| Important Documents Click Here to download the detailed brochure of FRC RankForge 2027 Program Click Here to download the Hostel fee for FRC RankForge 2027 Program |
RankForge 2027 Program starts: 20th June 2026
Phase 1 & Phase 2: 20 June – 18 Dec, 2026
Phase 3 & Phase 4: 18 Dec, 2026 – 25 May 2027
Application-cum-Entrance Test Registration: https://academy.forumias.com/event/rankforge
The Problem Statement
Why does it sometimes take years to clear the Civil Services Examination?
A Conventional Foundation is designed to almost prevent you from clearing prelims in the first attempt.
Let us look at the statistics*.
Shakti Dubey got Rank 1 in her fifth attempt in CSE 2024. Aditya got Rank 1 in his third attempt in CSE 2023. Ishita Kishore topped the Civil Services Examination 2022, in her third attempt. Shruti Sharma in her third attempt secured AIR 1 in CSE 2021.
What is common between them?
One, they all have secured Rank 1 in Civil Services Examination.
And two, they failed to clear Prelims in their initial attempt(s).
It is not their fault.
Conventional Foundation Programs are designed such that you are more likely to face a roadblock in Prelims itself in your first attempt – if you do them properly. And if you do not do them properly – you are stuck in the exam cycle for even more years.
The classes go on forever and begin with everything – mains answer writing, prelims question solving all at once – overwhelming the students – so much so that he succumbs.
Not only you lose a year. But what is far worse is that your preparation nowhere reflects the time you have invested in the preparation. Despite initial setbacks, the rank holders above made progress in their initial attempts that helped them secure Rank 1 in Civil Services Examination.
*Candidates named above have been students of ForumIAS Academy enrolled in one or more paid courses. Shakti Dubey was part of MGP(X) and IGP. Aditya was a student of MGP & IGP. Ishita Kishore was part of MGP in both attempts + SFG for prelims. Shruti Sharma was an MGP student for both attempts. They all have secured IAS Rank 1.
A Conventional Foundation only teaches and sends you home. We prepare you for the exam.
What is the problem we are trying to solve?
Every third student selected in Civil Services Examination is a ForumIAS Academy student – and here is the secret.
We don’t just teach them. We coach them.
Because we believe that clearing a competitive examination – that too the mother of all examinations – isn’t just about delivering one-way lessons and passive learning. It is only when the student applies what he has learned – that one gets results.
That’s training. And that won’t happen just by sitting in a class and taking notes alone.
It will happen through hundreds of hours of test taking, writing hundreds of mains answers, solving thousands of MCQs, regular mentor interactions, intervention sessions when things go wrong, and the most underrated factor in your preparation – the role of motivation and reinforcement (of what you are doing) on a regular basis.
We have solved this problem quietly for hundreds of students before announcing it to the world. We are trying to solve the problem of wasted attempts because of poor program design – through a time tested, proven methods that have worked and delivered results for hundreds of successful candidates.
If you are looking for a result oriented coaching, the Civil Services RankForge Program (CSRP) by ForumIAS at Tapasya Center for Learning is the right program for you.
RankForge by ForumIAS – the future of Civil Services Preparation
Four phases for an all round, real preparation. Every phase prepares you for the next phase. So that you continuously build skills needed to crack the exam.
In one go.
The program is conducted in 4 Phases.
PHASE 1: Strategic Rapid Foundation for Prelims is a 12-13-week program for building a robust foundation for subjects that are foundational to both prelims and mains – with an integrated approach – consisting of (a) classes (b) study targets (c) learning outcome tests that train you to not only build your knowledge base but also develop the MCQ aptitude needed to ace prelims over a period of time. Through Phase 1, the goal of the academy is to train and hone your fundamentals so that you are (a) thorough with 4 big four – Polity, Economy, History & Geography (b) ready to face the national level competition at SFG next year with an all India ranking and (c) ready to absorb the more advanced concepts of Mains in Phase 2 with answer writing (d)ace the prelims 2027 because you have mastered what has always been at the core of cracking competitive examinations.
PHASE 2: Once the fundamental level foundation is built, you are now ready for Phase 2. Phase 2 consists of GS Mains Advanced Classes, where we follow an issue-based / Q&A based preparation approach for one’s Mains preparation ( depending on the nature of subject ). Phase 2 is a 13-week program exclusively for dedicated Mains preparation which includes (a) content building classes (b) answer writing practice (c) regular AWFG & MGP tests to hone your answer writing skills… ctd..
