GATE 2022 Topper, Vipul Rank 1, says, “Conceptual clarity & self study are the key to success”

GATE result 2022 was released on March 16, 2022, in online mode. Vipul’s happiness knew no boundaries when he checked his gate result. Securing an All India Rank (AIR 1) in XH Economics in GATE 2022 exam. He obtained 88 out of 100. Vipul believes that self-study and conceptual clarity have helped him stay determined for the GATE 2022 exam. Let us have a sneak peek at the conversation between CollegeDekhoand Vipul Yadav to have better insights.

Excerpts from the GATE 2022 Topper’s Interview:

CollegeDekho: Congratulations on becoming the GATE 2022 topper. What was your response when you came to know that you are the topper of GATE 2022?

Vipul: I was pleasantly surprised to know that I have secured AIR 1. Although I had some idea that I might fetch a rank on the good side of double digits, based on the response sheet and answer key that were released a few days earlier, I never expected to top the exam. 

CollegeDekho: Tell us something about yourself; Where have you done your engineering from and in which branch?

Vipul: I did my engineering in Mechanical branch from VNIT Nagpur. After that I worked for a while and am now pursuing my MA in Economics from CESP, JNU. 

CollegeDekho: Which GATE paper did you appear for? What rank did you get in GATE 2022? What is your GATE score and how many marks did you secure out of 100 in GATE paper 2022?

Vipul: I appeared for XH-C1 (Humanities and Social Sciences: Economics) and have secured an All-India Rank 1 in the paper for the year 2022. The GATE score is 1000, on fetching 88 marks out of 100.  

CollegeDekho: Is GATE 2022 your first attempt or did you attempt GATE earlier as well?

Vipul: This was my first attempt at GATE. I never appeared for GATE before the 2022 exam.

CollegeDekho:When did you start your preparation? How many hours should a candidate put in per day? 

Vipul: I started preparing for GATE almost 3 months before the exam. Although one can say that most of my preparation was done when I was preparing for my Master’s entrance exams, so I was putting in just 1-2 hours per day this time around.

CollegeDekho:Self-study or coaching, what do you think is better? What helped you the most?

Vipul: I think self-study is sufficient for the GATE exam. There is no need for coaching. I was helped most by the previous year question paper, although there was just one. 

CollegeDekho:Share some major preparation strategies with our readers? When should candidates start their preparation for the GATE exam? Is there any right time?

Vipul: I think for cracking GATE exam one should be in touch with the basics of what is taught at the undergraduate level. Apart from that, previous year question papers are a good ground to test understanding of concepts. I don’t think there is any right time to start the preparation, one should start in time that they can cover the syllabus and have ample time to practice. 

CollegeDekho: Do you feel mock tests are important? If yes, why? Did you solve any mock tests or sample papers?

Vipul: I personally didn’t take any mock test. However, mock tests are a good way to discover our weaknesses, so if one feels that they are not able to self-assess their weak areas, they can opt for mock tests. 

CollegeDekho:Which books did you follow for GATE 2022 preparation? Please name some major must-read books for the GATE exam?

Vipul: I followed no specific book during GATE preparation as I was just revising the concepts learnt earlier. However, if I trace back the source of these concepts, I would suggest to follow Hal Varian for Microeconomics, Froyen for Macroeconomics, A C Chiang for Mathematics, DeGroot for Statistics and Gujarati for Econometrics.  

CollegeDekho:What was the toughest aspect of your GATE preparation?

Vipul: The dearth of previous year question papers which hindered the assessment of difficulty level of the paper. 

CollegeDekho:Any specific areas that you feel are important and should not be missed while preparing for the exam?

Vipul: I think all areas are equally important for this exam. Since the exam is relatively new, one cannot really assess which areas will carry more weightage of marks in the upcoming years. 

CollegeDekho:Have you applied to any PSUs recruiting through GATE, if yes, which ones?

Vipul: I am still in the process of researching it, although I have registered for COAP. 

CollegeDekho: Did you have any strategy in attempting the questions? Share your exam experience with us.

Vipul: The exam went smoothly as there was plenty of time to attempt all questions. I do my question paper in several passes. Associated with one’s answer to each question is a degree of confidence in that answer being right. In the first and easiest pass, I tackle those questions in which I have the highest confidence. In the second pass, those with relatively less confidence are attempted. By the end, one has to make a choice whether to attempt a question at the risk of losing marks. In those cases, I remain cautious and balance the risks with the reward. Questions that have no negative marking must always be attempted. 

CollegeDekho:Any advice for the future aspirants that you think will be helpful?

Vipul: Conceptual clarity goes a long way in building confidence while attempting questions. For this, practice as many questions as possible. Build intuition rather than trying to cram up methods or formulae.