspirants must remember that studying is one part of the process. Keeping yourself well both mentally and physically is also very important. It’s the small things that count. Eat well and sleep well. Discuss questions with your peers. You aren’t alone in your preparation. Control your mind as far as possible. Not only does this ensure consistency in your preparation, but it also makes you a lot more determined too. So, as far as words go, Consistency, Determination, Practice, and Discipline.

Q- Finally, what are your future plans, Sir?

Krishna Sir- I'm probably thinking of joining a reputed PSU. Of course, I’m already pursuing my Masters, but that won’t really pose a problem.

The student turns around to face the professor. The professor only nods slightly, confirming that the answer is indeed correct. The student smiles slightly and drops the chalk. An awe-inspiring chalk drop.