The Director’s vision

Dear Students,

UPSC has long remained an improbabale maze for innumerable students for such a long time that only a handful of them were able to find the way out successfully. How did they manage to get out of this complex knot? What did they have in them that the others didn’t? As people say, were they “born smart”? Or were they incredibly lucky? Or did they work the hardest than the others?

Of course, some among them could have been academically better gifted than the others. Yes, they could have been a bit lucky. And yes, they did work hard. Is that all? Can only people with these attributes clear UPSC? The answer is a straightforward NO.

The pattern of UPSC is designed in such a way that any average student should be able to crack the exam. The syllabus only tests if the aspirants have basic knowledge in subject matters that we come across in our everyday lives such as History, Geography, Economics, Polity, Environment Science, etc.. The Government just wants to make sure that the successful candidates have basic knowledge better than an average Indian to understand him and take care of him well . If the syllabus is that simple, then why are most people not able to clear it?

Here is where the UPSC has its check. The seats are limited and only a few hundred can get into the services every year. To do this, one has to be thoroughly informed about the syllabus and also should follow an efficient study pattern.

And most students don’t do that. If not aware of the syllabus, the students study anything and everything related to the subjects which are not necessary for the exam and end up wasting time. Even though every aspirant wants to honestly clear the exam, many students unintentionally get distracted and don’t put the time that is required. Also, most students don’t practice as much they should, and they just keep reading frantically in a blind belief that whatever they are doing is right.

In order for the students to avoid these mistakes and to cater an efficient study system for them, we have come up with a decisive mentorship plan. In our module, each student would be assigned to a specialized mentor who will analyze his strengths & weaknesses and would monitor him personally.

The mentor would sit with the student at the beginning of every week, and prepare a personalized study time table for him for the week that is aligned with his regular classes. With the help of micro assessment sheets, he will monitor the student’s progress at the end of every week and will guide him as of how to proceed further. At the end of every month, the students will be given a broad overview of the following month’s targets, so that they would be prepared in advance for what is coming.

The students can also book two extra mentorship sessions in the middle of every week, to discuss / clear any doubts with the mentor.

Having said that, we have specialized plans for both prelims and mains.

Prelims

We provide Daily Prelims Quizzes based on the day’s classes so that the students will get a chance to revisit and replenish their mind on the day’s syllabus.

The students will be given a prelims test every weekend after the completion of the week’s schedule. These tests would have questions based on the different patterns asked in the prelims exam.

As students attend these tests every week, they would get to know which questions to attend and which questions to leave, how many questions to attend in a test, how to make educated guesses, and how to manage difficult questions. This will give them a chance to get used to the knack of approaching the prelims exam, right from the beginning.

In addition to these weekly tests, we also provide a series of sectional and full length tests before the prelims exam, so that the students would have thoroughly revised every nook and corner of the syllabus and would be ready to confidently face the prelims.

Mains

The Mains exam requires the students to write 50 pages in 3 hours, which is quite exhaustible. The reason UPSC has this tiresome pattern is to test the mettle of the students, because as future officers they would be subjected to various difficult situations where they would have to take strong decisions on the spot and stand by them . Even for the exceptionally talented students, it is not practically possible to write quality answers in such a short time without practice.
We have realised the students should be regularly trained in mains answer writing, so that gradually over time, they would build on the ability to write high quality answers within the stipulated time. To achieve this, we have come up with a novel solution to this facet of the exam preparation.

After every class, the students will be given two mains answers to write- one 10 mark and one 15 mark. At first the students will be allowed to write the answers in their own time, thus giving them time to get acquainted with answer writing and once they become comfortable, they will be asked to write the 10 marks in 7 minutes and the 15 marks in 9 minutes. They will be asked to write these answers with their webcam on, so that they would sincerely follow the timings.

Apart from these daily tests, we also conduct half – length tests every week, so that the students would get accustomed to write for lengthy periods of time. At the end of every month, there will be a full length test mimicking the pattern and timings of the mains exam, so that over time it would become a habitual routine for the students to write good mains answers within the limited time period.

With the help of their arduous practice in these innumerous tests, the students would already be mains ready by the time the syllabus is completed. The students will also get to know their strengths and weaknesses in the different areas of the syllabus, so that they can start working in their weak areas much earlier.

When the students clear the prelims, they will be asked to write another mains test series of 25 tests. In these tests, the students will be given target marks to aim for. Their previous experience of having written numerous tests will help them fine-tune their answer writing skills this time. After every test, the mentors will sit with the students and go through their answer papers with them, and tell them exactly what they did right and what they did wrong in their tests. By the time they finish this test series, their confidence levels would have increased so immensely that they would be ready to encounter whatever UPSC throws at them during the mains exams.

Interview

The students who clear mains will be subjected to a series of 12 mock interviews. These candidates will be assigned a mentor who will be in touch with them and they will be guided as of how to prepare for the mock interviews.

They will be coached on how to answer different aspects of the interview questions such as questions related to their hometown, educational background, UPSC subject matters, optional subject, current affairs, their life experiences, hobbies, and even out of the box questions, which UPSC unexpectedly asks to catch the students off-guard.

They will also be coached on other silent aspects of the interview process such as staying positive and confident, not giving in to the imposing interviewers, improving their body language and dressing sense, sharpening their presence of mind, answering questions with depth and clarity, avoiding repetitive phrases, staying true to their DAF,etc.. which are small but essential things.
Based on the feedback received after each of the mock interviews, they will be given tips as of how to enhance their performances and do better. By the time they attend the actual UPSC interview, they would have been put through a serious of rigorous interviews and would have become refined candidates qualified to ace their interviews.

Thus, we are ready to hand – hold you in every step of the way so that you can successfully come of this complex maze called UPSC.

Let’s strive together and make your UPSC dream come true. Cheers!