“Thank you Insights. I am regular follower of Insightsonindia since 2014.I regularly wrote answers from insights and it has helped me to score 106th rank.” – Naman Upadhyaya (AIR 106, CSE-2015)
Hello friends,
I scored 106th Rank in UPSC in my 5th attempt and its credit goes to my family for their support and small group of friends who inspired me and gave me valuable feedback about my answers and essays.
In between I also appeared for state PCS which i was able to clear thus boosting my confidence to continuously persist with UPSC preparation. So I’ll suggest fellow aspirants to appear for state services which can act as a shock absorber if you face failure in UPSC.
For prelims
I stuck to basics like laxmikant for polity , NCERTs, ART and Culture Ncert , and plenty of questions from various test series.
For Mains
I am following Insights (www.insightsonindia.com) since 2014. I used to write answer regularly and I was able to reduce my answer writing time from 12-13 minutes to 7-8 minutes in next few months. I used to follow newspapers regularly (The Hindu extensively, Indian express selected news – C.Rajamohan, and for few months before mains Business standard, and most importantly GOI publications India Year Book,Yojana)
Revision and Time management are crucial.
Without which you are not expected to complete mains paper. Further, among my friends we used to check and give feedback of our answers to each other. I also used to watch discussions on TV.
Study the newspapers consistently without any gap and try to link the topics with the syllabus and make proper notes/cutting according to papers for at least 6 months.
For Interview
Prepared DAF thoroughly. Read each and every word carefully. Always fill DAF with caution. Because your interview will be driven by this. It should be genuine. No FAKING. BE HONEST. If you don’t know anything just say NO confidently. Anticipate and frame questions regarding DAF. I didn’t give any mocks this year.
Last year I gave few mocks. Don’t waste time after mains waiting for the result. Read newspapers regularly. Don’t be relaxed. Brainstorm on topics – think about them and form your own opinion and think how will you say it to the board in minimum possible words.
BE SHORT to the point and specific and optimistic and futuristic. Have clarity of thoughts – it gets reflected in the words and your answers. Don’t get distracted by the rumours and don’t dwell into unnecessary things like which board is strict or cordial – because it’s not in your hands which board you will get and irrespective of board you have to score good marks.
Finally don’t be disheartened/demotivated. Hard work always rewards you. I could not succeed in earlier attempts but after few days of gloom/break I again with full determination worked and rectified mistakes. You cannot maintain the same momentum throughout the year. You gain it only for 2-3 months prior to exams, so don’t waste time after prelims. Irrespective whether you are clearing or not start preparing for mains.
Always remember “Gyaan hi aapko aapka Haq dilaata hai” 🙂
Thanks Insights.
