"'UPSC is NOT for Average People"

If rumors, lies, and fiction were products wrapped in silver foil and placed in the UPSC preparation supermarket, 'UPSC is not for average people' will top the sale charter.

When I decided to prepare for UPSC, I was told that I will ace the exam in my maiden attempt. Maybe because I have been a good student throughout my school, I graduated from reputed colleges and worked with some of the gifted people of my field. Yet, I failed to clear even the preliminary examination in the first attempt. If the cut off for that year’s preliminary examination was as high as the terrace, then I was still stuck in the basement of the building. For, I failed not by a tiny margin but by a whopping thirty marks. I could make it in my second attempt; however, my rank drastically slipped in the third attempt when UPSC placed me in the supplementary list. It seemed UPSC had taken pity and didn't want me to return home empty-handed.

On the contrary, I know of someone with a mediocre academic CV not worthy enough of a second look by anyone. Yet, he made it to the Indian Postal Services in the first attempt, Indian Police Services in the second attempt, and figured among the top ten in his third attempt. He also has the feat of getting the highest marks in the optional subject that year. Another friend of mine who passed off as the plain Jane of academic life is an IFS officer today. She often says in her interviews that if she could make it then anyone can. I cannot belabor this point enough.

UPSC is not for average people is a big, fat lie.

It is for all those who can put in hours and hours of deliberate labor day after day after day. And, for those who can come face to face with their shortcomings and have the heart to work them. I don't know anyone not bitten by the bug of mediocrity when they laid their hands on anything that was new and challenging. If you would have asked any topper of this exam to solve a previous year's preliminary paper, before he began preparation, I bet he wouldn't be able to get cracking on more than twenty questions.

I will share with you my own story. Once I was coming out of a hall after writing a mock test for the preliminary examination. A couple of us were stuck in the lobby of the exam center because the main gate was shut. While waiting there, I overheard one friend telling his other friend-‘Yaar agar yeh question theek ho jata toh static part me full marks aajate.' (Buddy, had I got this one question right I would have obtained cent percent marks in the static portion). And there I was, someone who knew who couldn't get the basic questions right even before checking the answer key. That memory of standing still among many candidates treading ahead and thinking to myself will I ever be able to make it has remained etched in my mind.

I was so below average in General Studies. But there was no option but to work my way through it. I decided to take on each subject of General Studies, one by one. First, I picked up History and read through all the NCERTs, not once but thrice. The idea was to master the fundamentals. After that, I picked up advanced readings and also gave them three readings. The first reading was spent to get an overview. The second reading was meant to underline all the important points for preliminary and mains examination. The third reading was for making notes to facilitate revisions. Once through with this, I would look at past year preliminary and mains paper and solve them. I would also take several mock tests, and based on the feedback, I worked on my weak points. This process was repeated for every single subject of General Studies and was followed by several mocks just before each examination. When results were out, it was not a surprise that my marks in General Studies had contributed to a large part of my success.

No doubt, some of us are bestowed by God with higher grasping abilities or an elephantine memory. Some of us or are more comfortable with the optional subject because we already have a degree in them. However, any natural advantage one has in one or two areas evens out because this exam is a long-drawn process that requires mastery over so many subjects and so many topics. And that can be achieved only by meticulous work day after day. That is the only way I know for escaping the fate of being average and for getting the ticket to admission to the coveted list.

When your mind tells you that you are not good enough, it is deluding you so that it doesn’t have to slog its way out of the cozy nest. Stop falling in that trap laid out by your thoughts. Work hard, be persistent and face your shortcomings. That is the only way to crack this exam.


-Kanika Dua, Indian Revenue Service (IRS)