Karnati Sai Pramod completed his B.Tech from NIT Calicut in 2016. He has made all the heads turn by achieving 1st rank in GATE, Electronics & Communication Engineering. Pramod hails from Hyderabad and loves to listen music, watch movies and play badminton in his free time.
Let’s know the strategies that he followed for preparation.
1. When did you decide to prepare for GATE Exams?
I started preparing for GATE in my 3rd year of B.Tech but I wasn’t all that serious about preparations at that time. It was when I couldn’t score well in 1st attempt then I started serious preparations for the exam.
2. There is a pre-conceived inclination to engineering and medical fields in Indian youth and parents. Engineering is your passion or just an academic field?
In the beginning, it was just a course for me but GATE helped me realize that it was my passion as well. when I started my preparations for GATE, I was working not only for an exam but for what I actually loved.
3. Who was your mentor all along?
My mother’s blessings, my father’s belief in me, my sister’s love and motivation given by my academy faculty, all played the role of mentor in my journey.
4. When did you start preparing, and how many hours did you give to your studies daily?
I started preparing after my 3rd year. I took short term coaching in the ACE academy. However, the lack of time was a problem for me as I had to be perfect in all the subjects and give time to numerical solving practice. As a result my GATE rank was 1209. After B.Tech I spent full time for GATE. For a student who didn’t study well in B.Tech, it requires a very hard work. Students, who are already good in academics, they just have to concentrate more on solving problems.
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5. Almost all the people have to fight mood swings, distractions while preparing for exams, what were your fights?
Frankly speaking I didn’t have much of distractions while preparing. We should be healthy, otherwise we have to sacrifice a lot of time in case of health issues. And no matter what, we should never forget our goal.
6. According to you, What is the key to crack the exam?
First and foremost, revising classroom notes 2-3 times is very important. While revising it’s better to solve material problems topic wise. Everyone should complete this process by the end of November. I had started giving online test series at this stage. Aspirants who target a good rank should attend all the online tests topic wise and grand tests. Detailed analysis of your performance will also be given in that test series (I have written ACE online test series). So I think these 3 steps are sufficient to secure a good rank in any competitive exam.
7. Is a coaching essential or self-reading is sufficient?
I feel Coaching is must for the students who are not good in their academic subjects.
8. Were you shocked by the result or were you prepared to be a GATE topper?
I was shocked by the result. I expected a rank around 50. But this is GATE and it’s beyond expectations.
9. Was there a change in strategy in the last few days left of exam?
I forgot to mention this point in 6th question. A student has to prepare a short notes while studying the classroom notes, he should write the concepts(in brief) and formula that he needs to revise. In 3-4 days before the exam these short notes is a boost to your preparation.
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10. What is your goal in life?
I want to be at the top of any organisation that I join.
11. What would be your advice to GATE aspiring students?
Believe only in hard-work. If you didn’t get the desired rank it’s because you didn’t do the required hard work. This is what I believe.
