(My English is bad, please bear with me)
Why I am writing this?
From past few days I am observing many people writing in different threads about their performances in a particular test or a test series by a particular coaching or in recently flooded 'free mocks'.
What they people want?
They are confused. Not able to understand the fluctuations in the marks. Wandering for a genuine guidance or a psychological boost-up. Their confidence is shaking.
First of all I want to tell you that I am not a veteran. I have not cleared prelims yet. I started preparation from the last week of April'2015. This would be my 2nd attempt. But I want to share my feelings which I cant resist now.
So the general question is that I scored 120 or above 100 in insight but less in Vision. Or 95 in vision but 80 in ForumIas. Even some people score above 120 in some insight test but below 100 in some insight tests. Some people score above 120 in ForumIas but below 100 in a particular mock of Vision and some below 100 in Vision but above 100 in ForumIas. This is the ‘Chakarvyuh’ my friends as described in the Economic Survey. So first of all please get out of this.
What all above fluctuations in different tests describe. If you still do not understand then I want to make simple for you. In one word they all are ‘Crap’. What is the role of test series? What we are looking for? Will all toppers of these test series gonna crack the prelims? Is there no place for Aam Junta?
First, I want to tell you the reality. I know many people who last year scored very good marks in the test series of these coaching walas and there were few who even not able to get 80 marks. But what happened? Many people who scored very high marks in the mocks actually failed in the exam and many people who did not scored well, actually passed. One of my best friend who is IRS now failed last year. In his circle many people from IRTS to IAAS failed last year. Why? Paper was that tough? For more information please visit a thread of Vision test discussion where you will find people who scored 140 last year got below 90 in these tests. Ok, now I tell you about me. I did not took a single test last time. Somehow I got a vision test from a free downloading site. But till I reached 10th question, I felt that I did not know many of the answers and I got scared and closed the test. But what happened in the actual exam, I was about to pass the exam but done silly mistakes in atleast six questions which were very simple (could be answered by a layman) and whose answers I knew. So what I realized - Lack of practice only. So these test series or tests are simply for practice so that u accustomed for the actual exam, NOTHING MORE. Even if you are scoring 70 in these test but correcting all you know without silly mistakes, you will easily get through the prelims.
These tests are prepared by people from us only and the only difference that he did not able to pass the exam even after 3-4 attempts. Actual UPSC papers are set by experienced professors of reputed Universities who are masters in their field. They will not copy a line from the Laxmikant or ShankerIas or a SriRam photo copy booklet and twist and turn some facts and will challenge you to play Kaun Banega Crorepati. They don’t need this they have in-depth knowledge and will ask such a basic question that anybody who have genuinely prepared could answer. Actually UPSC do not want such masterminds and high tech people. They want simple person, the Aam-junta whose basic is clear. There is Junta outside of Delhi also. Nearly 70 % junta is still living in villages. UPSC knows all these. They will set a inclusive paper. If you still have doubts just read or listen Mrunal. He is a gem of person. In his lectures, he continuously say to beware of these flooded test series. I like one of his line “Basic clear karo, Upsc aise sawal nahi puchegi…Ye aaj kal jo har galli-khopche me apna computer lekar dukan kholkar baith gaye hai ki hamari test series kar lo…Jo 'The Hindu' ki news me se 3 line pakdenge aur usko ghuma kar question bana denge.”
Please beware of this last moment “Free-Mocks”. Even my e-mail Id and Mobile SMSes are flooded with there Ads. Just think. Why suddenly all started every thing for “Free”. aajkal koi free me pani nahi pilata..(people in delhi better know this thing). NOTHING is free in this world my friends. They all are doing this for their narrow business goals. I know we took “Last but the Best Free Mock” conducted by ForumIas very seriously because of its over-rating. But what they did. They set a paper which is nothing to do with UPSC. They call it tough. I call it poor. They say, if u score 90 then you are safe. I tell you, even if you score 120 in that paper, it does not guarantee you success and even if you scored 70 in this paper, you are safe, provided you did not made silly mistakes. I am agreeing you are doing all good charity thats ok. But setting such a paper in the last moment to just ruin the preparation of Aam junta is not good. This has seriously shaken confidence of many genuine aspirants.
