Can I Prepare for UPSC CSE without My Family’s Support? A Guide to Pull-off Mission UPSC

UPSC exam preparation requires an ample amount of time, money and efforts. However, the degree of requirements differ for different aspirants; there is always a specific amount that remains mandatory for every aspirant. The fulfilment of these requirements is indirectly or directly attached to an aspirant’s background; hence, the family plays a vital role in the IAS preparation.

From deciding the UPSC preparation time to choosing between coaching and self-preparation, family’s support becomes one of the factors affecting the overall UPSC preparation strategy of an aspirant. If an aspirant lacks family’s support, UPSC preparation just gets difficult as it is the family that provides moral support and courage to appear for such a difficult exam.

How Lack of Family’s Support affects UPSC Preparation?

1. Lack of family support may hinder the preparation at various stages as UPSC may be a long battle with continuous failure. If your family stops supporting you, it will be a more difficult path to be taken.
2. It is our natural tendency to seek parents’ approval everywhere. Therefore, to bear parents’ disapproval for such an arduous journey may cause mental stress.
3. If an aspirant is unemployed, then lack of material and resources become a big problem without parents’ support.
4. Most of the time, parents decide things ahead of time. Your preparation timing may collide with their set expectations of the age of job and marriages.
5. There are many cases where aspirants lack support because of their gender or caste. For example, many women aspirants are refused family’s help because of their early marriages. It is to the extent where, in some backgrounds, aspirants are advised not to aim high for IAS preparations.

However, sometimes not having family’s support becomes a blessing in disguise, which keeps on motivating the aspirants more to achieve their family’s support and confidence.

How Can You Prepare without Family’s Support?

When you lack family’s support, you may end up feeling discouraged towards your UPSC preparation. Still, with the right determination and right-strategy, you can succeed with your low-budget self-preparation. You may not be able to prepare in the prestigious coaching centres or get a separate flat in Delhi for the grand preparation. But your self-study with the right strategy will remain your strength throughout the journey. Here are some crucial steps towards self-preparation for the IAS exam.

• Understanding of the Syllabus:

  Before starting the preparation aspirants waste a lot of time thinking and managing “how to start UPSC preparation?”, however, their first step should begin with downloading the UPSC syllabus from the UPSC website. Putting efforts is not the only requirement for UPSC but putting efforts in the right direction is the most important thing. The channelisation of efforts should be in a way that meets the demands of the examination and not that of some coaching centre or individual race.

  Students who lack understanding of the syllabus often get guided half-truths or false claims about what is or is not a part of the syllabus. In conclusion, till the end aspirants should stick by the syllabus irrespective of their mode of preparation.

  Also Read : How to Balance Optional and General Studies to Clear UPSC?

• Strategy:

  Preparing without a plan is like working hard aimlessly. Your aim of clearing UPSC should not be the sole aim, but your journey itself should be a series of numerous targets. You should divide your preparation with specific targets. Through this, your strategy will become more consistent with passing the time, leaving you more comfortable in your zone of self-preparation.

• Books and Other Resources:

  Out of the abundance of study material available online and offline, the candidates must choose the best books for UPSC IAS preparation. UPSC toppers recommend that aspirants start their preparation with NCERT books and then move on to the reference books. The best books for UPSC preparation can vary from candidate to candidate depending on their previous knowledge of the subject matter. However, the books for UPSC recommended by the toppers are listed below:

Booklist for Prelims

Books for General Studies

1. India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
2. Facets of Indian Culture – Spectrum
3. NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)
4. NCERT XII (Modern Indian History)
5. Certificate Physical Geography – G C Leong
6. NCERT VI – X (Old Syllabus)
7. NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)
8. World Atlas
9. Indian Polity – M Laxmikanth
10. NCERT IX-XII
11. Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
12. Economic Development & Policies in India – Jain & Ohri
13. NCERT XI
14. NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)
15. Current Affairs

Books for CSAT

1. Tata McGraw Hill CSAT Manual
2. CSAT II – Arihant
3. Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R S Aggarwal

Booklist for Mains

History, Indian Heritage & Culture-GS Paper 1

1. An Introduction to Indian Art Part 1: Textbook in Fine Arts for Class XI
2. India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra
3. India after Independence – Bipan Chandra
4. History of Medieval India – Satish Chandra
5. Ancient India – R.S Sharma

Geography-GS Paper 1

1. Geography of India – Majid Husain
2. World Geography – Majid Husain
3. World Atlas
4. Certificate Physical and Human Geography – G C Leong
5. Fundamentals of Physical Geography NCERT Class 11

Polity & International Relations-GS Paper 2

1. Indian Polity – M. Laxmikanth
2. Introduction to the Constitution of India – DD Basu
3. India’s Foreign Policy – Rajiv Sikri

Economy-GS Paper 3

1. Indian Economy – Ramesh Singh

Ethics-GS Paper 4

1. Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude for Civil Services Main Examination Subba Rao and P.N. Roy Chaudary
   

• Internet Connection:

  There is an abundance of online resources for UPSC preparation, even if we analyse UPSC 2021, aspirants are preparing from their home. They are going through online coachings and online test series. The result of UPSC 2021 will assure us that online resources and self-preparation played a vital role in all the successful aspirants’ preparation.

• Revision:

  Self-preparation for IAS exam saves a lot of time for revision, and the more you revise, the more you get clear about your topics. The lack of revision will burden your brain with lots of fleeting knowledge that may vanish till you reach your exam hall.

Conclusion:

Without your family’s support, you may not be able to make your preparation easier. But when it comes to the possibilities of clearing the UPSC exam, the only factor that may help you overcome your lack of resources will be your belief within your strategy and its execution. Stay tuned with us and keep reading our blogs for more such inspiring UPSC related content.

Also Read : Here’s How to Discover Your UPSC Exam Skills? Unleash your Potential by Understanding the Need!