SFG 2025 Level-1 | Entrance Test - 3 on 25th Dec. 2024
Dear Students,
ForumIAS is going to start with its 15th iteration of Select Focus Group (SFG)from26th December 2024. The 15th SFG is SFG Level 1 which will target CSE prelims examination 2025.
As we move closer to Prelims examination schedule for 25th May 2025; December end(150 days from final exam)is the most optimum time to kickstart your prelims preparation especially for those for whom Prelims has become a roadblock.
Why do I need to start in December?
Prelims
is changing every year in difficulty, pattern and weightage of subject. For
people who have never cleared Prelims, the first task is to have a
comprehensive read through/revision from recommended sources along with a
dedicated evaluation system which gauge their learning levels and present a
clearer picture of effort required.
The time is also to practice different types of question format that is being asked and ensure you gain aptitude and instinct to develop problem solving skills for prelims question.
What is Select Focus Group?
SFG is arigorous test based learning program for prelimsthat focuses on discipline, consistency, and daily practice. Students are evaluated throughdaily tests and ranked accordingly.SFG is based on philosophy of
- Discipline: Tests are conducted at 7 AM irrespective of conditions. Students are penalized for late coming
- Rigorous Testing: Daily tests (5 days a week) with negative marking ensure discipline and commitment.
- Comprehensive Coverage: Our tests are conducted subject wise and chapter wise covering the entire Prelims syllabus, ensuring you don't miss any important topic. This also helps create a dedicated and planned revision timetable for you.
- Selective Entry and elimination of non-serious aspirantsat different level: Only the most dedicated students are selected for SFG, creating a highly competitive and motivating environment.
SFG every year is conducted over two levels:
Level 1:conducted generally from December end to February. It seeks to ensure 1st revision prelims from recommended sources like NCERT, Laxmikant etc. along with daily evaluation. The question ensure completion of static portion of syllabus with questions being asked in a manner to ensure revision.
Level 2:conducted generally from March to April end. It replicates UPSC pattern questions and help student level up their problem solving skills in line with what is required for Prelims Examination. The questions are dynamic incorporate current affairs and interlinkages of topics.
What’s new in SFG Level 1 for prelims 2025?
We have dedicated every Saturday for CSAT test, which will be counted in your overall ranking. The SFG level 1 will contain 42 tests on GS and 9 tests on CSAT. GS tests will include few PYQs question in every paper.
SFG – How it works?
Admission to SFG isonly through entrance test conducted by ForumIAS. Based on entrance test performance, students are divided into two groups i.e. SFG (top 100 students from entrance test) and Reserve List group (RLG) (students who do not qualify for SFG).Admission will not be granted on any other grounds.
SFG and RLG studentswill be required to report at 7 AM every day 5 days a week to write an hour-long test based on a pre-planned syllabus, followed by a discussion on the same.SFG students will have privilege to get discussion in online as well as offline mode. RLG students will get discussion in online mode only.
Results are provided within 8 hours of the test with a Name and Rank list for candidates to evaluate their daily performance. On the basis of ranks, about 50% of bottom-performing students from SFG are migrated to the reserve list on a weekly basis, and an equal number of students from reserve list (RLG) are moved into SFG.
Please note that this migration is done not keeping in mind the overall merit list but moving away from the bottom 50% from SFG and picking up an equal number of aspirants from RLG. Thus, those who may be getting more marks than RLG students but are in the bottom 50 in SFG will be moved to RLG.
Every month, the bottom 20% or so non-performing students are eliminatedfrom the program to maintain the quality of competition.
Students who join the program in Online Mode, will be part of RLG onlyand not be selected for SFG. SFG is available in Offline Mode only.
Important Dates and Updates:
Registration for Entrance Exam Starts: 13th November 2024 at 5 PM
SFG 2025 Official Noticeboard: https://blog.forumias.com/sfg/
Entrance Test: 15th December 2024 | 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM
Entrance Test Results: 19th December 2024 | 8 PM
Entrance Test Registrations: https://academy.forumias.com/events/
SFG 2025 Level-1 Program Starts: 26th December 2024 | 7 AM
Please Note:
- If you have any clash with any other exam, you will get an opportunity to write the second entrance exam. Only those students will have the opportunity to write the specific entrance who will email other exam hall ticket to farej@flaviant.com.
- The Program is available in both Online mode and Offline mode at New Delhi, Hyderabad, Patna, Gurgaon, Jaipur, Bhopal, Pune, Bangalore, Trivandrum and Kolkata.
- The tests will be supplemented with comprehensive discussions. As a privilege, the students selected in SFG will be eligible to get discussion in Online mode and Offline at New Delhi, Karol Bagh Centre. The student selected into RLG will be eligible to watch the online discussion on their portal only.
How do I apply for Select Focus Group?
- The program will commence from 26th December 2024, admissions to which will be entrance test based. The Entrance Test will be conducted on 1st December 2024 in both online and offline mode. The results of the Entrance Test will be announced by 4th December 2024.
- Admission to the SFG and RLG are based on the rank of the candidate in the merit list of the SFG Entrance Test. Students can apply for the program by registering for the Entrance Test.
- Candidates can register by visiting https://academy.forumias.com/events/. The candidate must appear for the entrance test on the designated date and time, subsequent to which he/she will be admitted to the Select Focus Group or the Reserve List.
