Comparative evaluation

India has so many intelligent brains that are competing with each other. On the other hand the IISc and the IITs have only a limited number of seats. Thus, to reduce the problem a process of comparative evaluation or percentile is used. This process helps the institutions to take the best and leave the rest. Every one of us is aware of the fact that only 4 out of a thousand students giving GATE get a chance to be interviewed by IITs and the IISc. The numbers of students who get admitted to these institutions are even lesser. So it’s not enough to be good you have to be the best amongst the best.

The major goal of GATE is to conduct a test for admission but it’s another purpose is to identify the suitable engineers/researchers in various areas and make them to choose their area of choice in which they can pursue their master degree. To accomplish the overall purpose, GATE is organized only by IITs and IISc, which always try to innovate and introduce new systems to test the basic knowledge of candidates in various fields.

As a part of that innovation, the GATE papers are of fully objective type. The questions papers are not very traditional one because the highly qualified faculties set them. They always try to test the very basic of candidates in respective areas by bringing the element of innovation in these papers. It is not surprising that sometimes the questions are mere applications of basic concepts in their area of research.

GATE, like CAT and unlike GRE, GMAT or Board examinations, is a zero sum game. How much you scored is does not matter really, but what matters the most is how many people you have beaten and how many people have beaten you.

The degree of competition can be identified by looking at the table, which is prepared on the basis of a analysis done in GATE 2004.

Regd: Number of candidates registered
App: Number of candidates finally appeared in the GATE.
App%: Percentage of applicants actually taking up the exam.
Qual%: Percentage of people who qualified among the candidates who appeared.

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