How PW Helped Mohammad Hamid Move from College Pressure and Distractions to AIR 143 in GATE 2026

Preparing for GATE alongside an engineering college is never easy. You’ll have to struggle with attendance, assignments, semester exams, distractions, and self-doubt during preparation. Mohammad Hamid faced the same challenges while studying in his final year at a tier-3 college in Indore. Yet, through consistency and focused preparation, he secured AIR 143 in GATE 2026 CSE with a score of 865. 

A major part of his preparation journey involved Physics Wallah, where he studied through free YouTube lectures first and later joined the PW Vijay Batch for serious preparation. From DBPs and mock tests to lectures and progress tracking, PW became an important support system in his journey. His story is inspiring because it feels honest, relatable, and motivating for every GATE aspirant trying to balance college life with big career goals.

From Placement Pressure to Believing in a Bigger Goal

Hamid’s story from a Tier-3 college came with limited placement opportunities around him. Most peers were preparing for average packages, but he felt he could achieve more if he gave himself a proper chance.

That thought slowly pushed him towards GATE preparation.

“sar main motivation wahi tha ki haan bacche bolte hai college mein placement agar lagi bhi to average package almost around 4 to 5 lakh 6 lakh maximum 8 lakh uske upar nahi milne wala.”

“So matlab mujhe laga ki bhai matlab mera main capable hoon ki isse accha main achieve kar sakta hoon to main kyu na GATE ke liye apply karun”

Sometimes, one person’s belief can completely change a student’s mindset. For Hamid, that support came from his friend.

“isme mere ek dost hai Mayank unka bhi bahut bada haath hai”

“Unhone matlab mere andar jo kabilityat hai wo pehchani usne bola ki bhai tera logic accha hai maths accha hai tu GATE mein ja tu GATE mein accha karega”

That encouragement gave him the confidence to take preparation seriously.

Even before joining a proper batch, Hamid had already attempted GATE once, using mostly free resources.

“nahi sir maine prayas to ki thi jo YouTube pe saare free sources the aapke OS ke COA hai DBMS ke the jo bhi lectures the to unse hi padh ke”

“jo free ke apne mock test the wo deke last ke almost four five month maine try kiye aur aisi rank aayi”

That first attempt gave him AIR 3400. Instead of settling for it, he realised he could do much better with serious preparation.

The Difficult Phase of Balancing College, Distractions, and Preparation

Preparing for GATE during the final year was not easy at all. Hamid had to manage college attendance, assignments, projects, and semester exams alongside preparation.

To handle everything properly, he started planning carefully every week.

“maine weekly schedule bana ke rakha tha ki mujhe is week mein itna complete karna hai”

“matlab schedule maine excel ke andar rakha hua tha aur main usko har weekly usko update kar raha tha ki mera itna hua itna nahi hua itna backlog ho raha hai”

This helped him stay aware of his progress and backlogs throughout preparation.

He also made use of small breaks during college hours.

“agar mujhe beech mein kuch time mil raha hai lunch break hai ya koi lecture free hai ya library ka lecture hai to usme baith ke main mera jo bhi mera DBP attempt karna hai ya kuch test attempt karne hai wo kar leta tha”

Alongside college pressure, distractions were another major challenge.

At first, he tried controlling social media usage through timers.

“maine insta pe YouTube pe timer laga diya tha ki din mein itna use karna hai usse zyada nahi”

But as the exam got closer, he became stricter.

“last ke jo four months hai main usme to insta hata hi diya tha”

And during the final phase of preparation:

“last ke two months mein maine YouTube ko bhi disable kar diya tha”

These decisions helped him stay focused during the most important months of preparation.

How Physics Wallah Helped Him Improve From AIR 3400 to AIR 143

After his first attempt, Hamid understood that he needed better guidance and a more serious preparation environment. That is when Physics Wallah became a major part of his journey.

“then this year I purchased a complete batch of PW which was the Vijay batch”

PW’s lectures helped him approach difficult subjects in a much simpler way.

One subject that initially scared him was COA.

“Sir ye hua tha COA ke andar. COA mujhe sabne bola tha ki bahut hard hai. COA matlab bahut deep mein bhi aata hai aur bahut vast subject hai”

But after attending the lectures, his perspective changed completely.

“aapne jo matlab bilkul gradually uski pace badhai hai aur ek example ke saath jo samjhaya hai wo on point tha”

He also appreciated the way the PW platform helped him track his progress throughout preparation.

“pehle to inka jo platform aapka jo platform hai yeh bahut acche acche se build kiya hua hai jo ki matlab lectures hai progress hai aapke marks kitne aa rahe hain accuracy kya hai wo barabar maintain hoti hai”

Another important part of his preparation was practising DBPs after every topic.

“har topic ke baad tum DBP lagao aur aapki kya mistakes aa rahi hai usko note karke rakho taki agar apan same question ya same pattern ka question fir se laga rahe hai to same fir se issue aana nahi chahiye”

This habit helped him avoid repeating mistakes and improved his problem-solving speed.

Slowly, his confidence also started growing through mock tests.

“confidence aata hai jab apna syllabus complete hone lagta hai”

At first, his scores were average.

“mere initially marks aa rahe the 55 56 aisa kuch aise range mein aa rahe the”

But with regular mock tests, improvement became visible.

“next mock mein 65 aaya 68 aaye hai”

That gradual improvement gave him confidence that he could perform well in the actual exam, too.

Hamid’s Advice to the Future Aspirants

Hamid’s story feels inspiring because it is realistic. He did not begin with perfect preparation or complete confidence. He improved slowly by staying consistent every day.

That is exactly the advice he gave future aspirants as well.

“advice would be ki consistency maintain kare throughout the journey agar thoda fall out ho bhi raha hai to usko matlab ek do din thoda refresh feel karke fir se jo bhi back on karna hai studies pe wo jaldi kare”

He also warned students against taking very long breaks.

“aisa nahi hai ki hafte bhar ka poora break le liya fir karne ka mann hi nahi ho raha hai”

Another strategy that helped him was balancing easy and difficult subjects together.

“subjects aise shuru kare ki ek thoda easy and ek thoda hard simultaneously chalta rahe taki zyada pressure nahi aaye”

Finally, he shared the preparation timeline students should ideally follow during GATE preparation.

“max to max October tak saara syllabus complete ho jana chahiye and November se mock test lagana test series jo bhi lena hai shuru ho jani chahiye”

From AIR 3400 to AIR 143, Mohammad Hamid’s journey shows how consistency, smart preparation, and the right guidance from Physics Wallah can completely transform a student’s future. His story proves that students from tier-3 colleges can also compete with the best when they stay disciplined and focused on their goals. From managing college pressure and removing distractions to improving through mock tests and DBPs, every small step helped him move closer to success. More than just a rank story, this journey is a reminder that real improvement happens when students keep showing up every single day, even during the toughest phases of preparation.