@AzadHindFauz All the very best for your Interview! I wonder if this is so linear that as one goes to next cycle with improved preperation, better results could be achieved, then how come they fail even in the stages which they had qualified in previous attempts? I knew many and I am sure you too, the people who qualify and got a rank fail to qualify it in the next attempt. Few fail at prelims stage, few at Mains and few at interview. I fail to comprehend the linearity. Though I am hopeful as theoretically better preperation should yield better results:)
In my understanding, the exam requires proportionate effort every year. I've interacted with more than 20 people who have cleared this exam. This is what I've gathered from my interaction. The dominant reason why some successful people fail at various stages of the exam is following:
- Inability to put in the required hours in subsequent attempts: Those who fail prelims have told they were not able to do the requisite revision within the small time between the publication of result and subsequent prelims. This scares me the most. If I do not clear (God forbid), I would only have, at best, 20 days for prelims. If you compare this timeline with last year's when I had more than 4 months, it's nothing! I wouldn't be confident as I was last year. Last year, I was hopeful. This year, I do not know. One cycle has gone-by and we're back to square one.
- Failure to upgrade notes: Some have told they did not/could not upgrade notes. This is the direct corollary of the first point- lack of time. In the first instance, if they clear prelims, they are unable to cope up with the dynamic aspects of mains i.e. Current Affairs, Optional. They re-attempt with the same base material and now they compete with a totally new set of people who have been preparing wholeheartedly and have done everything that is required to do in that attempt.
Moreover, they have also highlighted the role of complacency. People who succeed at various stages tend to be complacent in subsequent cycles.
Why are we questioning the process, nature of the exam now? When we signed up for this, we knew what we were getting into. It's a hard fact that the exam will attest only 800 people every year. We should try as hard as we can to be one of them. I cannot say for anyone else, but I can tell from my experience only. When I put in decent effort, I was rewarded. When I didn't, this exam slapped me hard and asked me to revisit my strategy.
All I ask people is to live with a sense of optimism. Randomness is there, yes. However, if we keep on making incremental improvements, we can reduce the element of randomness to a great extent.
One friend has quoted me out of context in the above comment. I still stand by words I spoke last year. First, the image aptly testifies how our understanding of the exam is contingent upon our own performance in it. Something I highlighted earlier. I failed and branded it as a luck event. However, I was far more determined to eliminate the play of luck through more work.
Secondly, those who were on forum last year know Bevancom. He didn't know the fine line between confidence and over-confidence. I called him out- his rigidity and neglect to accept diverse views. He was someone who believed that X amount of hardwork guarantees Y amount of success. It could have been true had there been a yardstick to quantify hard work. Whose hard work is better? Yours or Mine or someone else's? We cannot be sure about these things.
This reminds me of yet another aspect- being mechanical about the whole idea of preparation is absolutely futile. X number of prelims mock tests do not guarantee success. Y amount of hours everyday does not guarantee final selection. When we take such a mechanistic view of our preparation, we end up being depressed and pessimistic about the entire process.
It's always the qualitative work that decides where we stand in the crowd. Wouldn't qualitative work be rewarded? Think.
PS: I do not intend to hurt anyone. I apologize in advance if my words have caused hurt. I just wanted to call a spade what it is!
Okay
What do you all think about this?
Why do you think corporate workers like him target UPSC on a continuous basis? I have been seeing a lot of such posts lately.
Dont think anything. Stop looking at such posts and dont spill over any anxiety you got into others(this forum specifically) and bring an unnecessary discussion at this hour, can disturb mental health of people here. I could have simply ignored your post and not read it, but posting this as a a request for others also not to put unnecessary things
Those things dont matter now, everybody who has signed up for exam already face a daunting task of clearing it. Dont need additional burden to take it on.
