The Indian civil services have captured the imagination of many and is a dream career for several students. IAS, IPS/IFS officer, is a prestigious title with an aura of authority and power. It promises an attractive salary besides giving pride and job satisfaction. It is a job that moulds the future of the nation through effective implementation of developmental and dynamic government policies. In this article, we have some common UPSC myths debunked to help you relax.
The UPSC civil services exam is tough and highly competitive. Cracking it requires handling the exam pressure and overcoming the mythical fear, and thus, attempting to debunk the prevalent and common myths about UPSC is important.
Myth 1: Needing Years of Preparation
Not at all. If there is sincere dedication, time-bound, and effective preparation, it will help in a big way. Studying with perseverance pays a handsome dividend. Many aspirants have cracked the examination in one attempt, and one can easily master the approach that they had adopted.
Myth 2: Three Attempts are Minimum, and Only Intelligent People are Successful
This is not the reality because when a serious aspirant has the qualities of natural inquisitiveness, it gives him an edge over others. You need to have targets and work on them efficiently. Also, being persistent is extremely important. When there is a focused revision of subjects, even mediocre students can be successful.
Myth 3: IAS Aspirants Must Have Knowledge Of Every Topic/Subject
This is not a fact as aspirants only need to be well-read, aware and adopt a balanced outlook. There must be a general understanding of the topic, and all the concepts must be clear. General awareness and analytical skills, besides working upon the targets judiciously are a must. Aspirants who adopt a pragmatic approach to complete syllabus and are persistent at every level get success. Keep your head straight, stay focused, and revise. This is important.
Myth 4: UPSC is Partial to English Speaking
Not at all. UPSC examination assesses awareness and analysing skills, and the medium of language in which you write is not significant. The government decided in 2013 to restore the status of other scheduled languages allowing aspirants to take the test in any regional language.
Myth 5: Hindi Speaking Candidates Have a Low Level of Success
This is not true. Having a comfort level is very important, and many Hindi speaking students have been successful over the years. When there is clarity of expression, and the problem-solving technique is good, they get good results. Today there is a lot of study material in Hindi, and many aspirants use these to achieve success. Busting myths about UPSC related to Hindi speakers having a low level of success is important.
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Myth 6: Candidates Need to Follow the Strategies of Toppers
Not at all because behind every success, there is a unique and individual way of studying. The route to crack the UPSC demands hard work and an individualistic approach. A fine study pattern and your own strategy will also lead you to success.
Myth 7: UPSC Interview Can be Ignored if You Have a Good Score
This is not true because an interview is important, and it assesses the traits and personality of a student. When an aspirant focuses on understanding facts and builds a perspective, besides having a pleasant personality, they emerge at the top and achieve considerable success too. By being factual, confident and positive and not having partial but complete knowledge about this exam, they reach the top.
Myth 8: One Cannot Clear the Exam Without the help of a Coaching Institute.
Wrong. Presently the aspirants can make use of resources, mobile apps and websites and have a careful study plan. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses and where they stand besides identifying the areas of improvement is of great help here. One can succeed by self-study if they put in the necessary efforts.
Myth 9: It Needs 16 Hours Study a Day for a Good Result
The reality is that studying 16 hours a day for a good result is not physically possible. The quality of the work you do is important. By finding your balance, you can debunk this myth. General awareness, assisted with logical reasoning and a good studying pattern is of great help to clear this exam. The experts, as well as IAS Toppers, suggest that a study for 8 hours daily is sufficient to attain success.
Myth 10: Luck is a Factor for Selection in IAS Exam
This is not true. Luck is a result of the utmost dedication and great effort. Studying well is what leads to success. Luck plays no role in it. It is only a misconception.
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Myth 11: UPSC is Partial towards Girls
This is untrue because there are many girl toppers and they have attained major success in stiff competition to boys at every level.
Myth 12: UPSC Syllabus is Infinite
Not at all. It is important to read the best UPSC books on the select topics and then revise them regularly multiple times. This exam tests the conceptual clarity and the style of expression besides the application of the concepts and principles. When you read the standard, recommended and prescribed books, success is possible.
Myth 13: Group Study is Necessary
This is untrue. When a person has the above-mentioned traits, there are great chances of success even after individual study. Many people have attained success without tuition or coaching classes after individual study. An isolated style works well in UPSC preparation and gives top results as well.
Myth 14: UPSC Cannot be Done with a Job
Completely untrue. Today there are many examples where aspirants have cracked the IAS Exam even with a full-time job. Every person has a different set of requirements and a different understanding of a subject. There are many candidates every year who do a job or are a member of IRS or other services in the central government and state governments and have achieved success.
Myth 15: UPSC Tests Intelligence
Not correct. Besides intelligence, there is a test of personality, knowledge of community, society and the country and much more. When there is an amalgamation of all the required traits, a person will pass the test and get success.
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Myth 16: IAS Officers are Comparatively Powerful than IPS, IRS, IFS
The powers of all officers are not mentioned in the Constitution of India. The powers and responsibilities come from the department of posting of the officers. For IAS officers, there is a defined scope of duty and area of jurisdiction, and the IAS does not command any special powers. It depends on the nature of work in the ministry.
Myth 17: It is the Toughest Examination in the Country
The exam is competitive, and the success mantra is to use the online and offline space efficiently and diligently. It is not a difficult task to crack this exam. The only way to get success here is self-belief. All the myths of UPSC Civil Services being the toughest are just myths and must not be considered before appearing for the exam.
Myth 18: UPSC Exam Needs Elaborate and Lengthy Preparation
Some of the Candidates can prepare for the UPSC Civil Services for just a few months and can pass it with a first attempt itself. The need is to set your heart on clearing the Civil Services is necessary.
Myth 19: Discipline is Not that Necessary
There is no success without discipline. Implementing a structured timetable and following it religiously in the only way to go. There are a lot of traits like covering the subjects, revision and focus, added with concentration are the necessary tools in this journey and with this one can master the art of success without believing in myths but overcoming them.
Myth 20: Having a Good Command Over English to Ace the Interview
The reality is that this is a misapprehension, and the candidates who speak English, as well as other languages, have cleared it. UPSC is an examination of awareness and analysing skills, and the language of the medium has no role in it. You need to be smart, and that is all.
Conclusion
Forget all myths surrounding the UPSC exams. All you need is discipline, hard work and focus. Gear up today for we have listed all myths busted about UPSC.
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Good article for changing the myths about UPSC preparation, that prevails in the society, some of the barriers even, acts as a barrier in applicant’s preparation process
Thankyou for clearing the myths I had in regards to the UPSC examination. I hope now I am able to prepare without any constraints.
It’s tough to have UPSC cracked and the thing that is every time our friend is counts, hundreds of doubts keep arising every time and one is ‘Will I be able to pass?’ and this kind of acts like a barrier, what’s your opinion on this?
Thank you for proividing such a wonderful blog, and clearfying the doubts, what do you guys thiink about what is the most popular myth?