My dreams are much worse..
While talking about EWS.
I know reservations are a touchy subject and whatever I say can become contraversial.
But there seems to be lot of scope for misuse or it's benefits not reaching genuine individuals.
I personally knew few friends, who got EWS certificates despite being financially well off.
One of my friends, who is in a AIS, was ready to go to an extent of taking a long leave for 2-3 years, transferring family assets onto name of benami, so that he can get an EWS certificate and fulfill his obsession of becoming an IAS.
His argument is. Getting under 72 in this exam is so much based on luck , but getting under 400 is somewhat possible and EWS can help with it .
While i don't know, the actual process of how this issuing EWS cert. and how it's verification works at ground level
But atleast govt should do something, so that it won't give unfair advantage to undeserving candidates.
Ppl with previous experience of mains
How much of variation did you see in actual marksheet from your expected conservative marks?
What/How are you improving on since then?
All the best
I have written 5 mains so far..
GS1 and GS4 are always less than expected for me. GS2 and GS3 are usually as expected.
Essay ..my first attempt (2017), i expected 150 , as i believed i wrote really good essays on agriculture and women(good old days , where no mandatory philosophical topics are there). I got 110, while top score that year is 175. There after my essays got stagnant in range of 125-130, which are more or less on expected lines.
With respect to improvement, my GS and essay scores are almost similar from my 2nd attempt, irrespective of all the value additions, answer writing practice etc etc. Average marks in GS2 and GS3, below average in GS1 and GS4 .
If my optional clicks..i used to get interview call or if it tanks i couldn't clear mains. And i could never predict my optional score since it's humanities. It fell down from 280(2018) to 210 (2019) to 250(2020)
With increasing attempts the variation between your expectations and actual scores reduce, atleast for GS. Optional tho.. Only God knows .😂
Ppl with previous experience of mains
How much of variation did you see in actual marksheet from your expected conservative marks?
What/How are you improving on since then?
All the best
I have written 5 mains so far..
GS1 and GS4 are always less than expected for me. GS2 and GS3 are usually as expected.
Essay ..my first attempt (2017), i expected 150 , as i believed i wrote really good essays on agriculture and women(good old days , where no mandatory philosophical topics are there). I got 110, while top score that year is 175. There after my essays got stagnant in range of 125-130, which are more or less on expected lines.
With respect to improvement, my GS and essay scores are almost similar from my 2nd attempt, irrespective of all the value additions, answer writing practice etc etc. Average marks in GS2 and GS3, below average in GS1 and GS4 .
If my optional clicks..i used to get interview call or if it tanks i couldn't clear mains. And i could never predict my optional score since it's humanities. It fell down from 280(2018) to 210 (2019) to 250(2020)
With increasing attempts the variation between your expectations and actual scores reduce, atleast for GS. Optional tho.. Only God knows .😂
bhai 2 questions hain:
-gs1 and 2 me & 3 and 4 me apne bataya apka average raha h. scores bhi bata dijiye ap
-optional me main kharab score toh nai kahuga kyunki 250 average hai kharab nai. muje ye puchna ki optional me kya value addition ka time nai milta tha because of subbsequent mains?
Regarding optional, it depends on how one manages time, his mental health between pre and mains , how much value he wants to add etc etc. I mean if one is preparing full-time, 3-4 months are decent enough to add value for optional notes.
All the best 👍
Anyone with Maths or engineering optional?
How was the toughness of paper this year compared to 2020?
In Civil engineering,paper 1 was relatively easier while paper 2 was tougher.
So in totality,the level is identical with last year.
Many humanities optional candidates are claiming that their paper was easier.Is the trend same for engineering and maths subjects??
Easy papers might not translate to more marks in humanities 😀
Infact sometimes it's better to have tough papers.
After going through topper copies, do you guys really feel that they write much much above the average..?
Barring few , i believe ,after analysing toppers copies, that the one important factor to success in this exam is ..
Consistency in answers ( most of the toppers maintain a uniformity in 16+ answers in terms of structuring etc.)
Eg: you either underline all answers or you don't underline at all ...
Similarly hand writing, initial answers have good presentation and later answers are just scribbled .
These things show inconsistency in our thought process. It shows people are reactive, panicking under pressure.
Uniformity across answers represents a stable mind, that the person is in control of paper and is definitely well rewarded.
It's difficult to maintain the consistency and flow across answers in all papers and requires good amount of mental strength, which some people have naturally or some gain with practice.
It's very easy to get tempted and invest lot of time in answers from our favourite area or answers which we attempt first, and later on rush through in the end.
And also ,sometimes in exams we get mental blockade in first one hour (due to exhaustion or resistance) and attempt only 60 marks and later rush through remaining stuff.
People believe they have met demand of questions, written good answers etc etc.
But deep down one has to analyse if you were able to maintain that uniformity and control during exam. This is where many people get stuck in this vicious loop for years together. And this is where a good test series , sincerely attempted can help aspirants.
Ofcourse external factors are always there like optional, luck etc.
Anyways, I myself could never master this. And even this year ..many papers, i lost that control and balance .
But the sooner one realises this, the sooner one exits this cycle.
@RaGa In engineering/maths ,if u have worked very very hard for years and if u have a good day on exam, u may get 300+ or even 320sIf you have a very bad day still 250+.However, most people grossly underestimate the effort required and get very poor marks.The good thing about these optionals is that the rules of the game is very clear.If u have capacity to study madly and have concepts,the game is yours.The game is in your control not UPSC.More hard work often leads to more marks.However,this is not the case with humanities optionals, hard work may not lead to marks and then one falls in a trap of marks around 240s and doesn't know how to increase it.I will always choose an optional where hard work translates into marks.The challenge in technical optionals is very clear-Jigre me dam to hai lo and reward leke jao.😅
Totally agree with this. Atleast with respect to maths.
