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Yes thank you all. @Neyawn: I fall in the 'non-Delhi, no coaching and first timer' category. What is your opinion about GKToday test series and their GS materials? Are there any good online courses available that might help me?
By far the best online test series available at present. Because 1. Made me read every nooks & crevices of NCERT text books. 2. Cheapest and worth the money you can find. 3. Lots of explanations. 4. As already stated by many here, gives a feel of attempting UPSC questions. search in the forum, you may find some old ones. decide for yourself.
I found the test series very helpful ( ve taken approximately 8 tests ,has joined lately),to complete the syllabus. Std of Qs are also good and it was also helpful to get info on many other topics. Good work by vinay sir and his team.
Hello friends ! I was regular follower of Insights Test Series and i benefited from it immensely. It helped me in covering all NCERTS from class 6 to 12, all standard books(for all subjects) and important current events from Economic Survey and India Year Book.
The beauty of the test series is that you will get exposed to all important topics and issues. And it helps like ready revision material for prelims. The only thing you need to follow religiously is solve the paper as soon as you get it, in exam like situation and check the solutions same day. Do not procrastinate it and write all the important things or new information, right there in front of the respective question and keep updating if you get something new.
I tried to follow other test series in the market, but it was depressing as they make questions from Sky, it seems as you don't know anything. There is a lot around, you can run here and there, but i have learned that this preparation requires only consistency-- be it with your schedule, be it with your books and same for material. Don't run after material. Choose the best and follow it religiously.
Insights test series(prelims) is complete package for UPSC CSE preparation, if it is followed along with other intitaives from its website i.e www.insightsonindia.com
Some people have mentioned about few mistakes in the test series. I also found it, but i conveyed that message to the administrator and he gave me positive feedback. So this way we can contribute with extra information and help the team in correction. Its always a two way approach. Mistakes were generally Typo. So, that is not an issue.
What i liked is, there were targets with each tests, cover it and appear for it. All the targets were approachable. Questions were mixture of facts, analysis, and conceptual. After seeing this year's CSE paper you can't say what to read and what not to read. All questions and all facts are important now days. For that i found insights test series beneficial. Obliviously, no one can match UPSC's standard. But yes, few can imitate well. Insights test series along with previous year question papers and few TMH series of Question banks Subject wise will be complete for Prelims.
As per my experience, go for it and register for next year prelims test series, because this time they are starting very early. As this year they started for the first time, then also they rocked. But now they have experience and exposure and that too this time more number of tests would be there (this time it was set of 21 tests). Surely, this time it is going to be great ! I am also eagerly waiting for challenging questions ahead.
Frankly telling, while solving Insights Tests, i got confidence "Yes, I can do it ", but following other test series, i felt like "Oh ! God, what else left to read"
Guys, bang on it ! I am sure you won't be dissapointed (as per my own experience), but do follow it religiously then only you will benefit. Rest all hiccups, as people mentioned -- late posting, mistakes, bla bla, etc will be taken care if we poke INSIGHTS team with our determined efforts. If no effort from our side, why the hell they will bother
I have heard from people that they are starting early but don't know when. I just dropped them a mail requesting to finalize a scedule and increase the number of tests for 2015. Let's hope they have something in planning.
- Covering syllabus for PRELIMS - Focus on Fundamentals/conceptual part of every subject - Good Quality questions - Detailed explanations for every questions - Reasonable & sensible rate
So...
- No need to worry about usual before the exam thing that "NCERTs are still pending...I need to finish it before exams 2-3 times"
- Foundation will be tested & would become strong as one will have enough tests to check whatever he/she read (basics of every subject).... one will be in sync with basics.
- Apart from NCERTs focus is on other books too like for History- BCP, Polity- LK, Geo- GCL...which is more than enough
- Cost Benefit ratio is good
- Tests will be mailed (or some conducted online on real time basis...not sure whether this time it will be there in large number or not) along with a well structured plan of the target area & books to study upto prelims..so if one don't have plan he/she can prepare a plan around theirs or else sync their plans ...or can take it at any time.
-Important thing is some candidates will ask about how to evaluate one's performance against others...its an offline test series and so on....
Please note that whatever test series one is giving, the sample size or the data set is too small (not every aspirant lives in delhi or participating in their test series)that one cannot analyse his/her performance precisely or even remotely near to the actual one...of course one can easily argue about that if the test data set of Delhi's coaching classes is so much refined (that their probability of getting selected is much higher) that it gives the actual analysis..in that case there are hundreds of other logics like seeing the current trend of rankers and the nature of paper one can hardly say that----it doesn't matter at all...just focus on what you are studying and test it that it...dont worry about every this & that
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Comments
1. Made me read every nooks & crevices of NCERT text books.
2. Cheapest and worth the money you can find.
3. Lots of explanations.
4. As already stated by many here, gives a feel of attempting UPSC questions.
search in the forum, you may find some old ones. decide for yourself.
