Inviting Applications for SFG – Forum Residential Coaching for CSE 2024

UPDATE on 04th Jan at 7PM ( SFG – FRC Cohort 2 )

Dear Students,
A Webinar is organized today i.e. Thursday, 04 January 2024 at 8PM. All SFG-FRC Cohort 2 Students can join from the below mentioned Link.

Webinar Link : https://go.forumias.com/4jan8pm

We are providing an estimated cost of program to the students to be selected for Select 30 as well as “Other Selected Candidates“. Click here.

UPDATE on 27th Nov at 9PM ( SFG – FRC Cohort 2 )

The results of the SFG RFC Cohort 2 are now available at this link. Congratulations to the candidates who have made it through the list.

UPDATE on 23rd Nov at 9 PM

This is to inform you that the SFG FRC Batch-2 Entrance Test result will be declared by 8 PM, Saturday, 25th November.

UPDATE on 18th Nov at 8:30 PM

The Entrance Test QCA for SFG – FRC Batch-2 has been shared to all applicants. Please check your respective Email ID, if not found, then please check your junk/spam folders. If need further assistance, you can write us an email to manohar@flaviant.com

UPDATE on 15th Nov at 10AM

1. Last Date for applications for SFG – FRC 2 is Saturady, Nov 18, 5PM.  All registered students will be sent the QCA Booklet  for the Entrance Test at 8PM. The students can submit the scanned QCA Booklet by 5PM, Sunday, November 19th.
2. Results are likely to be declared for the same on Thursday, 5PM, November 23.

UPDATE on 10th Nov at 10PM

1. SFG – FRC is different from the SFG because this is a residential program. The regular SFG infomation is available here. Candidates must resgister for the regular SFG if they are not sure of being selected for the SFG  – FRC and want to join SFG in the regular mode.
2. For students who could not make the deposit of registration fee Rs. 5100/- the payment link is now active. Click here.
3. Candidates who could not register for SFG-FRC Batch 1, can re-apply for Batch 2, which is likely commence from 20th December, 2023. Click here to register
4. Please note that just because the registration fee is low, does not mean that you should apply just for the sake of it. Do not apply if you cannot move into the FRC – Saraswati Vihar, MG Road, Gurugram. Also, do not apply if you are a fresher and have not done flunked the prelims at least 2 times before. Also, do not apply if you do not have 2 attempts left.
5. Candidates who applied in the previous attempt and did not make it to the list, are discouraged from applying in the second round. However, if they feel that their non-inclusion was an error in judgement on our part, you can appeal for a re-look by reaching us at the designated email address from which you received the email.
6. Candidates who were selected earlier and made it, but could not join are not allowed to register again for the same test.

UPDATE on 9th Nov at 6PM

About Lodging / Hostel Facility & Program Commencement

The Program will commence from December 6th.
Candidates can start moving in from November 26th till December 3, 2023.
Program will commence from December 6, Wednesday

All regsitered Candidates can safely give notice to their landlords. Their accomodation responsibility will on our management w.e.f. December 1.

About Seat Reserve Charges

Students can now pay the seat reserve charges of Rs. 30,000/- by

(1) Visiting the FRC Offline Center ( Contact Person: Mr Manohar/ Ms Winnifred )
(2) doing an NEFT / RTGS or cash deposit in the below account by

Bank Name : ICICI Bank
A/C Name : Forum Learning
A/C No : 777705142325
IFSC Code : ICIC0001129
Brach : New Delhi, Karol Bagh, WEA Branch

Last Date for fee deposit : 15th Nov

Once paid, please send payment proof with your name and roll number to akona@flaviant.com . Your payment will be confirmed in about 48-72 hours.

Note: To all the Candidates who could not deposit the registration fee by the due date, we will try to accomodate you, if we have a vacancy at a later date. As of now, we will focus on those who have confirmed their joining the FRC.

UPDATE on 7th Nov at 6 PM

Dear Friends,

On Thursday, Nov 9th, at 8 PM, we shall have a webinar for FRC, to clear your doubts and inform you of how we plan to proceed ahead. Interested students may join the call and ask their questions by putting it in below form: https://go.forumias.com/9nov-8pm

Please Note: Only those students need to fill-out above mentioned form who have been selected for FRC and have paid the registration fees.

UPDATE on 1st Nov at 9.21PM

Dear Friends, The results for the entrance test are now out! You can view the results here. Registration fee links are also now active. Have a good night’s sleep

P.S. To those candidates who could not make it, it does not mean that you have been less capablility than others who made it. Civil Services preparation takes time, and we currently feel that at your level of preparation, the program may not be suitable for you.

