UPSC SUCCESS STORY:Neeraj Kumar Singh (AIR 11/CSE11) shares his Preparation strategy and Success Story

In the year 2011, A student of M.A. in Economics from IIT Madras achieved 11^th rank in his 1^st attempt in Civil service Exam.   

Name	Neeraj Kumar Singh
Roll number	240550
Rank (CSE 2011)	11
Optional Subjects	Economics Public Administration
Medium for Mains Exam	English
Mains Examination Centre	New Delhi
Number of Attempts	1
Details of Graduation and Post-Grad.	Integrated (5 year) Master of Arts in Economics
Schooling (Medium)	English
Extracurricular activities, hobbies, achievements etc.	Essay Writing Event Management
Are you a working professional?	Yes
If yes, then did you leave your job or prepared while on the job?	Joined the job after the main examination
Did you take Coaching?	Prelims: Yes Mains: Yes. (for economics) Interview: Took mocks
Did you buy any postal courses?	No
Did you join any Mock test series?	Yes

On an average, How many hours did you study per day? How many months did it take you to complete the core syllabus of GS and optional subjects?

My prep was divided into phases.

Phase 1

The first phase was from May 2010 to July 2010. This was the period when we had a summer break in IIT. Since there was no pressure of coursework I went full-on with the preparation during this period. Call it the initial enthusiasm, but I often studied for 16 hours per day during this period. On an average I think I devoted 14 hours per day during this time. A lot of learning happened at this time as anything I read added to the knowledge base. I completed about 80 percent of first reading of Pub Ad and 40 percent of first reading of Econ during this time.
 

Phase 2

The second phase was from August 2010 to November 2010 which was my 9^th sem at IIT. There was coursework but most of the courses related to Economics so the time spent in classes was also in some ways useful for civil services prep. During this period I spent close to 8 hours a day on civils prep. I managed to complete full reading of Pub Ad and Econ once and started on revision of both subjects.
 

Phase 3

The third phase was from December 2010 – April 2011. I completed one more revision of my optional subjects. I wasn’t very confident about paper 2 of Pub Ad though. Since I also had to work on my final year thesis, I spent about 10 hours per day on civils prep.
 

Phase 4

The fourth phase was mid-April 2011 to May 2011. I prepared only for prelims during this period. I had also kept on preparing for GS during all these phases. But I never set any target on GS. I was a very fluid preparation.
 

Phase 5

Fifth phase was from June 2011-October 2011. This was the most crucial phase. I moved to Delhi and joined a coaching from Economics and test series for Pub Ad and GS. For Pub Ad and GS I also started a discussion group with few friends. The discussions were really helpful. During this time I started understanding both Econ and Pub Ad in a much better way. Now I was able to not just understand a concept but go beyond that and relate it with other concepts in the subject and present a coherent picture. I devoted close to 10 hours a day during this period.