GATE 2027 FAQ: 33 most-asked questions

65 questions in 3 hours. Total marks: 100. The paper is a computer-based test (CBT) conducted at NTA-empanelled test centres across India.

A mix of MCQ (Multiple Choice - 1 of 4), MSQ (Multiple Select - pick all correct from 4 options, 1-4 may be right), and NAT (Numerical Answer Type - type a number into a virtual keypad). Most papers have roughly 30-35 MCQs, 5-10 MSQs, and 20-25 NATs.

MCQs: -1/3 (for 1-mark Qs) or -2/3 (for 2-mark Qs) per wrong answer. MSQ and NAT: NO negative marking. Unattempted questions score zero. Strategically: always attempt MSQ and NAT; only attempt MCQs you can narrow to 2 options.

Your raw mark (out of 100) is normalised to a GATE score (out of 1000) using a formula based on (a) the qualifying cutoff for your paper, and (b) the average mark of the top 0.1% of candidates in your paper. GATE Score = 350 + 250 × (M - Mq) / (Mt - Mq).

3 years from the date of result. So a GATE 2027 score is valid for M.Tech admission in 2027, 2028, and 2029 cycles, and for PSU recruitment until early 2030.

Yes. Since GATE 2024, the conducting body allows third-year B.Tech / B.E. / B.Pharm / B.Arch students to appear. Final-year and graduated candidates are also eligible. No upper age limit.

Yes - since GATE 2022, candidates can attempt up to 2 papers from a pre-defined list of allowed combinations (e.g. CS + DA, ME + XE, EE + IN). Separate fee per paper. Both papers must be on different days.

₹1,800 (General / OBC) or ₹900 (SC / ST / PwD / Female) per paper for regular application. Add ₹500 for late application. Foreign candidates: USD 50-100 per paper.

No cap. You can sit GATE every year. Most candidates make 2-3 attempts (during 3rd year, final year, and one drop year if needed).

The conducting institute typically opens the application portal in late August. Regular deadline: end of September. Late application (with ₹500 extra) closes mid-October.

GATE is for PG admission + PSU recruitment (technical roles). ESE (Engineering Services Examination, UPSC) is for Group A engineering officer roles in central government (Railways, CPWD, etc.). ESE has Prelims + Mains + Interview, much harder and more competitive than GATE. Most candidates do GATE first; ESE is a longer-prep commitment.

No. CSIR-UGC NET is for PhD admissions and lectureship in science subjects (physics, chemistry, life sciences, etc.) - different syllabus, different conducting body (NTA for NET, IISc/IITs for GATE). GATE is preferred for engineering PG; NET for pure-science research.

Some foreign universities (TUM Germany, NTU/NUS Singapore, certain Australian universities) accept GATE as an alternative to GRE for engineering Master's programmes. Verify with each university directly.

No. JTO (Junior Telecom Officer, BSNL) and SSC JE (Junior Engineer, Staff Selection Commission) have their own exams and are not GATE-based. Different prep entirely.

Through COAP (Common Offer Acceptance Portal). After result, candidates fill IIT preferences; IITs make offers based on GATE score + M.Tech specialisation; candidates lock-in or wait for upgrades. Multi-round process running April-June.

Through CCMT (Centralised Counselling for M.Tech). Similar centralised allocation across all NITs, IIITs, GFTIs, and a few SPAs. Runs in parallel with COAP, April-July.

Most central PSUs do. Big ones: IOCL, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, GAIL, BPCL, HPCL, Coal India, Power Grid, Indian Oil, IRCON, RVNL, MECON, NHAI. They release notification, shortlist by GATE score, then run their own interview / GD round.

800+ GATE score lands you at top-3 IITs (Bombay / Madras / Delhi) for popular branches. 700-800 opens up IIT KGP / Roorkee / Kanpur. 600-700 covers most IIT M.Tech specialisations. 500-600 puts top NITs in reach.

Ideal: 12-18 months. Most candidates start in 3rd year B.Tech (after 4th semester) and intensify in the final year. Below 6 months is doable but requires daily 6+ hours.

15 marks out of 100 - 15% of the paper. Don't skip it; the easy GA marks make up for harder subject questions. Most toppers aim for 14-15 in GA.

Both work. Coaching (Made Easy, ACE, GATE Academy) gives structured material + peer pressure but costs ₹40k-1L. Self-study with standard textbooks + free mocks (like ours) can match coaching outcomes if you're disciplined.