UPDATE ON 31st Oct, 2023, 8PM

We thank you for the tremendous participation. We shall be releasing the list of Select 30 candidates by 1st November, 11PM. Given the number of meritorious candidates who have applied, we are also working on logistics and costs for candidates whom we think can benefit from the program. They will be placed in the “Other Selected Candidates” Category. Please allow us the time for the same.

We are providing an estimated cost of program to the students to be selected for Select 30 as well as “Other Selected Candidates“. Click here.

For candidates who could not apply for the FRC – We shall be opening for further registrations, on November 10th, once we have a fair idea of number of students who will be moving in for the FRC. We request your patience for the same.

UPDATE on 19th Oct, 2023

Registrations for the SFG – Residentail are now closed. We are flooded with an unsual number of registering and enquiring about the residential program. The residential program is a little rigorous, and we are not sure if the high number of applications are because of low registration fee. To keep the quality of program high, have a uniform and competitive group, and screen the candidates who have already applied, we are closing registrations for now. We will re-open the registration if needed  on or before October 29th.

The students who have registered for SFG – Residential can submit their answer sheets by 12 PM ( Sunday), October 22nd. All enrolled students can check their email for more information.

Meanwhile, Registration for the non-residential, SFG that is conducted everywhere is open. You can visit https://forumias.com/blog/sfg/ to know more.

Dear Friends,

We started ForumIAS in 2012, with one goal – and that be the most relevant platform for Civil Services preparation. Not the largest, not the one stop, but relevant to the exam.

Its been 11 years now, and before we begin with FRC, here is what happened in the last 10 years

In CSE 2013, one of the most active members of the forumias community – @crazyphoton went on to secure Rank 1.

Back then, we had high quality discussions on the forum ( it was a well moderated community for interview preparation, which may have been intimidating for a fresher ).

We celebrated the success of our members ( not students ) , and we would have 7 out of top 10 ranks from amongst active members of the forum community.

When we decided to set up an academy, we had a clear idea in mind – and that was  – we wanted to have thought leadership in the Civil Services preparation. We wanted to be the platform where people come when they have nowhere to go, and we would deliver result from a crowd that had given up hope , but still had the strength to fight.

When we launched the first MGP, we made a promise that we will ensure an Interview call to those who joined.

Surprisingly, not many people joined us. It was mostly friends who knew us. We got 86 people join us, out of which 74 people got their first Interview call.

I still remember asking a forum member – Will you do mentorship and work for Forum, if you get selected.

He replied – “I will do anything you ask if you get me an Interview call.”

Prajit got a Rank 81 that year, and I could see him wear out meeting / mentoring hundreds of students the next year.

It was only when the first batch delivered great results , did the most active community members join us, and it was followed by getting Rank 1,3,5,7,10 in the top 10.

The earliest members of forum were rockstars. Most of them would get through the prelims and make it through the Mains and also to the final list. I recall seeing 16 out of top 20 ranks in the hall of fame back then. Not academy students, but community members.

What you will become depends a lot on who you speak to, what you read / hear and who is guiding you. Sometimes, who is your role model, will determine what you will become. You idolise a topper who says I only studies 2 hours a day – chances are you will study less than 2 hours a day, and won’t be a topper either.

The credit for the immense success of forum, in some way must go to Aravindhan P. He and his roommate both cleared the IAS and IPS in their first attempt. ( IPS was Aravindhan’s 1st preference ). And the key was getting the booklist right.

Which meant that if you really want someone to clear , make him read Spectrum history, NCERT 11th Geog and Laxmikant , instead of Bipin Chandra, Savinder Singh and D D Basu. ( Please note that those were the days when the Internet was expensive and 2G was the revolutionary technology which would speed up internet forever).

Those days outside of Delhi, most people did not even have the idea of which books to read for the exam – explaining why Delhi was the goto place for Civils preparation.

In fact, 50% of the guidance was the right book, which explains the competition was among less, among the few who had the right friend circle, or guidance. This is also because if you begin with the wrong book, and you have spent 2 months on it, you have wasted not only 2 months, but an entire year!

Back then, the Civils preparation knowhow was restricted to certain hubs only. Telegram wasn’t invented ( or was in infancy) and whatsapp had not come to India. Android as an OS was newly launched by Google, blackberry phones were the things to but for the upclass, and Nokia was the largest cellphone maker in the world ) For those who are into cinema – Omkara was “the” cult film until the Gangs of Wassepur happened.

