I read all the comments last year also but did not comment anything because I was naive back then...just beginning my journey into UPSC...
But since last year October to yesterday, I tried my level best. Have more than 120 mocks of vision, Forum, GSSCORE, OnlyIAS, NextIAS and what not . No day in last year I spent without studying 6 hours daily.(I'm a working professional)
Last year, I was getting around 88-95 from different answer keys but didnt clear prelims. As I opted for IFoS also last year so not even know what my actual score of last year is.
And now. Here I'm again. After a year of hardwork and doing everything I could possibly do, I'm getting 86.67 in most optimistic scenario. I'm from general category just because I choose to have a job to help my family overwise I would be EWS as my all family income and other criteria is very much at lower middle class level. I'm at my lowest right now.
It's easy to say that try next year and all that cherishable stuff, but I literally left no stone unturned this time. I even got 137 marks in NextIAS Anubhav All India test series had been under top 100 in my test series...but this time I'm literally heartbroken like hell...
I can relate to your situation. I had joined a reputed prelims test series in
2019. Used to be among first ten. Also solved tests from other coaching institutes. Ended up in scoring 87 that year.
There’s a great learning here. Number of mock tests and the scores in them is of no relevance for UPSC prelims. I was anguished at this rat race for scoring well in mocks and solving as many mocks as one can. The process never seemed organic with mains preparation.
Then I decided to abandon mocks completely. In 2020, I relied on bare minimum material. We all know the list. Revised it thrice before prelims. And most importantly, solved throughly previous year UPSC prelims papers from 2013 onwards. Used them not as a source of information but to acquaint myself with the pattern of upsc question papers. Focused on the language used in questions, the way options were framed, important areas which were asked repeatedly and so on.
Was scoring fairly well in those previous year upsc papers. Then few weeks before exam, I attempted all India mock test of one institute. Although I had abandoned coaching tests, I decided to go for it just out of curiosity. I was confident on my preparation by this time. But I scored 60 marks in that test. And the leftover trust on coaching tests was also lost the moment that result was released.
Went into exam hall with my lessons. Got 105 in 2020 as per upsc.
Again followed same process in 2021 and getting 102+.
Please save your precious efforts from falling prey to false propaganda of commercial institutes. It is a simple but obviously rigorous process. Give yourself time and have faith in yourself whenever you attempt the exam again.
