AIR 342 in GATE CSE: Gurkamjot Singh’s Story of Consistency and Comeback With PW

Gurkamjot Singh from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, did not begin his GATE preparation in a stable or ideal environment. Like many final-year students, he was caught between increasing college attendance pressure and the demand of competitive exam preparation. Over time, his routine started breaking, and study hours kept reducing without him fully realising it. Still, he did not give up. Instead, he slowly began rebuilding his preparation with more focus and discipline. With guidance from Physics Wallah resources and consistent practice, he started regaining control over his preparation. His journey reflects how students can still recover and perform well even in uncertain conditions.

When Routine Started Breaking Under Pressure

At the beginning, his preparation was steady, but things started changing when college attendance pressure increased.

“Sir shuru ke jaise September October ke mid se unhone kehna shuru kar diya tha ki is baar attendance ka hai thoda chakkar padega to regular hona shuru ho jao.”

This small academic pressure slowly started affecting his preparation rhythm. Without realising it, his focus began to divide between college and exam goals.

He explains how his study hours reduced over time.

“Pehle main 6 hours focused plus thoda bahut notes vagairah bana leta tha… phir 3-4 hours tak hi aa gaya.”

As consistency started breaking and study hours reduced, he realised that simply studying more was no longer enough. He needed a smarter and more exam-oriented approach that could help him track progress, identify mistakes quickly, and make the most of limited preparation time. This shift eventually pushed him towards mock-test-driven preparation.

From Guesswork to Growth: The Power of Mock Tests

At this stage, he stopped studying in an unplanned way and started focusing more on exam-style practice using mock tests.

“Maine seedha hi All India mock test diya tha jab start hue the All India mock test.”

Instead of attempting many tests, he kept his approach limited and focused on learning from each attempt through PW mock tests and detailed analysis after every paper.

“Maine 6-7 likh diye honge bas 6-7 hi likhe.”

With each test, improvement started becoming visible.

“Sabse pehle mock mein mere aaye the around 56 phir 53 phir 63 aaye… last ke jo do mock mujhe yaad hai usme 68 aur 68.6 karke aaye the.”

This progress came from repeated analysis, correction, and consistent practice over time.

How Physics Wallah Helped Gurkamjot in Revision and Practice

As Gurkamjot’s preparation became more serious, he started looking for better ways to practise high-level questions and revise efficiently. While solving PYQs, he realised that finding similar exam-level questions consistently was becoming difficult.

“Jo PYQ solve kiye ki aisa aisa PYQ to hai ye to bahut high level ka tha question and all par iske similar question hi mujhe mil rahe the ki kahan se milenge question ki practice ho jaye meri same question ho, same topic ho and all.”

This pushed him to explore additional practice resources that could help him improve question exposure and strengthen revision alongside PYQs.

“Maine explore kar raha tha PW ke batches. Wahan pe Super 1500 tha. Rankers Club koi na koi matlab aate rehti thi.”

During this phase, he started attempting Rankers Tests and eventually qualified for the Super 1500 batch, which became an important part of his final preparation months.

“Maine try kiya do teen Rankers Test diye last wale Rankers Test mein mera nikal aaya to wahan se Super 1500 batch mujhe mila tha aur phir maine daba ke wahi kiya bas last ke na do-teen mahine ki mujhe practice karni thi aur usne bahut help ki.”

A friend who had already taken PW’s Parakram batch suggested the books to him.

“Usne bataya ki PW ki book aati hai wahi khareed le. Usse ho jayega tera kaam… Book mein tujhe aasan rahega. Tu saath mein mark karta jai aur solve karta jai bas fatafat.”

This made revision and PYQ practice more organised, as he could solve questions, mark important problems, and revisit them quickly during revision.

The Final Phase: Stress, Doubt and Breakthrough

Even after consistent preparation, exam pressure still affected his confidence during analysis.

“Maine 14 questions check kiye the tab un 14 mein se 7 questions mere galat nikle mera saara confidence khatam ho gaya tha.”

However, the actual result turned out better than expected.

“Mere normalised marks 68.79 hi aaye hain.”

During the exam, he felt confident about his performance.

“Us waqt to main full confident tha ki haan I killed it and all.”

This shows how perception during the exam and actual outcome can feel very different.

Gurkamjot Singh’s journey is not about perfect planning, but about recovery during pressure. His study time was reduced, his routine was broken, and uncertainty increased, yet he rebuilt his preparation in a short span of time. Through consistent mock practice, PYQs, and effective revision, supported by Physics Wallah resources, he converted 5 months of focused effort into AIR 342. His story clearly shows that success is not about ideal conditions, but about how quickly a student adapts and regains control.