GATE 2018 Topper Interview Prashant Varshney (AIR 1 - CH) - “Self-Motivation is the key to reach your goal”
“Self-Motivation is the key to reach your goal”, says Prashant Varshney whose desire to work for a leading PSU pushed him to work diligently such that he topped the exam. His all India rank of 1 in Chemical Engineering is the result of dedication, self-belief and motivation. A chemical engineer from HBTU who is working for Reliance Industries Ltd, Prashant wishes to reach to other GATE aspirants especially from the weaker section to help guide them in their preparation. Here he speaks to Careers360 describing his motivation and reason for writing GATE, preparation methodologies, strategies etc.

To Watch Video on GATE 2018 Topper Nikita Yadav's Preparation Strategy - Click here
Careers360: Tell us something about yourself; Where have you done your engineering from and in which branch?
Prashant Varshney: My name is Prashant Varshney. I belong to Chandausi (Uttar Pradesh). . I have completed my B.Tech in Chemical Engineering from HBTU, Kanpur in 2016. I studied in Saraswati Shishu Siksha Mandir, Chandausi (UP Board) till class 8 and then in R.R.K. Sr. Sec. School, Chandausi (CBSE). I got recruited through campus placements by Reliance Industries Ltd. (a Petchem Complex) under Production Department which is where I currently work as Process Engineer Manager.
Careers360: What was the GATE Paper you appeared in? What rank did you get in GATE 2018? What is your GATE score and how many marks did you secure out of 100 in GATE paper?
Prashant Varshney: I have appeared in GATE 2018 Exam in Chemical Engineering. My GATE score in 2018 is 944 out of 1000. I scored 81.33 out of 100 marks and secured 1st rank.
Careers360: Is this your first attempt or did you attempt GATE earlier?
Prashant Varshney: I have appeared for GATE in 2016 where I got 383 Rank. So, this is my second attempt.
Careers360: What was the reason you appeared for GATE 2018? Pls elaborate.
Prashant Varshney: I joined RIL in 2016 just after graduation. I was allocated a department by them where I feel I don’t fit well. If I cracked GATE, I could pursue my higher education or work in reputed PSUs.
Careers360: Have you applied to any PSUs recruiting through GATE? Which ones?
Prashant Varshney: Yes, I have applied in IOCL, HPCL and ONGC.
Careers360: When did you start your preparation? How did you prepare for the GATE exam? How many hours did you put in per day as per the stage of preparation?
Prashant Varshney: I started my preparation 3 months before GATE. I was working as a process engineer and had to do shift duties. There cannot be a fixed schedule with shift duties. After 10 hours of work at the office, I would come back to study at least 3-4 hours daily. I used to utilise my night hours too. The last thirty days before the exam are very important for any aspirant. Unfortunately I got sick during that period but was determined not to lag behind. I took good treatment and studied about 10-12 hours a day in the last 20 days. I feel that when you study is dependent on you. I prefer silence so I would study during the time of the day when it would be silent.
Careers360: Have you taken any coaching? If yes- From where? How did it help?
Prashant Varshney: I have not attended any coaching classes. I joined Test Series from Engineers India Institute, Delhi. For doubts, I used to drop messages to a faculty there. This Test Series contained a good balance of questions from all subjects. It really helped me a lot.
Careers360: Can you share any preparation strategies with our readers? When should one start their preparation for GATE? How to schedule study time and make timetables?
Prashant Varshney: I would advise to get your concepts clear first before starting to answer GATE questions. Try to figure out your weak areas as well as any silly mistakes you are making and then correct them. Practice at least 10 questions from each subject daily and try to find where you are going wrong or making mistakes. Don’t leave questions that you don’t know or are making mistakes even if you need help to understand them. Recollect topics/new concepts if you find any while answering questions and discuss with friends & seniors. Write Mock Tests with proper time management. Don’t be nervous if two or more questions go wrong in the test series; in such a case pick easy question to gain the momentum back and continue. Success in every competition stems from constant practice and hard work.
If you want a good rank, you must be prepared to put in at least 6-7 hours daily. Don’t study continuously for more than 3 hours. Always use GATE Calculator that is given online for all calculations. This will help you get used to its working. Make short notes of each subject and keep revising them.
Careers360: How important do you feel mock tests are and why? Is it true that if one solves the previous year question papers, there is a good chance of cracking the exam successfully?
Prashant Varshney: GATE Mock Tests are really very important to get good marks as well as to identify your weak zones and mistake areas. Time-management can also be improved. Different papers have different levels of difficulty hence different approaches are required to solve keeping time management in perspective.
The EII Delhi, Test Series which I used had quality questions and least errors along with a good balance of all subjects.
Previous year Question papers are equally helpful. You get a rough idea about type of questions and concepts asked frequently. However, to crack GATE successfully, one should not restrict oneself to previous year papers only. I would suggest enrolling for at least one or two test series and following its scheduled exams.
Careers360: Which books did you follow for GATE preparation? Pls name some very important must
Prashant Varshney: I used to follow standard Books for GATE preparation. Some I have listed below.
Must read books for GATE
S.No. | Topic | Authors |
1 | Mass Transfer Operations | 1. Treybal 2. Geankoplis |
2 | Chemical. Reaction. Engineering | Octave Levenspiel |
3 | Heat Transfer | 1. B.K. Dutta 2. Yungus A Cengel |
4 | Process Systems Analysis and Control Chemical Process Control | 1. LeBlanc Coughanowr 2. George Stephanopoulos |
5 | Fluid Mechanics | 1. Bruce Roy Munson 2. RK Bansal |
6 | Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics | JM Smith |
7 | Mechanical Operations | 1. GK Roy 2. NPTEL videos |
8 | Chemical Technology | 1. Dryden 2. NPTEL PDF |
9 | Process Economics and Design | 1. TimmerHaus 2. Coulsan & Richardson |
I also referred to NPTEL lectures for some of the Topics.
