The best minds in the country and the world will compete this year in the Tata Consultancy Services or TCS CodeVita Season 10 coding competition. The competition tests the skills of coders from across the globe, and the best performers receive the prestigious âWorld’s Best Coder‘ title and lucrative job opportunities.
The TCS CodeVita is held in three rounds, with the difficulty level rising with each round. Furthermore, every Pre-Qualifier round has three questions that must be solved within the given time limit. This is one of the biggest competitive programming language contests and offers exciting cash prizes to the winners.
How to Prepare for TCS CodeVita – 10 Excellent Tips
Preparing for TCS CodeVita can be daunting, especially if you are a beginner. To make this task easier, we have ten tips to help you prepare for the contest. Grab a pen and paper and begin taking notes.
1. Choose your language carefully for TCS CodeVita
Participants have the option to select from a variety of eight programming languages, which include C, C#, Java, C++, PHP, Perl, Ruby, and Python. Itâs advisable to opt for the language with which youâre most familiar. Python is often recommended for those new to programming due to its simplicity. Therefore, for newcomers, Python is typically the suggested choice as a starting programming language. Additionally, itâs often recommended to learn object-oriented programming languages such as C++ and Python, as they facilitate easier implementation of logical structures.
2. Back to the basics
Merely solving the questions in the contest is not enough. It would be best if you solved them as fast as possible, so brushing up on your basic concepts is recommended.
3. Solve previous seasons’ papers
Once you have brushed up on your basics, solving previous seasons’ papers is the next best thing to do. It is highly unlikely that the same questions will be repeated this season. However, solving sample papers and previous years’ papers, just like any other competitive exam, will help you to understand the exam pattern and the type of questions that will be there.
4. Manage your time
Time management is a crucial step in any exam. You cannot prepare till late at night, a day before the exam and exhaust your mind completely at the time of the contest. It is always better to rest your mind completely the night before the contest to be in the best state the next day. Also, you can slot your time for preparation throughout the day and stick to the plan.
5. Practice makes perfect
There is no shortcut to success. The same is true with contests like these. Practice as many questions as you can because, to be honest, there is no better tip than this. If you are not comfortable with coding questions, eventually, you will be. It is all about getting used to the questions in the TCS CodeVita.
Besides practising on sample papers, you can also try your hand at competitive programming websites. Doing so will help you accustom yourself to the competition’s format and familiarise yourself with its constraints.
Sample exams are not the same thing as actual tests, which come with a built-in time constraint.
6. Get a mentor
If you are having trouble preparing for the exam, it is best to get a mentor. For detailed preparation tips and guidance on preparing for TCS CodeVita, you can also reach out to us at CodeQuotient.
Apply here for our FREE Crash Course.
7. Keep an eye on the official website
At times, there are changes in the registration and test dates, syllabus revision, etc. It is important to stay up-to-date with these changes, and the best way to do so is by keeping an eye on the official pages of TCS CodeVita. You can also bookmark the pages to be easily accessible and check them regularly.
8. Practice easy questions first
Looking at the previous seasons’ papers, two questions had low difficulty levels, two had medium difficulty, and two were hard to solve. While preparing, it is always best to start practising the easy questions first. They boost your confidence and get your mind in the flow of solving questions with greater difficulty.
9. Be efficient
Efficiency while preparing and attempting the exam is important. In the past, people who have solved even one question in round two of the contest have been called for interviews. In round one, there are six questions. Out of these, the participant needs to solve at least two. So, you don’t need to solve all the questions in the exam. But being efficient is the key.
10. Pay attention to the important topics
Although there are no âimportant topics’ in a competitive coding exam, some topics are known to have been asked repeatedly in TCS CodeVita exams. These topics are as follows:
- String and array manipulation
- Stack and queues
- Trees and graph
- Mapping concepts
- Backtracking
- Greedy algorithms
- Fundamental programming concepts
- Dynamic programming
Another important thing to note is that TCS CodeVita takes the principle of plagiarism very seriously, and the consequences are disqualifying. Even if you plagiarise one question out of six, you will be disqualified from the contest. Hence, ensure that your solutions are yours and yours alone and that there is no plagiarism in your answers. It is better to solve fewer questions and learn than to solve more and end up disqualified from the contest.
If you need in-depth guidance and want to polish your coding skills, reach out to CodeQuotient and enrol yourself in the Software Engineering Bootcamp that trains graduates for contests like TCS CodeVita and HackWithInfy by training them to carry out LIVE projects in an environment that is driven by deadlines. The better your programming skills, the better your chances of cracking the TCS CodeVita.
Talk to us to know more!
