Flash Cards - Preparation Strategy No 2

Here is your Long awaited sequel. I know i should be writing at a faster pace to cater to the needs of those writing GATE 2010. Given the fact that you have already mastered the usage of Terra Incognita, all that remains is resolving TI. What is the use of documentation if the data is not put to use. Yeah it is the abstract point "resolve your TI" (from my previous post)that i am going to elaborate here.

TI resolution can be done in many ways. Brute force method of randomly picking the topic and completing it really works fine(for a change :)). However, as u climb uphill, the burden of remembering things increases. What use is learning if you are not able to remember anything?? Here comes the flash cards/bathroom notes or whatever u call that.

Some people might want to argue that revision phase comes during the last month of preparation. But well, with syllabus as vast as GATE, i guess it should go hand in hand with the preparation phase.  

For most of you, this isnt a new strategy. You just needed someone to remind you of the strategies that you used in the past. That is precisely what i am doing now. For the others, well, lets see how it is done.

Take an A4 sheet, keep folding it in halves until it reaches a size that can fit in ur pocket(the reason for which can be found later). Now cut the edges so that it forms discrete pages. Pin it in the corner. Yipee !! your flash card is made. Make a book for each subject, probably u can use another A4 sheet and make a bigger booklet. Now as and when you resolve your TI, write down all that you want about that particular topic. Remember, your TI doesnt have detailed information, it is used for just documentation purpose.When does your TI entry become obsolete?? The moment you resolve that topic, your TI "entry" loses its value. So your flash cards are the only ones that are going to help you remember things. So make sure you note down all the important points(you can also include the silliest of the details).

Now that your booklet is made, u can carry it wherever you want, in ur pocket. This really helps if you are attending a boring lecture in your college.

U can use familiar techniques that you use in computer science to enhance your Flash card usage. For example,while revising the topics, on the first day lets say u revise one booklet. On the second day, u revise the first and second together. On the third day, u revise the second and third together etc.What is this strategy called(a well known technique u know)?? However, this ensures that you revise each booklet atleast twice.

At the end of your preparation make sure you have atleast 10 booklets for each subject. And let it be comprehensive. If you are able to do this, i am sure you will be break into the top 200 ranks.

Why toppers choose IIT Bombay over IISc??

Over the past 3 to 4 years, constantly AIR 1 has chosen IIT Bombay over IISc. In the top 50 ranks, almost 25 have chosen IIT Bombay. And the rest distributed between IISc and the other IITs. Newspapers say that the Mecca for Technical education in india is IIT Bombay(they also point out that before 10 yrs it was IIT Kanpur and before that it was IIT Kharagpur). Whatever may be the reason behind this trend, it certainly makes us feel that IIT Bombay is on par or better than IISc. But the truth seems to be quite different from what we hear.

The first and the most popular reason why people choose IIT Bombay, is nothing but what people call "life" and "lifestyle". Life at IITB is fantastic is what they say. "In IITB we can enjoy a lot " is what u hear from most who chose IITB. Just to give a real incident : People discussing outside the Exam hall in IISc, "hey, life at IISc is boring yaar. See no one is coming outside. IITB is not like that. We can enjoy a lot."(source : vaibhav, my classmate). However as this very reason conflicts with the purpose of coming to IIT(gaining knowledge), the genuineness of this reason is in question.

The second reason is the food factor. Food, i have to agree, is very good here in IIT Bombay. The third reason and one of the most unknown reasons is probably  the most important contributing factor too. There are many many MSc students in the top 100 ranks. Such students do not have the choice of going to IISc and other IITs as they have an anti-MSc policy that imposes strict constraints on them. But IITB does not impose any such restrictions, and with IISc rejecting them, they come here right away.

With the three main contributing factors, along with the fact that 60 out of the top 100 JEE students opting for IITB, really makes IITB the mecca of technical education in india. Does that mean IITB does not deserve that title? Well, we cannot say so.

With top students selected in GATE and JEE coming here to IITB, most of the professors are attracted to this institute. An evident fact that is proven by the faculty strength in CS dept of IITB, 45. The highest number in any CS dept in India. This powerful combination of students and faculty can result in good quality of research. So this vicious cycle continues and i can say for sure that for the next 10 years atleast, this institute will be on the top. Though IISc is clearly the most sought after institute, it seems like it needs to offer something more than just quality education to be the top institution in the country. :)