Q. When and why did you decide to go for M.Tech?
A: I knew from the beginning of my BTech that I'll go for MTech. I never wanted to go for the usual jobs that people take after BTech. I was very interested in research topics in advanced materials, and felt that IIT had much better prospects for that.

Q. When did you start preparing for GATE in full swing?
A:No special preparation. One month revision before exam.

Q. How many hours a day on an average did you devote to GATE preparation in this period?
A: 5-6 hours in the last one month.

Q. What was your mode of preparation?
A: Self-study. I tried questions from available coaching material but at times I found same questions being repeated and sometimes irrelevant too.

Q. Did the college curriculum interfere with GATE preparation? If yes, how did you manage it?
A: Well, I felt it never did. In fact it was a great help. Our teachers were very encouraging and they provided us as much help as they could - academically, emotionally and sometimes even monetarily (if needed). In fact, they also covered some extra topics which were not there in college curriculum but were very much there in GATE.

Q. Did you appear for GATE in your Third year? Do you think it's a good idea to do so?
A: Yes, I did, although I couldn't qualify that time. I would say it’s a very good idea and I think everyone who is aspiring for MTech must aim for GATE in 3rd year only. Not for the sake of appearing and experiencing the exam, but to crack it; it's not that difficult, if you believe me. More than 50% of the syllabus is covered till that time (51/2 semesters), rest can also be covered easily by self-study. So, things are fresh in your mind as compared to when you give it in final year.

Q. What was your way of studying/ what should be the way of studying?
A: In metallurgy, one doesn't need to study the syllabus deeply because what they ask in GATE are only the basics. Deep study is for knowledge and to satiate one's academic thirst, but GATE exam only expects the candidate to be surefooted on basics. One can refer to coaching material from Elite, Brilliant etc. but they are sometimes not up-to-date. The same material has been propagating since 1990, although the pattern of the paper has changed a lot in previous years.
Also, read the theory from standard books, that'll build the concepts and also prevent you from falling into pits (mistakes) that other materials may have.
Agar score karna hai to paper ka soul jaano. Analyze previous year's papers, that'll tell you what to read and how to read. The major topics that cover most of the questions are physical metallurgy, mechanical metallurgy, thermodynamics (heat and mass transfer, corrosion). Tha first two parts alone cover >40%.

Q. What would you suggest about the last days (say, one week) preparation?
A: Do not read anything extra, just revise. I had prepared a list of important formulae, points (about 10 pages), and kept on condensing it as I gained confidence in that. By the end it was reduced to only half page. Also, gone through last 6-7 year papers.

Q. Having so many options, why did you choose IIT-Kanpur?
A: I had applied to:
IITB: Direct admission to Process control and corrosion.
IITM: Direct admission, but left because my interest areas were not fitting.
IITK: Direct admission
IITKgp: Direct admission to all branches.

I chose IITK because I was getting my area of interest (Material Science) here and also, more stress is given to thesis here as compared to any other IIT. So, it was the right place for satiating my research interests.

Q. How should one choose the institute?
A: There are few things that one must consider:
(i) Your interest area of specialization
(ii) Search the profiles of people working in your area.
(iii) Other things like environment, reputation of the institute like IITB ka mahol kaafi-kuchh BTech jaisa hi hai, but IITK is totally different. Yahan aise hi maze-maze me MTech karne chale aaye, to life bigad jaayegi, kyunki termination bahut popular hai yahan. You have to struggle on your own to catch up with the courses. In short, all the rumors you hear about the tough academic structure here are true.

Q. Are you satisfied with your decision?
A: Abhi tak to Haan...!!

Q. What are your future career plans?
A: After MTech, I aim to join the R&D sector of a good company. The core companies that generally come for recruitment here are Midhani, CSIR, Tata Steel etc.

Q. Had you covered all the topics in GATE syllabus?
A: No, I left some topics in Maths like differential and vector calculus, probability and statistics. But I didn't leave them randomly; it was based on my inspection of the past papers.

Q. Who should go for an MTech?
A: Job nahi lagi to MTech kar lete hain, ye mentality sahi nahi hai. One should go for it out of interest. MTech is a specialization, and one should take the decision with a mature perspective.

Q. Any other message?
A: Koi bhi GATE de sakta hai, sirf padhaku, 10 pointer, first bencher bachhon ki monopoly nhi hai ye. Main to kehta hun, CPI zyada nahi hai to aur bhi zyada chances hain.