It isn’t! There is a saying “The fool did not know it was impossible so he did it”. UPSC CSE for me was such an endeavour.
Trust me if I can do it then anybody else can required they are willing to put in one year of extremely focussed preparation.
Background: After completing my 12th in Science, I graduated from BITS-PILANI Goa campus. Thus, since 2009 until 2014 I spent finishing my engineering (which also includes having a lot of fun)! So I spent 0 hours in preparing for CSE. Also, I had no background or prior knowledge in liberal arts subjects which are asked in the exam. The optional I chose was completely new to me, so no advantage there either.
Also it may seem very self demeaning for me to mention this but before I started preparing since October 2014, I was not a regular newspaper reader. If I got any time to read, it would go in reading books on fiction, spirituality or motivation. Though these books are great but not exactly the kind of reading that helps in CSE.
The point I m trying to make here is that when I began my preparation in October 2014, I was starting with a blank slate. I had no idea which books to study, what to study etc. All I knew was that this was one of the most difficult exams in the country and I wanted to crack it in my first attempt! And I did. So take my word for it, if I can do it anybody with a decent will to work hard can.
Strategy: There are many many pieces written about the books used, material referred etc so I won’t get into the detail of that rather what I’ll highlight is my personal rules to get through!
- Go off from Facebook and uninstall Whatsapp! Trust me there will be many who will tell you that these can be used for prep, it depends on how you use them etc etc but don’t fall in that trap! Once you have them, we all know if 10% time goes in using these productively the rest 90% goes in admiring people’s photos, their lives etc. Not something you need, trust me. Also it’s not like you are going forever, you will come back once your preparation is over and trust me then you’ll be a mini celeb on Facebook!
- Study at least 8 hours everyday! Not 14, not 16 and definitely not the inhuman 20 hours that people tell you to study. Just make a commitment to do 8 hours daily.
- Reward Yourself! Now that I am telling you to go off Facebook and whatsapp does not mean that you become a social pariah. Hang out with close friends, talk to them on the phone, spend time with family! These are extremely crucial to avoid burn out but ensure you do these only after the aim you set for yourself is achieved. Set an aim for the week, once it is done go watch that movie! You have earned it!
- If you join a coaching please attend classes (preferably all)! I know there is much debate about coaching or not. That is purely a personal decision and I won’t get into that. But if you do join a coaching, please attend all classes! This helps in two ways:
- It gives your preparation a structure. Everyday waking up at the same time to attend a class will automatically give you a routine to stick to! And routine is very very crucial for an exam of such nature.
- If you are a newbie like I was, attending classes will also give a direction to your preparation. The teachers teaching there have been doing the same job for years, they definitely know what is important plus they will keep repeating the same keywords again and again. Make a note of those!
- For those not taking coaching, it doesn’t matter either as long as you are willing to stick to a routine on your own and maintain your focus. For this make a time table from the start of the day to the end, stick to it. Also to get clarity on your preparation you can refer to the multitude of information available online. The ones I used were:
- Forumias
- http://Mrunal.org
- Khelo India
- After much research, discussion with peers, suggestions from several toppers make a book list for prelims and mains. Try to make a concise yet thorough book list. What that means is include all topics yet focus on finishing one book properly for each subject rather than doing 3 books for the same subject! Once you have prepared that book list, stick to it like the bible! This is important because every time you meet someone new, he will recommend a new book and that will make you question your own choices. That is detrimental to success.
- Join test series for answer writing! This is important because answer writing is an art which can be learnt. To learn it you need to make mistakes, write horrible answers, get proper feedback. It is better to do all that in a mock exam rather than in the actual exam.
Most importantly have that fire in the belly! Nothing is achieved in this world without the madness to make the impossible happen. All the best! :)