- 100 students will be selected for SFG. Those who appear for the offline entrance for the program, only the top 100 will be selected for SFG, while the rest will be part of RLG. Students appearing for the entrance test in online mode may only be selected for RLG. Those who do not meet the cut-off for the program will not have an opportunity to join the SFG 2025 Level-1 Program.
- The rank list of online and offline students will be published separately.
- The candidate must pay the program fee as per the group he/she is allocated.
Here are some updates with respect to the SFG Entrance Test:
- The duration of the test will be 1 hour. It will have both GS and CSAT questions.
- There will be 50 questions. For every correct question, there will be 2 marks, and for incorrect questions, there will be a negative marking of -0.67
- It is expected that candidates will have gone through the basic books and are aware of the concepts across different subjects.
- For GS part, you can expect a judicious mix of questions from Polity (8 Questions), Economy (8 Questions), History and Art & Culture (4 Questions), Environment (4 Questions), Science & Technology (4 Questions) and Indian geography (6 Questions). For Current Affairs (6 Questions), questions will be asked from the last 3 months i.e., August, September and October 2024.
- For CSAT part, a total of 10 questions from Reading Comprehension, Reasoning, and Aptitude will be asked. The previous year's question paper from 2013 can be used as a reference point for preparing these topics.
- The entrance test will check the aspirant’s problem-solving aptitude within the provided time.
@farejul in the study plan there are some topics to be covered from the Forum IAS Red Books. If I haven't enrolled for full time courses and do not have forum red books, how to handle it? also, for SFG level-2, will the study plan cover more sources or will it be the same sources as level-1?
Red books are available in book shops as well as below
https://forumlearning.myinstamojo.com/
Older editions PDF are freely available. Students can use other sources also for preparation.
What we have done is compiled the useful stuff from ( say Lucent, Fine Arts and Tamil Nadu State Board ) different sources and added updated content and provided single source for the subjects.
In Level 1 the primary source is NCERTs along with the red books. As NCERTs are sine qua non for the UPSC CSE preparation for basic conceptual clarity of the subjects.
In Level 2 the major focus would be on the standard sources/Red books as NCERTs in itself are not sufficient enough for clearing the UPSC CSE Prelims.
what is the logic behind keeping online registration fee higher than offline ? There's no paper usage, you save money on paper. and still online students from remote areas are forced to pay more than offline ? that too in registration itself ?
No fees are kept lower anywhere except in some venues where there is availability of space - which can be utilised. It is not to give benefit to people in a certain reason. Rather, the logic is that people from South Delhi and Gurugram who are used to travelling to KB can be diverted GGN center as classrooms/ real estate is nearly 3 times expensive for us in KB compared to last year. Government regulations are such that only designated buildings can have coaching centers which means there is a demand supply mismatch.
YASHxRohilla,How many marks are required for qualifying the entrance test?
And isn't it a bit unfair that you are discriminating between RFG and SFG based on mode? it is like if a student wants to be part of SFG, he or she must reside in one of the tier-1 cities or go rent a room in Karol Bagh or ORN else be in RFG. Equal footing should be given regardless of the mode, as it is you are charging higher, for the same course, for online students.
We do not have a preconceived criteria for cut off. In any competition, cut off is not pre-decided. It will be based on performance. Try not to be in botton 20% tile and definitely not in bottom 10%tile. Or less than 10-15 marks.
Anyway with that kind of score it will be difficult to compete in SFG in coming days.
We have done our due dilegence and we found that people who didnt want to cheat also used to cheat in online mode because they found a moral reasoning in saving money. You can see with only RLG allocation being done in online mode, the scores in online mode had dropped. Refer to previous years ranklists in online mode.
Otherwise just the moral reasoning of saving money made some people cheat so bad - and it affected so many people that people in online mode would get scores in 90s and 100s and the highest score in offline mode would be something like 75 or 81.
With that moral reasoning and financial incentive gone, the online scores rationalised.
We have thought over it.
@farejul when the 2nd entrance test will be conducted?
I am seriously occupied on 1st due to some medical appointment.
The date for the second entrance exam has not been decided yet. It will be announced after the first entrance exam. We kindly request your patience in this regard.
Thank you for your understanding.
plz select before 10 dec
bcz on 13 dec bpsc pre will happen, most ppl will go home
I have opted for online entrance test for sfg programme as I am at location that does not fit well with any center, but wish to join SFG programme in offline mode. Will I be able to do so ? Will I get this option to join in offline mode finally ?
Saumyakhandelwal21,
Hello sir, I just found about SFG, I am not prepared for tomorrow's entrance test, is there more upcoming entrance test? Because the program will start late in December. Do I have to register today onlyPlease reply immediately
There will be a second entrance exam. However, the date for the exam has not yet been decided.
Please stay tuned for further updates. We will notify you as soon as the details are finalized.
Sam Manekshaw,
Raksh2100,
@farejul sir, I’ve registered for the entrance exam tomorrow. However, I am yet to receive the details of admit card along with the venue where the test will be held. Please let me know how do I proceed further? I’ve sent an email already to forum ias academy along with my fee receipt. Thanks
@farejul will this second entrance test will be of level 1 only?
Yes
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