The repeated right guidance about just the books, and a large number of members clearing the exam kept the quality of discussions good, which ensured further good environment, and very good guidance for new users of the website.

When we set up the academy, we had one goal – and that was to help out people who weren’t making it.

When Anudeep secured a rank in the IAS in his 5th attempt, the first sentence which he said when he walked into forum after his selection was – Man, I never thought I will become IAS.

When we set up our offline academy in ORN, the world was beginning to change. From the age of no information, there was an information explosion.

Content terrorism had just started.

A lot of light weight guidance had set low bar for preparation – so much so that a LOT of people studying much less than what was needed were actually thinking they are studying like IAS aspirants.

The influx of edTech did no good either. One founder I spoke to ( he was a foum member and now a billionaire ) said with the clarity which every entrepreneur should have – You don’t get it neyawn. We arent looking for selections. We are offering complete Civils preparation at some Rs. 10,000 so that a student sitting in a small town who is jobless , when speaks to his parents – they should think he is anyway unemployed, at least by paying 10,000 he is will have something to study for next 1-2 years. And this is how we plan to have 10 lakh aspirants join our civil services program.

I felt that what was missing was that while such a revolution was good for general level of mass education – the country needs it, it wasnt quite what was needed for competitive exams.

And even when it comes to competitive exams, Civils exam is a little different from other exams

Unlike JEE, where if you don’t get IIT, you get NIT, if you dont get NIT, you get some top tier college, if you dont get that, you still get something in Noida which will pay a decent salary and basic skillset.

Civils is a lot different, because they are job entrance exams not college entrance exams. You don’t get through, you dont get the job. And the time that is wasted is the peak years of youth!

One of the things we did right was SFG. Since less people knew us, the SFG ensured that people who knew us cleared, and with a small student base we were able to get good number of selections.

We started SFG because we met some smart studious kids who could work hard, but did not have the kind of discipline that was needed for the clearing the exam. We saw a few hundred people clear the prelims for the first time, and get a ranklist.

The dream from SFG was one – and that was to get Rank 1 from SFG. And Ishita this year fulfilled that dream by being a diligent follower of SFG and securing Rank 1. Please note that its not that the whole country is not doing SFG. It is still a small number of less than 1000 odd people who do this at 7AM. It is much smaller compared to the 50,000 students who study at the massive coachings in ORN.

And among the small group of 1000 students, it is not a coincidence that two of them have secured Rank 1 and 4 – top 5. It has a lot to do with the rigour of the program.

This year when the top 5 rankholders came to forum, I asked Ishita if she did SFG properly – she said – Bilkul Sir, at 7AM I was sitting in front of my computer , not missing a single test. ( The SFG was made online due to lockdown in Delhi – first because of Covid and second becuase of pollution )

But post Covid, something else was happening too. Room rents which fell in ORN and adjoining areas began to rise again.

In the post Covid world, We often saw people come to Delhi to prepare, but move to online classes because of the high rentals. Also a second thing that has happened in past few years in Delhi is that a lot of people started staying  away on the metro line for cheaper accomodation, thus adding a decent  commutation time to their day, writing an exam where time is the most useful resource.

It was then that we thought of having an academy with somewhat affordable accommodation in some part of Delhi – NCR region. And we did find one.

We are looking for 30 students to join us for the FRC that will commence from  24th November, tentatively for their CSE 2024 attempt.

We are looking for people who are willing to commit 8-10 hours of studies / everyday, and go through a rigorous program and follow the plan and sessions that are planned for them. They should be physically fit to sit for certain number of hours to prepare for at least 6 months with us for CSE 2024, and we will make sure they clear prelims.

We are looking specifically for people who have NOT cleared Prelims, and have at least 2 attempts left. They will be provided with a Library facility and a transitional/permanent hostel where they can come and stay without worrying about finding a room, or dealing with brokers / landlords and get started. They can then find a room or a flat once they are comfortable nearby at an affordable cost.

In short, we will provide the right preparation environment that is needed for the exam, where everyone around is preparing for the exam.

If you are someone who has not cleared Prelims, but have good academic background, or have the strength ( and will ) to study for this exam, then you must apply for it by all means.

Please do not apply if you have some medical condition that disables you from sitting for long hours, or something that requires you to go home frequently. Or have exhausted the energy to work hard.

