CSC: Dear Akriti, if you want to score good marks in Public Administration, then you will need some basics approach to help you find a suitable subject. First, your concepts should be clear. Second, your ability to express the concept clearly (logically) on paper which requires a lot of writing practice. It will also need your ability to relate the subject with current affairs especially administrative and political issues. You should also have the ability to substantiate your argument with facts, evidence, and committee reports, etc. Impart these angles to almost every answer that you write.

Do not take the subject solely because some neighbour/friend/relative/acquaintance IAS officer took it and scored good marks. Also, don’t take it because it overlaps with GS II, III & IV substantially. Or, if you think syllabus is shorter and can be finished earlier than most other optional papers or it seems easy to comprehend and effortless. You should go for it, if administrative matters in general genuinely evoke your interest; if you really like reading Indian Polity; and if you have some experience of working in an organization and you have begun to show interest in group management/organizational behaviour/personnel management, etc.

At last, understanding a subject and expressing it on paper showing that you have understood it are two entirely different ball games. This is where most of the candidates miss it.

CSC: You have to write the date on which the issuing authority had signed. The date must be mentioned in your certificate. The certificate is your OBC certificate.

CSC: Dear Harsh, UPSC CSE preparation is one of the toughest journey of life. UPSC preparation needs mental strength and ability to overcome the failures. During the course of preparation many aspirants feel the same as you do right now.

The fact that you continued with your five attempts tell us, how passionate you are about this examination.

Analyse your previous 5 attempts. See and find what are your flaws, where are you lagging, what mistakes are you repeating again and again. Once, you find that, you will be able to improve on them, when you improve on them, you will be able to clear the exam. All that you need is ‘will and determination’ with dedication and smart work. Give your last attempt after analyzing your mistakes. You already know the sources to study from.

If you reach the interview stage, don’t think that you are at disadvantage because of your repeated failures. The UPSC Board do not judge you because of that. As you have already attempted five times, that means you already have accumulated large amount of knowledge. Just use this knowledge to blow away the interviewer’s mind and let them see how awesome you are! So, go ahead, brace yourself up and give everything this time.

These days many UPSC aspirants join a coaching institute while pursuing their graduation - the minimum qualification required to appear for this exam. However, these days quality material is available easily in the market. One can start preparation by self-study even when s/he is going through the grind of their college life. It is up to you to pick either self-study or coaching based on self-assessment of your dedication and discipline.Therefore, before taking any hasty decision it would be wise if you could gauge the schedule of the college which you will join after 12th results and based on that decide on either self-study or coaching.

Banking Exams and Civil Services, these two exams follow entirely different pattern. For a successful attempt at any exam, it is pertinent to channelize your energy in one direction. So firstly, you must introspect your strengths and weakness and overcome this dilemma that whether you will prepare for banking exams or Civil Services Exam. After that you also need to work on your English and Maths as these exams need you to qualify the aptitude paper also. For this, you must practice your basics of English as well as Maths and take some tests to analyse your progress. Always remember, no feat is impossible to achieve unless you give up and fail to try again.

It is good to be clear about your goal from the start. But you must remember that life is a whole of your experiences in parts. College life is one such stage where you explore new dimensions of your personality. It is that time of your life where you take decisions for your career choices. So pursue that course in your graduation which is to your liking. To appear for civil services exam you need to have a graduation degree from any stream. Therefore, Either B.A or B.Sc. would suffice.

Before preparing for any exam one must be clear about their final aim. Since you have dilemma between two widely different fields, it becomes imperative that you choose either one of them first. If you wish to have a career in teaching at college level then NET is a suitable exam;but if you wish to become a civil servant then you will have to appear for Civil Services exam conducted by the UPSC. If your choice is NET then you need not worry about maths paper because paper 1 in this exam asks for general teaching aptitude based questions and paper 2 is subject-specific. You will not be required to give maths paper. However, in the Civil Services exam, paper 2 is aptitude based which is of qualifying nature (need to score minimum 33% of the allotted marks),but don't feel disheartened because the UPSC asks elementary level maths upto 10th standard only. Also, you can improve you’re your hold on the subject by brushing up the basics and by practising some model aptitude test papers to improve your weak areas in the subject.

To become an IAS officer, a candidate has to clear Civil Services Examination conducted by the Union Public Service Commission. The basic minimum qualification required for applying for this examination is a degree from a Government recognized Universities, or an equivalent qualification. Candidates who are in their final year or awaiting results are also eligible to appear for UPSC preliminary Examination. Qualification-wise you satisfy the minimum criteria, but your final selection in this 3 stage- exam depends on your dedication as well as preparation. Anyone with streamlined preparation and perseverance can become an IAS officer. So analyse the reasons why you want to join this service and take a plunge into this preparation if that cause drives you to work for it.