Can Anyone Become an IAS Officer, Even Who Have Very Poor/Low Academic Record?

UPSC civil services exam sets an equally levelled platform, where students from various fields appear in a fair competitive environment. The exam is a three-tier test, comprising of the stages in the following sequence:

• Preliminary or the prelims exam – objective stage
• Mains examination – written stage
• Interview or the personality test

When we call the UPSC exam the ‘toughest exam’ in the country, we may develop a perspective that only certain people, with certain qualifications, are able to crack the exam. However, when we analyse the backgrounds of the toppers of the examination, we find that UPSC welcomes a whole range of backgrounds to try and compete. One of the biggest prejudices regarding UPSC preparation is the question,”Can anyone become an IAS officer, even those who have very poor/low academic record?”. So, let’s find out if academic records really matter in the UPSC preparation.

What is the Academic Eligibility for UPSC Civil Services Examination?

The eligibility for UPSC should not be decided by a person on his or her own. UPSC provides proper guidelines regarding the academic eligibility of the aspirants, and this should be the only criteria to measure someone’s eligibility for the exam.

1. The candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree from any recognised university.
2. Candidates who want to apply for prelims must have at least appeared in the final examination, or must be waiting for their final year results.
3. The UPSC may, in exceptional cases, consider a candidate without foregoing the requisite qualification as an eligible candidate, if he/she has passed an examination conducted by other institutions, the standard of which justifies his / her admission in the opinion of the Commission. The criteria may apply to candidates having a bachelor’s degree from any reputed foreign university, for example, Oxford, Cambridge, and Harvard etc.
4. Candidates with technical bachelor’s degrees, like MBBS or B.E from a recognised university are also eligible to apply.
5. Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS, and have completed the internship, can also appear for the Main Examination. However, they must have a certificate from the University of their passed medical examination, along with their Main Examination application.

UPSC Preparation: Does Academic Record Matter in UPSC Exam?

Aspirants with a low academic record may suffer marginalisation during their UPSC preparation. They may get discouraged several times in between their preparation, and the reason may be external influences or self-doubts.

Aspirants should have the right strategies and a dedicated mind to become an IAS officer. Once you start the UPSC preparation, many factors come into play that may affect your aim of becoming a Civil Servant. One of such factors which troubles a lot of beginners can be their academic profiles. Aspirants often feel troubled by the idea that their academic profile will become a hindrance to their UPSC preparation. They feel less confident for their interviews as academic records are often questioned by the interviewers.

Thus, let’s find out the major reason that may incite an aspirant to ask this question.

Why Do People Think Poor Academic Records May Become a Problem?

• Sometimes, an aspirant is unaware of the eligibility criteria for UPSC Exam, and ends up making their own conclusions regarding their qualification for the appearance. In another case, the aspirant may not know that even with a poor academic background one can make it to the services.
• Almost all the candidates who have succeeded in the Civil Services exam are those who are in the top 1% of the academics.
• Considering the UPSC exam is the toughest exam one may already get afraid of the difficulty level of the examination.
• Because of average academic records, some aspirants may feel burdened with the provided syllabus of the UPSC.
• Sometimes all one sees is a pile of the subjective syllabus and fails to make a proper strategy to organise and prepare it.

Why Does a Poor Academic Record May Not Be a Problem?

• Aspirants should understand that the UPSC Exam is not limited to intelligence and subjective knowledge. However, in order to clear mains and prelims, a right strategy, perseverance, and determination will always help in overcoming any obstacle regarding your subjective knowledge.
• Various UPSC toppers will tell you success stories where they cleared UPSC exam despite of a poor academic background.
• Aspirants should understand that the past profile does not define you for the UPSC journey. Your potential is always in your hands during the UPSC preparation.

How  Should I Crack the Interview with a Poor Academic Record?

UPSC interview is the round where you happen to encounter yourself through the interviewers’ questions and hence, your poor academic record may also become one of the questions. Being an average student may not become a problem in the interview if you are more comfortable regarding your present achievements and present aim of becoming a civil servant.

Before preparing for your interview you must consider the following points to excel:

Points to Remember

• The interview test is not a test of your knowledge as it has already been assessed in the prior stages.
• The board members in the interview round are there to assess your personality in accordance with the requirement of the job of civil services.
• They are already aware of the fact that being a human not everybody can know everything. Thus, it is okay if you don’t know any subjective answers.
• However, what matters is the way you deal with the uncertainty of the questions. If you start bluffing around the questions and start playing a pretentious game then your personality may end up leaving a wrong impact. Facing all the questions with the same smile and confidence is the only strategy to excel in the UPSC interview.
• UPSC interview board will surely appreciate your honesty. Your acceptance of not knowing certain questions will be valued by the UPSC board.
• UPSC interviewers do not seek encyclopedias but the right mindset and dedication towards becoming a civil servant.

Conclusion:

UPSC is a national exam and it does not limit itself to specific backgrounds or specific academic records. It is a platform bringing together different people in competition irrespective of their academic profiles as the journey it asks for is designed equally by all.

UPSC pathshala has numerous blogs & articles that will help you as an aspirant to clear  doubts about various subjects and boost your motivation to crack this difficult journey. Visit our website to know more.