… Phase 3 & Phase 4
Phase 3 and Phase 4 are designed such that you bring your focus back to prelims and crack the exam in one go.
…Having completed Phase 2, the more advanced topics of Mains are now easy to grasp. While you practiced solving MCQs in Phase 1 ( which you will resume and master in Phase 3 & 4 ), in this phase the sole focus will be on writing subjective answers for the Mains. We will take you from beginner to advance level of answer writing.
PHASE 3: Once you are trained under Phase 1 & Phase 2, Phase 3 of the training / coaching begins. In this phase, you get back to Prelims and cover the residual classes of 1) Environment & Ecology (2) Science & Tech. This, along with extensive self-study with (a) daily tests and (b) daily study targets and (c) CSAT classes and tests. You write limited syllabus daily tests and attend CSAT classes for a good 10-11 weeks, revising all you’ve done in Phase 1. Since you have covered most parts of prelims in Phase 1, in this phase you are allowed to finish parts of mains that you need to strengthen – including both GS and Optionals. This phase is expected to commence in the mid of December and expected duration if 8-10 weeks.
PHASE 4: In phase 4 of your coaching, you will be applying all you have studied and trained for the past 8-9 months to solve (a) Full Length Simulator Tests (b) revise the static and (c) cover Current Affairs through Current Affairs Classes for the next 10 weeks – culminating with the final assault – the Prelims 2027. In this phase we resume focus back on the prelims – and prelims alone, and give dedicated 3 months only for Prelims. We will require to give up everything – no GS mains, no Optionals – only Prelims. This is because with a decade’s experience in guiding Civil Services aspirants we have learnt that some students have not cleared prelims for several years because they were too busy preparing for mains. Remember – prelims is the passport to the Mains, and there is no point of having a good mains preparation, if you don’t write it in the first place because of prelims obstacle.
Choosing the right Academy for your Civil Services preparation.
Understanding the fundamental difference between lightweight online edtech courses and a robust offline coaching is the key to making a good decision that has a direct impact on your career.
A lot of aspirants and parents wonder as to why one should choose a residential academy or even offline academy – which costs lakhs of rupees over much cheaper online options.
There are several factors behind this which one must understand – so as to make an informed choice.
First, mass online learning platforms or EdTechs are not coaching / training institutes. Take the Civil Services EdTech for an example. Civil Services Courses provided by edtech platforms cater to anywhere between 5,000-20,000 students in a single class/ course, where courses are sold for as low as Rs. 99 to Rs. 19,999.
In such courses, the quality of teaching is adjusted to cater to the lowest aptitude candidate, with a massive focus on entertaining the students instead of course & syllabus completion.
Since there is no screening, and courses are attractively priced to attract masses, candidates taking classes for Civil Services range from students studying in Class 10th, 12th to first year’s students and graduates and postgraduates – all in the same class/batch – consuming the same content. Naturally, they are optimized for subscriptions and outreach – and meeting investor goals, but not for selections – or learning outcomes of students.
Further, cracking competitive examinations requires specialisation with respect to that competitive examination. But several edTech players have marketing and product heads – who try to build verticals without having specialisation in that examination or knowing the nitty gritty of the examination. Thus the career and future of aspirants goes for a toss.
….edTech vs Offline and niche coachings
More than 2148+ edTechs have shut down in 5 years, permanently jeopardising the career of the students who chose to join them – often leaving the student stuck midway.
Secondly, the EdTech sector provides courses funded not by the fees paid by the students but by investors. The dream is to attract masses by price – not by quality – choke competition for few years, wipe out other players and then monopolize coaching for a certain exam. Since coaching requires extensive effort and personal commitment – the team / coach / faculty have to make as much effort as the student if not more every year – investor led edtech players fail to sustain the effort and fail.
Offline Coachings in general and FRC in particular invest a much higher amount in a student’s success, by providing the right infrastructure, learning environment, smart classrooms, air conditioned reading rooms, strong classroom delivery, academic support, rigorous testing, mentorship and handholding, a robust assignment system, periodic evaluation of the candidate and suggestions for improvement which is far more personalized than an online foundation that sells at Rs.999 to Rs. 19999 with tens of thousands of students – 10th class, 12th class, 2nd year and graduates taking the same course.
This is because an offline academy is under pressure to deliver results. They do not enjoy the safety net of an investor
This explains the higher investments an offline coaching shall make – and an even higher investment a residential academy – will make for the success of its students. This also explains the higher costs of an offline program – and the much better learning outcomes of the candidate.