I found the test series very helpful ( ve taken approximately 8 tests ,has joined lately),to complete the syllabus.
Std of Qs are also good and it was also helpful to get info on many other topics.
Good work by vinay sir and his team.
In september .
I was regular follower of Insights Test Series and i benefited from it immensely. It helped me in covering all NCERTS from class 6 to 12, all standard books(for all subjects) and important current events from Economic Survey and India Year Book.
The beauty of the test series is that you will get exposed to all important topics and issues. And it helps like ready revision material for prelims. The only thing you need to follow religiously is solve the paper as soon as you get it, in exam like situation and check the solutions same day. Do not procrastinate it and write all the important things or new information, right there in front of the respective question and keep updating if you get something new.
I tried to follow other test series in the market, but it was depressing as they make questions from Sky, it seems as you don't know anything. There is a lot around, you can run here and there, but i have learned that this preparation requires only consistency-- be it with your schedule, be it with your books and same for material. Don't run after material. Choose the best and follow it religiously.
Insights test series(prelims) is complete package for UPSC CSE preparation, if it is followed along with other intitaives from its website i.e www.insightsonindia.com
Some people have mentioned about few mistakes in the test series. I also found it, but i conveyed that message to the administrator and he gave me positive feedback. So this way we can contribute with extra information and help the team in correction. Its always a two way approach. Mistakes were generally Typo.
So, that is not an issue.
What i liked is, there were targets with each tests, cover it and appear for it. All the targets were approachable. Questions were mixture of facts, analysis, and conceptual. After seeing this year's CSE paper you can't say what to read and what not to read. All questions and all facts are important now days. For that i found insights test series beneficial. Obliviously, no one can match UPSC's standard.
But yes, few can imitate well. Insights test series along with previous year question papers and few TMH series of Question banks Subject wise will be complete for Prelims.
As per my experience, go for it and register for next year prelims test series, because this time they are starting very early. As this year they started for the first time, then also they rocked. But now they have experience and exposure and that too this time more number of tests would be there (this time it was set of 21 tests). Surely, this time it is going to be great ! I am also eagerly waiting for challenging questions ahead.
Frankly telling, while solving Insights Tests, i got confidence "Yes, I can do it ", but following other test series, i felt like "Oh ! God, what else left to read"
Guys, bang on it ! I am sure you won't be dissapointed (as per my own experience), but do follow it religiously then only you will benefit. Rest all hiccups, as people mentioned -- late posting, mistakes, bla bla, etc will be taken care if we poke INSIGHTS team with our determined efforts. If no effort from our side, why the hell they will bother
I just dropped them a mail requesting to finalize a scedule and increase the number of tests for 2015. Let's hope they have something in planning.
Features
- Covering syllabus for PRELIMS
- Focus on Fundamentals/conceptual part of every subject
- Good Quality questions
- Detailed explanations for every questions
- Reasonable & sensible rate
So...
- No need to worry about usual before the exam thing that "NCERTs are still pending...I need to finish it before exams 2-3 times"
- Foundation will be tested & would become strong as one will have enough tests to check whatever he/she read (basics of every subject).... one will be in sync with basics.
- Apart from NCERTs focus is on other books too like for History- BCP, Polity- LK, Geo- GCL...which is more than enough
- Cost Benefit ratio is good
- Tests will be mailed (or some conducted online on real time basis...not sure whether this time it will be there in large number or not) along with a well structured plan of the target area & books to study upto prelims..so if one don't have plan he/she can prepare a plan around theirs or else sync their plans ...or can take it at any time.
-Important thing is some candidates will ask about how to evaluate one's performance against others...its an offline test series and so on....
Please note that whatever test series one is giving, the sample size or the data set is too small (not every aspirant lives in delhi or participating in their test series)that one cannot analyse his/her performance precisely or even remotely near to the actual one...of course one can easily argue about that if the test data set of Delhi's coaching classes is so much refined (that their probability of getting selected is much higher) that it gives the actual analysis..in that case there are hundreds of other logics like seeing the current trend of rankers and the nature of paper one can hardly say that----it doesn't matter at all...just focus on what you are studying and test it that it...dont worry about every this & that
I found it best according to my requirement.