Critical. Aim for 30+ full-length mocks in the final 3-4 months. Post-mortem each one - track section-wise accuracy, time per question, and topic-wise weak spots. The post-mortem is where the learning happens.

No. GATE is conducted only once a year, in the first and second weekends of February. Some online portals confuse GATE with JEE Main (which has two sessions); GATE remains a single annual cycle. The notification releases in late July or August, application opens in late August, exam runs across two weekends in February.

Yes. Since the 2021 eligibility relaxation, 3rd-year B.E. / B.Tech / B.Pharm / B.Arch students can sit GATE. Many candidates take a 3rd-year attempt as an exposure attempt and a final-year attempt for the score that actually goes to M.Tech / PSU applications. The score validity is 3 years, so a 3rd-year score remains usable through final year and one year beyond.

Your raw mark is what you scored out of 100 on the paper. The GATE score is a normalised value out of 1000, computed using the formula 350 + 250 x (M - Mq) / (Mt - Mq) where M is your raw mark, Mq is the paper qualifying cutoff and Mt is the mean of the top 0.1% of candidates in your paper. The qualifying cutoff anchors the score at ~350; the top 0.1% anchors at ~1000. The score is what M.Tech admissions and PSU shortlists look at, not the raw mark.

GATE 2027 provides an on-screen scientific calculator inside the test platform; no physical calculator is allowed in the hall. The virtual calculator supports basic arithmetic, powers, roots, trigonometry, logarithms, factorials, memory keys (M+, M-, MR, MC) and constants like pi and e. It opens in a draggable floating window and accepts only mouse clicks on the rendered keypad (keyboard typing does not work). Practise on the actual virtual interface before exam day - rehearsing on a physical calculator and assuming the interface will translate is the single biggest source of wasted minutes on exam day.

A B.Sc graduate is eligible only for specific science-stream papers (Mathematics MA, Physics PH, Chemistry CY, Statistics ST, Life Sciences XL, Ecology and Evolution EY, Geology and Geophysics GG). A B.Sc graduate cannot directly sit engineering papers (CS, ME, EE, EC, CE, etc.) - those require a B.E. / B.Tech or an equivalent engineering qualification. If a B.Sc graduate completes an MCA or M.Sc CS, the CS paper becomes eligible. Always cross-check the latest eligibility table in the official information brochure.

Each PSU (IOCL, ONGC, NTPC, BHEL, GAIL, BPCL, HPCL, Coal India, Power Grid, IRCON, RVNL and others) releases its own recruitment notification after GATE results in March or April. Candidates apply on the PSU portal with their GATE 2027 scorecard. The PSU shortlists by GATE score (cutoff varies by PSU and branch, broadly 700-820 for the top-tier PSUs), then runs its own interview / group discussion / medical examination. Final selection blends the GATE score with the interview score; offer letters typically go out within 4-6 months of the notification.

COAP (Common Offer Acceptance Portal) is the centralised platform for M.Tech admission at IITs. After GATE results, candidates register on COAP, fill IIT and branch preferences, and IITs make offers in 4-6 rounds where each round you can hold one offer, withdraw to chase a better upgrade next round, or freeze and exit. CCMT (Centralised Counselling for M.Tech) is the parallel platform for NITs, IIITs, GFTIs and a few SPAs - more of a single-allotment system with choice-filling, seat allocation, fee payment and reporting at the allotted institute. A serious M.Tech candidate registers on both platforms the moment results drop.

No. Negative marking on GATE applies only to MCQ questions: -1/3 on a 1-mark MCQ and -2/3 on a 2-mark MCQ if you select a wrong option. MSQ (Multiple Select Question, pick all correct from 4 options) carries no negative marking but also no partial credit - you only get the full marks if your selected set exactly matches the correct set. NAT (Numerical Answer Type, where you type a numeric answer into the virtual keypad) carries no negative marking either; you score the full marks if your answer lies within the published tolerance range, and 0 otherwise. The strategic implication is to attempt every NAT you can solve, attempt MSQ only when fully confident of the correct set, and only attempt MCQs where you can rule out at least one of the four options.

Yes, but only during the application correction window (typically mid-October to end-October). After that, no changes allowed.

You forfeit the attempt. No refund, no re-scheduling. There is a separate medical-grounds appeal window after the exam, but it's rarely granted.

Paper-leak claims on social media are almost always fraud. Report to the GATE 2027 official portal. The conducting body has zero tolerance and will disqualify any candidate involved in unfair means.