Careers360: Which are the topics one should focus more on? Kindly give us some details
Prashant Varshney: GATE Exam contains Aptitude questions for 15 marks and Technical questions for 85 marks. For aptitude, I practiced from last year questions for all 23 GATE disciplines. I also referred to R.S. Aggarwal for aptitude to help me to boost my speed.
For technical questions, one should have very clear concept in core subjects like MTO, HTO, CRE, PDC, FM etc.
Mathematics is a scoring subject. Many students don’t practice mathematics questions. Calculus, Probability, Matrix, Complex number and Laplace are important topics.
For scoring good marks, one cannot leave any topic as each topic and each mark is important to achieve a good rank.
Careers360: what was the toughest aspect in your GATE preparation?
Prashant Varshney: After coming back from shift duty, it was a tough task to gather positive energy and start my preparation.
Careers360: What did you do for leisure? Any specific activities that helped you unwind?
Prashant Varshney: I have many good friends. We hang around, party and play cricket during our free time. Even while preparing, I have been enjoying spending time with them and my office colleagues. Though, I am active on facebook, twitter and whatsapp , during GATE preparation, I restricted myself to one hour a day on social media.
Careers360: How should you schedule answering the GATE exam – which section to attempt first and which next? Did you have any strategy? Kindly share your exam experience with us.
Prashant Varshney: Everyone has his own style of solving paper according to his grasp and ease with topics and time management. My exam stragegy was
Answer all 1 mark Technical questions in first 40 minutes
Then, answer the 15 questions (2 marks) Technical questions in the next 45 minutes
Next jump to Aptitude Section and answer the questions in the next 20 minutes.
Lastly solve the 15 questions (2 marks) Technical questions in next 45 minutes.
The above strategy considers a margin of 5 minutes per section to adjust accordingly. Last step would be to check the remaining questions in the left over time if any.
Careers360: What did you feel was a tough thing for you in the GATE exam?
Prashant Varshney: Talking about this year’s exam, it was a bit calculative and it took a bit more time to solve 2 marks NAT questions on account of maintaining accuracy. The rest of the questions were easy.
Careers360: Any advice for the future aspirants?
Prashant Varshney: Keep yourself motivated, there will be times when you will feel demotivated. Keep revising each subject with short notes regularly that not only will enhance your accuracy but also your confidence. As for me, I intend to help out any student or GATE aspirant who wishes to succeed irrespective of where I shall be or what I shall do.
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Questions related to GATE
how to register for IOCL recruitment through gate 2021
Hello,
A paper notification regarding IOCL GATE 2021 recruitment has been published in the official website. The registrations for the same will be opened after GATE 2021 admit cards are released. The detailed notification along with the schedule will be published soon. The link to register for the recruitment will be made available in the official website. As of now the registrations are not yet opened so you have to check the official website for updates . The link is given below
https://iocl.com/PeopleCareers/job.aspx
You need to register with an e-mail ID and phone number and fill the details and upload required documents. The detailed instructions that you have to follow while filling the application will be given. You have to read those instructions carefully. GATE 2020 or earlier score is not considered for IOCL GATE 2021 recruitment.
Best online Coaching for gate Metallurgy
Hii,
There are many a top coaching for gate preparation. Some of the best online coaching for gate Metallurgicial engineering are given below
GATE FORUM
ACE ENGINEERING ACADEMY
ENGINEERS ACADEMY
VANI INSTITUTE
for more details information you can check in the link given below
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/gate-online-coaching
Hope this information will help you
how to write mock tests in this app??
hi,
IIT Bombay which would conduct gate 2021 exam, has released the mock test of GATE 2021 at gate.iitb.ac.in on November 25. GATE 2021 mock test is a sample of the actual question paper in which student would participate in gate 2021 exam. however you may follow the below link to practice the gate mock test:
https://gate.iitb.ac.in/mock.php?utm_source=careers360&utm_medium=traffic
hope it would help.
i currently doing my b.tech from bihar engineering college, in Electrical branch, i want to prepare for gate 2024 what should i do and dont ?
Dear Aspirant,
That's actually great knowing that you have ample time to prepare for the exam. 3 years of dedicated & consistent practice will yield will very good results. I appreciate your thought about the same.
Firstly, download the syllabus of your stream from the official site of GATE. After that interact with students from your vicinity & in your circle if anyone is preparing for the same. You can also watch YT videos for getting more information about your particular stream. Kindly be known of what is expected of you & what you need to do everyday. Enjoy the learning process & you'll absolutely enjoy to solve the application problems of the exam. Understand the basic concepts of your stream & read them thoroughly. This will help you understand the concept. Be in touch with the subjects, prepare small notes for whatever you are learning. By this, you can do revision & will not forget easily. Solve problems & get on test series later in your final year. Be consistent & prepare well for the same.
Thanks.
is there any negative matk availablr for gate exam??
Hello,
Yes there are negative marking in gate. This year GATE exam paper will have three different types of question pattern. There will be Multiple choice question (MCQs) where you will have four options and only one is correct. Then you have fill the blank type where you won't have any options you need to solve the question and put the obtained value in the blank and the final question type which is added this year is the Multiple selection questions (MSQs) where you will have four options and more than one can be correct you will need to choose the right option and in such questions if you do not select all the right options then you will be awarded zero marks. There are no partial markings for such questions but the good news is that there are not negative marking for Multiple selection questions (MSQs) and fill the blank type. Only the MCQs will have negative marking for 1 mark questions 1/3 mark will be deducted every wrong answer and for 2 mark questions 2/3 mark will be deducted for every incorrect response.