The Civil services exam is one of the most competitive exams in the country – nay – in the world, and the FRC is not promising you that it will be easy. In short, the daily schedule and training will be more rigorous than SFG. Through daily short classes and quizzes – as early as 6AM and late as 9PM in the night, you will have to finish targets – and to some extent – give it your life.

Most people have a lifestyle and then fit in the preparation to their lifestyle. We often call this lifestyle taiyari. With little discipline and respect for time.

Through the 6 months of your stay with us, we will aim to inculcate in you the habits and the study ethics that is needed to clear this examination.

We encourage candidates from outside Delhi and specially women candidated to specifically apply for this, and we will let you know if you are selected for the program.

Eligibility

1. Candidates must have appeared for at least one prelims before.
2. Candidates must have at least 2 attempts left for the Civil Services Exam.
3. Candidates should be willing to move in to the FRC located at Saraswati Vihar, MG Road, Gurugram ( In Delhi NCR )
4. Candidates should have a consent form from their parents allowing you to do so.

Procedure for application

1. Candidates who are interested in joining the program must apply by paying a registration Fee of Rs 35 by clicking here.
2. After paying the fee they will be sent a Question paper with space in it to write down the answers in their own handwriting. Candidates must take a print out and answer the questions in their own handwriting. They should then scan it ( not click photos ) and make a PDF ( Use any app like Oken or Adobe PDF ) and send it back to us ( Instructions will be there in the booklet itself ).
3. Once the booklets are received, they will be confirmed for the SFG – ( Residential ) within 5 days of their QCA submission.
4. Candidates will be expected to visit the Residential Facility and complete all admission formalities by 20th November and pay the applicable fees. They should have the consent of their parents for doing so.

Approximate Costs of Accomodation

1. For twin sharing AC rooms – Rs 9,500 per month*
2. For single sharing AC rooms – Rs 15,000- 18,000 per month*

Important Dates

1. Date of Announcement of the Program – 17th Octobe 2023
2. Date of commencement of Program – 24th November, 2023.
3. Registration Commencement Date – 17th October, 2023
4. Deadline for completing all admission formalities – 20th November

Fees & Charges*

1. Application fee – Rs. 35 Non Refundable – Click here to pay
2. Course Fee ( about 2 months of daily classes and tests ) including Daily classes and Tests – Rs. 0
3. Seat Reserve charges* ( if selected ) – Rs. 30,000 – adjusted in Hostel security fee, fully refundable after leaving the Hostel accomodation
4. Cost of stationery for classes and tests – Rs 1000 approximately ( to be paid to Xerox shop )
5. SFG Level 2 fee – Rs. 0 ( Entrace Fee will have to be paid and they will have to clear entrance like other students )
6. Study Hal / Library Fee – Rs. 0 till the Prelims examination.
7. Accomodation Charges – as per actuals to be paid to Hostel Management/ Landlord.

*Seat Reserve charges = These charges will be payable to ensure that students should be serious about the program, given the limited number of seats. In case after paying the student wants to withdraw from the program refund will be made as per below.

1. Refund request  made on or before November 10th – 100% Refund
2. Refund request made between 11th Nov till Nov 17th – 50% Refund
3. Refund request made after 17th November – Zero refunds

Please bookmark this page at https://forumias.com/blog/sfgfrc

Please wait for further updates on this page itself.

For any queries or questions, you may write to ravi@forumias.com

Frequently asked questions

Can I do this online?

This is not an online program. Candidates interested in this will have to move to our Residential Coaching in Gurugram in our tied up hostels or find an accomodation in walking distance of the institute.

Can working students join this?

The rigour of the program is such that it will be difficult for working candidates to join the program

Is there an entrance Test for joining the SFG – FRC ?

Yes, there is no other way to join the program

Will I get free stuff? Will I get free coaching?

Umm, ForumIAS will provide the classes and a lot of tests free of cost, but don’t come for the free stuff. We are looking for 30 competent students, who have not cleared the exam before and to help them to nail it. We think as a professional academy for IAS exam, it will be challenging for us to do so, and we enjoy taking up such challenges. The hostel / accmodation/ food/electricity charges will have to be born by you.

Is this a social service?

We are a coaching, and we don’t see it that way. If at all it is a social service, then it is so because it will probably help a few dozen people clear the exam, after having given up on umpteen things.

How many students do you plan to admit?

We plan to admit 30 students into the program as of now, who are willing to give their blood, sweat and tears.