GATE 2020 Admit Card has been released on 3rd January 2020. This year, the GATE exam will be organized by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. GATE or the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is an online-based national-level post-graduate entrance exam. It’s one of the toughest entrance exams in India. In this post, we will look at the GATE 2020 exam dates, eligibility, exam pattern, syllabus, and preparation tips.
GATE Exam 2020
Exam Dates, Admit Card, Eligibility, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Subjects, and Preparation Tips
Co-authored by Parinita Gupta
What is GATE Exam?
GATE or the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is an online-based national-level post-graduate entrance exam that is jointly conducted by the seven IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Guwahati, Kharagpur, Madras, and Roorkee) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore for admission to M.Tech programs offered by government as well as many private institutes. This exam is held for all science under-graduates across India and is also now open to international students residing in countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.
GATE 2020 Admit Card
IIT Delhi has issued the admit card of GATE 2020 in online mode on January 3, 2020. To download admit cards, candidates need to log-in to the GOAPS portal using their enrolment or email id and password. Discrepancies have to be checked by the candidates and if present they will have to get in touch with exam authorities to get it rectified.
On exam day, candidates need to bring an original and valid photo Identity proof along with the admit card; or else they will not be allowed to take the exam.
Official Site of GATE 2020: http://gate.iitd.ac.in/
Candidate Login Site for GATE 2020: https://appsgate.iitd.ac.in/
GATE 2020 Exam Dates
IIT, Delhi will conduct GATE 2020 in two slots each on February 1, 2, 8 and 9, 2020. As per the released Paper schedule, Civil and Mechanical Engineering papers will be held in two sessions whereas the other 23 papers will be held in a single session.
GATE Exam 2020 – Other Important Dates
- Release of Answer Key: February 2020
- GATE 2020 Results Date: March 16, 2020
- Release of GATE Score Card: March 20, 2020, onwards
- Starting of Counselling Process: April 1st Week, 2020
GATE 2020 Eligibility Criteria
Nationality:
- Indian nationals are eligible to apply for the exam
- Additionally, candidates from Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E) can also apply.
Age limit: There is no age limit for appearing in the exam.
Academic Qualifications:
GATE 2020 Exam Pattern
The total exam duration is of 3 hours, i.e 180 minutes in which you are needed to answer only 65 questions divided into Multiple Choice (MCQ) Questions, and Numeric Answer Type (NAT) Questions. The total marks is 100 out of which GA is 15%, EM is 15% and, Subject 70%. Except for a few subjects like GG, XL, EY, PH and MA papers, all subjects carry three sections – General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics, and Subject-specific section. There is a negative scoring of 1/3 for every wrong answer of 1 mark questions in MCQ, while the 2 marks MCQ questions carry a negative marking of 2/3 each.
GATE 2020 Syllabus
The syllabus for each of the papers can be found here.
GATE 2020 Subjects
You need to be very wise and prudent while choosing your GATE subject, as your inclination and interest towards the subject determine how much hard work is necessary at your end to score high. There is a wide range of subjects you can choose from based on your undergraduate score and your own future goals and targets. The subjects are as below :
- Aerospace Engineering (AE)
- Chemical Engineering (CH)
- Agricultural Engineering (AG)
- Biotechnology (BT)
- Architecture and Planning (AR)
- Biomedical Engineering (BM)
- Civil Engineering (CV)
- Chemistry (CY)
- Electronics and Communication Engineering (EC)
- Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)
- Instrumentation Engineering (IN)
- Mathematics (MA)
- Geology & Geophysics (GG)
- Ecology and Evolution (EY)
- Mining Engineering (MN)
- Metallurgical Engineering (MT)
- Electrical Engineering (EE)
- Petroleum Engineering (PE)
- Physics (PH)
- Textile Engineering & Fibre Science (TF)
- Production & Industrial Engineering (PI)
- Statistics (ST)
- Engineering Mathematics (XE-A)
- Fluid Mechanics (XE-B)
- Materials Science (XE-C)
- Solid Mechanics (XE-D)
- Thermodynamics (XE-E)
- Polymer Science & Engineering (XE-F)
- Food Technology (XE-G)
- Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (XE-H)
- Chemistry (XL-P)
- Biochemistry (XL-Q)
- Botany (XL-R)
- Microbiology (XL-S)
- Zoology (XL-T)
- Food Technology (XL-U)
GATE Curriculum
As Gate is held for various courses lie Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science & Information Technology, Mathematics, Electronics & Communication Engineering etc. the syllabi varies accordingly. The main structure and format includes General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics along with a subject-specific segment.
The General Aptitude syllabus is the same for all subjects, whereas in subject-based segment questions are covered from syllabi of two sections -90% from core topics and only 10% from special topics. Along with General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics is also a common subject with only difference in few topics.
GATE Preparation
With more than 10 lakh candidates appearing for GATE examination every year, the competition is clearly very tough and so the preparation is even not easy. Yet there are ample numbers of pass-outs who are clearing the exam with commendable scores. So for GATE preparation, there are few essential Dos and Don’ts which you can follow to score high and surpass the crowd.
- Prepare Early – Start planning early. For example, taking an early preparation as you clear your secondary examinations and are going to enroll for your undergraduate course. Early preparation gives you more time to practice and acquire more knowledge and expertise.
- Practice with Mock Tests – Apart from theoretical knowledge or expertise in your own subject, skills that play a major role are your presence of mind, and time management. The more you practice with mock tests, the more prepared you are to face the exam. So candidates who are already appearing for GATE 2020 start preparing even better with various mock tests available online.
- Go through your syllabus elaborately – Be thorough with your syllabus. The more you know your curriculum, and the more you go deep into each topic and subject, the higher chances that you don’t leave out answers.
- Take guidance – Ask your teachers, seniors, relatives, and friends. Get help from them. Those especially who have already done their preps for GATE or have cleared the exam can guide you a lot about the exam pattern, the curriculum, the QA trends, and the scoring strategy.
- Maintain a study schedule – Make a routine, and fix your hours of study. The more disciplined you are during your preparatory period, the better the chances of you being focused and competent.
- Focus more on the scoring subjects – It is very important that you attempt the most scoring subjects first. There are segments with which you may not be confident enough, but with few, you are highly confident. Those are the subjects you should attempt first and then move on to answer the rest.
- Exchange study materials – In case you got neighbors, cousins or friends who are preparing for the same subject as yours, or even for the common subjects, try exchanging their books, notes, test papers, and other study materials. This will help you cover wider subjects in lesser time and also similarly help the other person.
GATE Exam Centres and GATE Score Validity
The GATE examination centers are spread in different cities across India, as well as, in six cities outside India. The examination would be purely a Computer Based Test (CBT).
The GATE score would reflect the relative performance level of the candidate in a particular subject, which is quantified based on the several years of examination data. Note that the GATE 2020 score is valid for THREE YEARS from the date of the announcement of the results.
Author Parinita Gupta: Parinita is a full-time banking professional. Additionally, she is also a passionate blogger and digital marketer.
She mostly writes about the Banking & Finance, Technology, and FinTech sector. But, she also enjoys writing on other topics as well. You can follow her on Twitter.
Featured Image Source: Financial Express