About FRC
ForumIAS Residential Coaching
ForumIAS Residential Coaching (FRC) is an initiative by Delhi based ForumIAS Academy for Civil Services Preparation. The Academy provides an integrated campus for classes, reading room, food and accommodation in a gated community.
The campus is located about 110 kms from Delhi Airport – about a drive of 90 minutes, in a zone away from Delhi’s poor AQI . Students have all facilities within walking distance – thus saving on time in commutation in Delhi. The campus is designed to provide ample walking space, with the aim to allow for 10,000 steps a day for physical movement – which is crucial for both phsyical and mental well – being.
Hot and fresh meals are provided in the campus in a common mess – so that students come out of their rooms, take a breath of fresh air and are locked in their rooms – as it often happens in serious civil services preparation.
FRC Programs are intensive, merit-based residential program designed by ForumIAS for UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) aspirants, focusing on rigorous, disciplined preparation to enable the candidate to clear the exam in one attempt.
Why prepare at a residential academy?
And not at the comfort of your home.
Because a calms sea does not make a good sailor.
Civil Services preparation requires hard work – a lot of it. When a student comes to FRC, the first realisation which he has is in two weeks is that he has been living under a rock – almost a frog in the well – and was not aware of the hard work that was needed in the first place.
And these students are the ones who have a 9+ CGPA in school, been academically bright – even studied in top colleges – and yet, when it comes to Civil Services – they have remained clueless for large part of their preparation journey as to why they could not even clear the prelims. ( see case studies )
Given the subjective nature of social science, you are likely to feel that you are on track sitting at home –because – lets face it – (a) its only English and all of it is easy to understand and (b) they have insulated themselves from peer group and competition – so the first few years attempts are wasted at home thinking – I can do it on my own.
A residential academy exposes you not only to a rigorous academic calendar that can propel you to success in the same year – it also has the added advantage of a competitive peer group – that is equally important for your success. Because you will always be the average of the five people you most interact with.
Additionally, since an integrated campus offers all facilities – accommodation, food, library, classes – within walking distance, you save on the time and energy cost of commutation which eat into your preparation time.
Last but not the least, a residential academy solves 99% of your problems – food, accommodation hunting, library, commutation , so that you can focus on the 1% – and the only one that matters – that is clearing the exam
Who should apply for FRC RankForge
- Freshers from top colleges or with top academic records at school are encouraged to apply for the program
- Candidates who are done with experimenting with UPSC and have done all the hits and trials without results and are looking for a final assault at Civils are encouraged to apply.
- Candidates who have at least two attempts left, but have failed to clear Prelims in all previous attempts are encouraged to apply.
- Candidates who are physically fit and mentally prepared to make the sacrifices that is needed to achieve almost anything worth having, may apply.
..And who should not
- At FRC, we want a zero compromise preparation. Candidates who do not have the physical fitness to sit for 10 hours on a regular basis and upto 12 hours on text days / exam proximity days may not apply for the program
- Candidates who have multiple priorities, which prevents them from fully committing to one single goal of civil services preparation may not apply for the program.
- Candidates who are still not sure about Civil Services as a career and are merely exploring coachings or exploring how preparation is done.
- Candidates who are at a hit and trial phase of their preparation where they plan to write the exam first, then prepare after the first attempt.
APPLICATION PROCESS
STEP 1 : Register for the RankForge Entrance Test by visiting https://go.forumias.com/rankforge
STEP 2 : Register by paying the registration fee of Rs. 800+ GST. Once payment is made, you will get a payment confirmation.
STEP 3 : In 3 working days, you will receive FRC Entrance Test QCA Booklet – Question-cum-Answer Booklet . It will have questions and space for answers printed on them.
STEP 4: Candidates must print the QCA and attempt the questions in their own handwriting. Once completed, they may scan it and send it back to us by email.
STEP 5: Once we receive your application booklet, we shall inform you about your selection within 5 working days or before.
Candidates encouraged to apply
- Each state has two seats reserved at FRC for all India, diverse crowd.
- Candidates from the North east and far South are encouraged to apply.
- Women candidates are encouraged to apply ( 40% seats reserved for women )
- Candidates who are nearing their attempts exhaustion and are unable to figure out the answer *why me* – are encouraged to apply.
- Candidates who have done SFG as day scholars / online mode and are unable to break the loop are encouraged to apply.
- Candidates who have done their foundation from any coaching, but feel now they need to consolidate and refine their preparation – and probably get a rank
