GATE and post GATE experience

GATE is what the name itself says- Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, the questions in GATE exam are not that tough at all.To solve them you just need a good aptitude & the basic knowledge of the engineering subjects.The questions are a bit tricky, few of them are very simple few are tough but most of them are simple but it requires a tricky approach to solve them.
For GATE aspirants,i suggest you to prepare for it in a smarter way.Don't just waste all the time in understanding the topics, just clear the fundamentals of subject and go through the related questions. It's the practice of questions which makes a difference in preparation.Spend 25% of time in understanding the basics and rest 75% in practicing the questions.Do practice previous years questions as much as you can and as much are available.There is no no advantage of reading the topics if you can't solve the questions from that topic.Practicing the questions increases the understanding of the concepts and this will help you when you write GATE paper.
Moreover, GATE has a vast syllabus including almost all major subjects in B.Tech but the gate papers are more oriented towards few subjects and the specific topics in those subjects.One can easily pick those sections by analyzing previous years' question papers. Try to practice these sections more.

Modes of admission:
Direct admission.

Admission through written test and/or interview.

3-4 months of study is sufficient to crack GATE and come in the race of securing the seats in MS and M.tech @ IITs through interview procedure.But if you want's to be on safer side, start preparation earlier and try to secure Direct admission in IITs. Interviews in mostly IITs are schedule in the month of May.Few of them clashes with each other, and if you are a fourth year student, it will surely clash with either your semester examinations or external practical exams.