I have two friends, who took mathematics optional (who gave 5 mains). Their feedback is , while it takes time to complete the optional, as attempt count increased, your marks remain stable.
There is certainity in life, like good performance translates to good marks.
Their scores remained in range of 280-310 in last 3 mains. But, optional requires much hardwork than humanities and it won't help anyways in gs and essay.
Im from anthro, and my marks fluctuated so badly , I've seen high 280s and low 210s.
I have a friend with anthro. He got 260 in 2019, which is a above average score that year. In 2020, his score is 166(83+83). Post exam also, he told he wrote the paper decently..But shit like that can happen in humanities. The probability of a moron screwing your life is higher in humanities. While in maths, you will be your biggest villian.
But , on other side humanities have advantage, like you can prepare while working. From past few attempts, i was preparing along with a hectic private job.
I was able to prepare confidently, because my optional is humanities.With maths, prep would have been very difficult with job.
Also, if you are preparing for other backup exams too(state PSC etc).. having a humanities optional can be less stressful.
Lastly, in humanities (atleast anthro), you can get away writing relevant nonsense. If you are lucky, you are rewarded . Bluffing works. A friend wrote fake case studies in anthro paper 2 and scored really good marks. He joked that, he even used our names in some case studies 😂.
Technical optionals, one should be spot on, i believe.
@RaGa In engineering/maths ,if u have worked very very hard for years and if u have a good day on exam, u may get 300+ or even 320sIf you have a very bad day still 250+.However, most people grossly underestimate the effort required and get very poor marks.The good thing about these optionals is that the rules of the game is very clear.If u have capacity to study madly and have concepts,the game is yours.The game is in your control not UPSC.More hard work often leads to more marks.However,this is not the case with humanities optionals, hard work may not lead to marks and then one falls in a trap of marks around 240s and doesn't know how to increase it.I will always choose an optional where hard work translates into marks.The challenge in technical optionals is very clear-Jigre me dam to hai lo and reward leke jao.😅
Totally agree with this. Atleast with respect to maths.
I have two friends, who took mathematics optional (who gave 5 mains). Their feedback is , while it takes time to complete the optional, as attempt count increased, your marks remain stable.
There is certainity in life, like good performance translates to good marks.
Their scores remained in range of 280-310 in last 3 mains. But, optional requires much hardwork than humanities and it won't help anyways in gs and essay.
Im from anthro, and my marks fluctuated so badly , I've seen high 280s and low 210s.
I have a friend with anthro. He got 260 in 2019, which is a above average score that year. In 2020, his score is 166(83+83). Post exam also, he told he wrote the paper decently..But shit like that can happen in humanities. The probability of a moron screwing your life is higher in humanities. While in maths, you will be your biggest villian.
But , on other side humanities have advantage, like you can prepare while working. From past few attempts, i was preparing along with a hectic private job.
I was able to prepare confidently, because my optional is humanities.With maths, prep would have been very difficult with job.
Are you still preparing with job?how many hours are you able to give to prep?
No.. currently I'm not preparing.I wrote mains and stopped studying. I won't appear in future also. If i clear this mains by luck..i'll study for interview. Else that's it.
During mains i took leave for 20 days. Normal working days 3-4 hrs per day.
Wat is the worst situation in preparation of civil services?
For me it was when I thought that i hv given my best and still fail to qualify mains. It is the worst situation as it becomes difficult to even find where I was lacking.
Clearing mains cutoff with<5 marks and preparing for interview like an idiot, not knowing the fact that all that effort is useless.
In worst case scenario, I would rather choose to flunk mains than just qualify in border.
@zombieland worst came after selection. Filled wrong service preferences after top 5 services. Got recommended. Celebration and social media hype and all locally. Ultimately, didn't join the allotted service (IIS) and now answering everyone why I didn't join after clearing "IAS exam" and why I'm still here (state Group B). Own decision to not join and stay back here considering lot of factors. Happy about it.However, hate myself for not thinking much while filling up preferences.
Yes.. can totally understand you
Similar issue here.
Didn't care much about service preference while filling daf barring first five.
Allocated IPTAFS.. could have gotten IPoS or DANICS or ICLS ..
Currently, in a decent pvt job(in electronics field), which seems perfect comfort zone.
A tough call i have to take . I don't have any attempts after the current one .And I don't know if I can spend my rest of my life in that service.
There was a time when i was desperate to get any service so that i can bank on it to continue preperation. But this came quiet late in the day.
Not proud bhai. It was a very difficult time. People eulogize the exam too much. Sadly, everyone thought I cleared "IAS exam" but then I'm still here. So answering so many questions now. Infact, had stopped socializing for a while.
I wish you get good rank and desired service.
Bro..
You don't need to justify to anonymous people on forum.
You posted your experiences to tell people to be mindful , while filling the service preferences in daf. It's upto others to take it in whatever way they want to take.
Moreover, posting marks and year of selection, people can easily track your name and other details , as it's available on public domain. I don't think you would want it either.
All the very best to you. Cheers😀
3rd attempt 3rd mains history-- OUT
is bar bhi history see bhar lia..
But any geology optional aspirant here?
Studies the subject for ifs, much better than this shit called history...just that I have no idea about its cse performance
Hi,
I read geology for ifs.
Cse geology is very much tough , compared to ifs. As far as I know, Questions depth and evaluation is going to be very different.
Ifs geology will mostly ask basics and it can be dealt by relying on few toppers notes. That's not the case in cse. You can actually figure out difference by general comparison of past papers of both exams .
Hope it helps .
