GATE 2009– The Exam

 GATE 2009 Structure changed!!

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE - 2009) is administered and conducted in eight zones across the country by the GATE Committee. The zones and the corresponding administrative institutes are

The overall coordination and responsibility lies with Indian Institute of Science Bangalore, designated as the Organizing Institute for GATE 2009.

The GATE Committee is the sole authority for regulating the examination and declaring results.

• Eligibility

• Examination Details

GATE Qualification

Admission to postgraduate programmes, with MHRD and other government scholarship/assistantship, in Engineering/Technology/ Architecture/ Pharmacy/Science at engineering colleges/institutes in the country will be open only to those who qualify through GATE.

Some engineering colleges/institutes specify GATE as mandatory qualification even for admission of self-financing students to postgraduate programmes.

However, GATE qualification in itself does not guarantee either admission or scholarship/assistantship.

Candidates are required to find out the procedure of final selection and award of Scholarship/Assistantship from the institutions in which they seek admission.

Eligibility
The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear in GATE 2008:

1. Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/Technology/Architecture/Pharmacy (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

2. Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/Statistics/Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

3. Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master's degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/Technology or in the third or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master's degree programme and Dual Degree programme in Engineering/Technology.

4. Candidates with qualifications obtained through examination conducted by professional societies recognised by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed Section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

Examination Details

a. The examination is a single paper of 3 hours duration and generally consists of Section A (Objective Type) which is of 75 marks and Section B (Problem Type) which is of 75 marks. Total: 150 marks.
b. You have to opt for your subject and study as per the syllabus mentioned in the GATE brochure.
c. The subjects of our interest are Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics & Communication Engineering., Electrical Engineering and Instrumentation Engineering. Other subjects are also available such as Mathematics, Physics, etc.
d. Results of qualified candidates in GATE will give All India Rank and indicate percentile score. For example, a percentile score of 99 means you are in the top 1% category of the candidates who appeared for GATE.
e. Candidates who get less than 70 percentile get no score card.
f. GATE scores are valid for 2 years. You may reappear the GATE exam if you are not satisfied with the earlier score and the new score (if better than the old one) will be used for admission purposes.

After the Exam, what next:

a. After publication of GATE results, students must apply to individual Institutes to get their application forms.
b. Institutes advertise M.Tech admissions in leading newspapers from 1st April till end July. However some Institutes do not advertise and therefore students have to get the forms themselves.
c. In the application forms, you have to mention your GATE score alongwith other details.
d. The concerned Institute may conduct written test and/or interview for the purpose of admission.
e. General thumb rules: If your Gate score in Computer Science is 96 percentile or more then you can try for IITs, if between 85 - 96 percentile, then apply for top RECs, JADAVPUR, SHIBPUR, ROORKEE, etc. If less than 85, you have to look for appropriate institutes.