But I want to tell you all my co-passengers in this journey that the score you got is not going to have any effect in your actual performance on 7th. If you are a serious candidate and prepared atleast for 6 months genuinely, No power in this world can stop you. So do not loose confidence. You have studied well. Just go for it with full confidence. You will clear it with the flying colours.
Best of Luck.
Comments
The next day , in exam, I managed to clear the cut off , i. e. got 107+ ....more than 100 marks from d test in which I appeared the night before.
Hope u get it.
Yes you are right.This is one of the best discussions posted here.ha ha i like that word "crap" .As for my story goes,this year is the first time i am using internet and participating in test series.I got pretty good marks in insights.So, I am not sure about the utility of test series in actual exam but it gave some direction to my preparation.Last year I dont know anything,have never practiced any questions,not even read ncerts and got 96 after three months preparation.I honestly believe ncerts are the cornerstone of our preparation and I know for sure not reading ncerts is the reason that i failed last year.
I feel aspirants are overhyping this exam toooooooooooooooooo much and this instills fear and paraonia in the minds of others. If i failed i would never blame the exam as tough or too factual,too conceptual ,unpredictable,out of the world and other blah blah.Its just that I am incapable to pass this exam or i have less knowledge or at the worst my fate was bad but i love this exam system and the type of questions asked very much unlike those stupid,crappy state psu's though i do passed in it.
first, is it important to join a test series.. then yes i dont know anybody in my circle who has cleared the exam at least till interview who has not done any test series...
for first timers.. if u dont join a test series...the competition has increased ... and u will remain like a frog in the well.. not knowing about what is happening in the world around u..
secondly, benefit for first timer joining a test series is when he is studying in Jan -feb-march and attempting paper and making improvement... not when he is attempting test series in the month of july.. even mistakes that u will make are of no point because u have no time left..
thirdly, even senior people, do write at least 4-5 papers from the market.. if i was in delhi i may have bought and practised paper from the market.. since i am working now and dont have much time.. so joined forum test.
fourthly, i see people clammering for marks here.. in forum also people scores 120-130-140.. there is no point in scoring so much marks..actually.a dn others are worried.. i am in range of 80-90 usually and sometimes 110 score. i dont worry about it as i know that consistency and not marks is important
five, online test series is a farce. just see forum list itself.. people who wrote in online are getting 140 + score.. but in classroom, ( ORN ) highest score was in 120s...
now i dont think that no smart people are there in the classroom that a topper from classroom could not have emmerged among to 10.. because rajinder nagar people are the mainstream population... and the selection rate and quality of students is highest there..
lastly, sorry to say this, but i have seen that people who say that dont join any coaching, dont join any test series and save money on books also.. dont even join vision and gs score mains test series.. mostly such candidates are banking, state PCS candidates or old candidates who want to open their own coaching.. and they get jealous that how come new websites are doing so good.
if u read the interview of all selected candidates.. or go and talk to them.. they will tell that they joined so and so.
coaching or test series is not the end in itself.. u have to make use of whatever resources you have - time, money and youth and give it best shot..
Will all toppers of these test series gonna crack the prelims?
truth is you dont need to be topper, but u do need minimum 60-70 consistent marks..when i was doing it at vajiram,, out of 2000-3000 students... people who got under 700 or even 1000 consistently were able to clear prelims easily..
of course in some test if you get a rank of 2000 out of 3000 also it is okay..
but largely, friends, dont be misled into doing or not doing a prelims and mains test series because people on forum are posting adverse comments because they think that vision or insights is making money. it is vision , insights job to make money .. it is your job to clear the exam..
and dont let last moment marks..disocurage you to the least.. and dont look for 120 marks.. try gettig 80-90 and it will be more than enough..
upsc paper is such that if you do not studied a single word you will get 50-60 marks.. so it doesnt means that if u study 2 months you will get 120+
there is a vast difference between not styudying and studying even for 2-4 months - 8-10 hours a day.. there is a big "if"
...the equation between input and output is not x=y, that is ,not a strght line making 45 degress with d x axis
Rather , it is a log curve , y=log x