GATE 2020 Topper – GATE 2020 MT paper AIR 1 holder is Jaya Gupta. This was her first attempt and she achieved All India Rank 1 in GATE 2020 Metallurgical Engineering (MT) paper. AglaSem got in touch with her to talk about her experience, her journey, her preparation strategy for GATE 2020 and her future plans. She has shared everything with all of us. In 2020, only 18.8% candidates could qualify Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). No wonder getting the top rank came with much hard work and consistency. The future aspirants can take out their notepads as this interview excerpt of GATE 2020 topper Jaya Gupta (MT AIR 1) contains a lot of preparation tips and strategy.
About GATE 2020 Topper Jaya Gupta (MT AIR 1)
AglaSem: First of all, we would like to know about Jaya Gupta. Please introduce yourself.
Jaya: I am from Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh. My father, Mr. Vijay Kumar Gupta is a manager at a petrol pump and my mother, Mrs. Uma Gupta is a homemaker. Currently I am pursuing B.Tech in the stream of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering from National Institute of Foundry and Forge Technology (NIFFT), Ranchi. I did my 10th and 12th from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Shahjahanpur. My hobbies include sketching and playing badminton.
AglaSem: Conquering GATE 2020, how does it feel, was it a surprise for you? How did your family react?
Jaya: As my preparation was on the right path so I was expecting a decent rank, but being a topper is a special feeling. My parents and my elder brother, Keshav Gupta are proud of me and my two younger sisters, Shraddha and Sneha are excited and all are extremely happy on this achievement of mine.
AglaSem: What was your specialisation in Undergraduation? What kind of a student would you say you were right from the start and how did it help you score the top rank in one of the most difficult national level engineering exams at PG level?
Jaya: My specialisation in Undergraduation is Metallurgy and Materials Engineering. Being passionate about my work has always helped me to be among the top five percentile in my class and I think that trait again helped me in clearing this exam with good score.
Why GATE?
AglaSem: What inspired you for attempting GATE? Also please tell us your GATE 2020 score and marks out of 100.
Jaya: Since GATE is a pathway for both higher studies in India and jobs in PSUs, I wanted to appear in GATE. My GATE score is 958/1000 and marks 83/100.
AglaSem: Was this your first attempt? If yes, then did you expect to get AIR 1? If not, what did you expect this time?
Jaya: Yes, this was my first attempt and as my preparation was on the right path which was reflected by the GATE mock tests which I undertook, so I was expecting a decent rank.
…And Why Metallurgical Engineering?
AglaSem: Why did you choose metallurgical engineering? Why is this subject your choice, is it because it interests you or something else?
Jaya: Initially I was not much interested in this subject but as I studied the subject I developed a liking for it and now metallurgy is the thing which interests me the most.
How was the GATE 2020 MT Paper?
AglaSem: The GATE 2020 MT paper cutoff had dipped this year, was the paper tough or was it as per your expectations?
Jaya: Compared to previous year papers this time the paper was a little lengthy and some questions were a bit tricky.
AglaSem: AIR 1 – only 18.8% have qualified GATE 2020. Topping the subject must be overwhelming, what is going on right now with you, what are your current thoughts as you write this answer?
Jaya: It is overwhelming and I do feel good on this achievement of mine but as of now I just wish that this pandemic of Covid 19 which has caused immense loss to the entire world ends soon.
How Did She Do It?
AglaSem: Now the main question that everyone must by dying to know. How did the AIR 1 rank holder of MT paper prepare for the exam. Did you have a predefined strategy? Or you went with the flow, basically tell us about your journey and the experience?
Jaya: Thanks to my friend Divya Prakash Srivastava who helped me to prepare the strategy which I followed for GATE 2020. The strategy was of three stages. In the first stage, I developed the basic understanding of all the topics and cleared all my concepts from standard books, then in the second read I prepared notes from the standard books and in the final month of preparation I revised those notes and gave mock tests.
Throughout this journey of GATE 2020, one needs to stay motivated and there are times when a person feels low, starts to doubt their abilities but I was fortunate that I had the support of my family and especially my brother Keshav Gupta. The efforts if done in the wrong direction yield no fruit and for that I am thankful to my professors at NIFFT and seniors Ravi Raj and Samarjeet Singh for guiding me in the right direction.
