Procuring a high rank in the CSE, UPSC is simply mandatory in case you aim at joining IAS. The point to be noted is that the majority of the candidates fail to clear the Civil Services Exam. And the same story is repeated every year.
The numbers of the failures is much higher! Only a handful is declared successful when the Union Public Service Commission declares the Civil Services Exam results.
IAS: Your CSE rank counts!
Well, if you would be more than happy being a Civil Servant, there is no problem. But, if you would join none other than IAS, you must rank higher than the competition.
What makes procuring a high rank a Herculean task?
Ranking among the highest when UPSC declares the CSE result is easy said than done! And unless and until you do so, you would not be able to join IAS, the most coveted of all the Civil Services.
UPSC asks only the top most of the rank holders to join the Indian Administrative Services. Procuring the same is far from being an easy exercise.
Just ponder over this. Lakhs of the candidates apply for the CSE every year. The number, and hence the competition has been on the rise with every passing year. The majority fails to clear the Prelims itself.
Thus, UPSC filters the suitable candidates (from the otherwise) in the very stage of the CSE. Given the almost perfect standards maintained by UPSC, it requires an almost near perfect competence to figure among the highest of the rank holders when the CSE result is declared.
Relevant Tips to procure a high rank in UPSC Civil Services Exam
The competition that a candidate faces to clear and rank high for the CSE does take its toll upon him. Many cannot even prepare successfully for the same.
The syllabus that UPSC prescribes seems to be vast like an ocean, one may say. Besides, the competition is the fiercest, even beyond the scope of perception for most of the candidates.
However, though quite a handful, UPSC does declare the successful CSE candidates every year. And many of them do rank high enough to be asked by UPSC to join IAS.Here are a few tips to be among the fortunate ones:
1. Strategic Revision
Revision needs to be strategized. It applies in the most specific manner to clear and score high in the Civil Services Exam. Revision does not imply simply reading the notes. You should revise in a manner so that you work upon your weaknesses and enhance your strengths further.
2. Pre-Exam Mindset
The mindset of the examinee counts to a considerable extent. It plays a decisive role during the entire CSE preparation.
However, right before the Exam (all the three stages), it is advisable to establish and retain a positive mindset. A negative frame can really play havoc with your performance during the Exam. That may affect your score and hence, the rank.
3. Your mindset during the Exam counts as well
Apart from maintaining a positive mindset prior to the Exam, it goes a long way to retain the same during the Exam as well. It helps you focus in more logical a manner on all the requirements for answering the question papers both for the Prelims and the Mains. Needless to say, it is likely to result in a far better score and hence, a higher rank than what it would have been otherwise.
4. Stay Motivated
An IAS aspirant needs to prepare for the Civil Services Exam in an un-tired manner. The preparation may drain your entire energy. But, your spirit should never be lowered!
Allow yourself a little rest. Taking a little break in between the hard schedules helps rejuvenate and study better. It will help you stay motivated.
5. Do not ignore any of the preparation areas
Scoring high as far as CSE is concerned requires you to prepare competently, first of all. Thus, it is almost mandatory not to ignore any of the preparation areas.
It might include:
(a) Preparing for the Prelims:
Many of the IAS aspirants treat it as nothing greater than the qualifying Exam. As a result, they fail to qualify the same.
(b) Carelessly opting for the IAS coaching institution:
It would do well to always keep in mind that it is the coaching institution you are going to seek the entire guidance from, apart from many other benefits to aid your preparation for the same.
(c) Carelessly opting for the Optional subject:
Mains, CSE includes 2 Papers for the Optional Subject. So, making a careless choice is only going to ruin the probability of optimizing your score, and eventually the rank in the CSE result.
(d) Diverting from the syllabus:
Howsoever interesting a diversion might be, it might not leave you with sufficient time to prepare whatever the UPSC syllabus for CSE prescribes. And that is unusually vast, anyway!
Conclusion
Though what all has been specified above would certainly help you score higher, it is best to focus well on your answer writing skills. That is what is going to fetch you marks, and, as a result, help you score higher than the competition.
Besides, do not forget that there is no alternative to making revisions. The more you revise, the greater you would be towards success. Revising regularly and efficiently would help you recall the entire information with greater ease and confidence while facing the Civil Services Exam.
