Going coaching or not it's totally depends on you but it will adviseable if you prepare for GATE alongwith your B.tech. So, that your year is not waste as sylalbus is also same.

You can follow below preparation tips to crack GATE exam

1. Internalize the GATE syllabus : Before diving in, you need to know what is in the pool. So, go through the official syllabus of GATE 2018 . It will give you a clear idea regarding the topics you need to study for the entrance exam. General Aptitude (GA) is a mandatory section for all GATE papers. Meanwhile, Engineering Mathematics is compulsory for all papers except (GG & XL). The syllabus has many other key details that would help you streamline your focus.

2. Check the GATE 2018 Exam Pattern: The exam pattern of GATE 2018 will give candidates hints on how they should prepare for the exam. For instance, two types of questions will be asked in GATE 2018: MCQs and numerical answer type (NAT) questions. Also, MCQs carry negative marking, while for NAT questions no marks will be deducted for wrong attempts. All similar points outlined in the exam pattern of GATE 2018 has to be taken special note of. Remember, every extra mark you earn is going to count.

3.Study material: You can check below recommended books for your preparation by below link

GATE Study Material

4. Take notes : You can make your important notes it will help you in revision.

5. Focus on speed and accuracy : Speed and accuracy are key elements for success in GATE 2018 and go hand in hand. When solving a problem, see to it that you are picking up speed. One way of increasing speed is clearing concepts and remembering all important formulas.

6. Solve Sample Papers: You should also solve sample papers for your practice and to analyze your preparation level and to know your strong and weak areas.

7. Revision: Focus on revision as it is important part to score good marks.

Good Luck!!

It all depends on you & your preparation whether you want to drop a year or not. But You have enough time for the preparation if you are interested this year to appear the exam.Here you can also prefer some preparation tips you can follow.

1. Make a Schedule- You can make a schedule by following the steps given below.

Divide your GATE syllabus into three parts – topics you know, topics you know but you are not confident about and topics you don't know at all.

Start with the ones you know : Revise the topics you know, once for all so that you don't have to return to them again.

Now move to the ones you are not confident about: Learn the theory part first and make your foundation strong. Clear all your concepts before moving ahead and this time practice these topics till you feel confident about them.

Last but not the least; the new ones ': For practising these topics, you will have to start from the scratch, therefore, again, theory first! Read, learn and revise till you complete your GATE syllabus 2018.

What to remember while formulating your GATE 2018 Preparation plan?

• Check the past year papers and exam analysis.

• Divide the Topics broadly into Strong, Weak and to be read properly.

• Keep daily, weekly and monthly targets. Try to adhere to them as far as possible.

• Next schedule your preparation such that you revise the easy ones along with the tough ones and the “never read before” ones. This will ensure you have a clear view of what is to be studied and how you are going to do it.

• While many advise to check the weightage and study accordingly, it is really not the correct way to go. Check the weightage by all means and understand the important topics but don’t neglect to study the not so important topics

• Make Short Notes while you study as this is will be helpful during revision.

• Write down Formulae that you find difficult to remember so that they are handy for revision.

• Don’t wait for completing a portion of the syllabus. Start practising with test papers as soon as you done with a section or topic. Little steps of water make the mighty ocean.

• Keep the solved problems separately indexed so that you can refresh and revise later when required.

• Another tip for final year students is that you can match the topics that you will be studying in your graduation and club the studying part so you cover these to get a better hold on them.

• It is not just the previous year papers or online test series. Answer the questions at the back of your text book, check the nptel lectures to get a good grasp.

Good Luck!