Aglasem: When did you start your preparation for GATE 2020?
Jaya: I paid attention to the class lectures which helped me in clearing my concepts of the subject but I started serious preparation for GATE 2020 from mid of third year of B.Tech.
AglaSem: Did you take any coaching especially for GATE 2020?
Jaya: No I did not take any coaching for GATE 2020 and did my preparation with the help of notes which I prepared during the lectures at NIFFT. Apart from these notes I did self study from the standard books.
What Was Her Daily Schedule Like?
Aglasem: What was your daily schedule? How did you utilise the 24 hours?
Jaya: I used to decide the topics that I had to study for the next day and tried to complete those as per schedule. I just focused on completing the topics whether it took 2 hours or 4 hours, it didn’t really mattered, and I always used to complete my daily quota of a 7 hour sleep, which was really important.
AglaSem: Did you take any mock test series, do mock test help?
Jaya: Yes I joined a test series. It was very helpful as it helped in analysing my weak and strong topics. It provided a similar platform as the actual GATE exam and helped in clearing my doubts. The test series had a range of questions from easy to hard which made me mentally strong to tackle any sort of paper in the actual exam.
Her Recipe for GATE 2020 Preparation
AglaSem: Now, what was the recipe for your preparation? What books and resources did you refer to for the GATE 2020 MT paper?
Jaya: Apart from my lecture notes I used to follow standard books to complete my whole GATE syllabus.
- Mechanical Metallurgy – George E. Dieter
- Physical Metallurgy – Vijendra Singh
- Material Science – William Callister
- Non Ferrous Extractive Metallurgy – H.S.Ray
- Iron making and Steel making – Tupkary
- Practice mass balance problem – Metallurgical Thermodynamics Kinetics and Numericals by Prof. A.b.Lele
- Thermodynamics – David R.Gaskell, Ahindra Ghosh(only for some topics)
- Corrosion – Mars G.Fontana
- Momentum transfer – R.K.Bansal (Fluid Mechanics)
- Welding Technology – N.K.Srinivasan
- Foundry Technology – O.P.Khanna
- Metal joining – George E.Dieter
- NDT – just google it and write down its principle and applications
- Engineering Mathematics – Gate previous years solved
- Previous year papers – By Samarjeet Kumar Singh
AglaSem: How did you prepare for General Aptitude? Which books did you refer to?
Jaya: I had practiced the General Aptitude section from previous year question papers and from some of the books.
AglaSem: Coming to MT specific preparation, how is it different. Any special thing to take care of while preparing for this paper?
Jaya: The preparation can be easily done if one maintains consistency in their efforts and does a proper revision of concepts from time to time.
AglaSem: What are the topics that have maximum weightage in the paper and how should one strategise to complete the syllabus on time?
Jaya: This year the paper had maximum weightage from Thermodynamics, Physical Metallurgy and Manufacturing Technology. It is important to complete your target of at least 3-4 topics on a daily basis and make short notes along with it.
What is the Future Like for Jaya?
AglaSem: Talking about the future, what is it like for you. What are your plans now?
Jaya: I wish to contribute something significant to the society in the field of Metallurgy but as of now I wish to join a good PSU in order to financially support my family.
Take out Notepads, Here are Some Tips from GATE 2020 MT Topper Herself!
AglaSem: Please share some tips for the upcoming GATE aspirants from your end?
Jaya: Always prepare to get 100 percent marks in the exam, as I firmly believe that if you aim for the sky you will definitely reach the clouds. Remember to be confident, never lose hope, maintain consistency and don’t worry about the result during preparation.
AglaSem: Do let the upcoming GATE MT aspirants know about what are the do’s and don’ts while preparing for the Metallurgical Engineering paper of GATE 2020?
Jaya: Some aspirants tend to leave the topics which did not have much coverage in the previous year papers but I think the entire syllabus should be studied thoroughly, even the smallest topics should be given the time it deserves. Secondly Mathematics is often left by the students for the last which should be avoided. Thirdly, a good practice of the numericals is a must.
AglaSem: A lot of students want to know how to prepare for GATE 2020 in the last 1 month. So what was your preparation strategy in the last 1 month?
Jaya: Revision of short notes that I prepared during my preparation and giving and analyzing a mock test on a daily basis was what I did during the crucial last month of my preparation.
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