u/Sitok_edu

Before getting to this, let us answer who actually corrects the UPSC mains answer sheets?
UPSC maintains strict confidentiality on who is being selected for evaluating the copies but we can hit a ball park figure of who are the "mystery men or women"- the Dhurandhars of UPSC mains..
As per 1 article, "Examiners are drawn from academia, usually experienced professors or college lecturers with expertise in the relevant subject. This means they typically have advanced degrees (PhDs) and good subject knowledge. Technical subjects might be evaluated by professors from IITs or other specialised institutes."
This adds value to the same statements coming from those who have worked closely with UPSC, pinpointing that it is the college professors who are the evaluators of UPSC Mains answer sheets.
So, as a serious UPSC aspirant, what should you do? Your top priority to get your answers corrected are your own college professors. Yes, they might not be the UPSC evaluators... but who knows...
On a serious note, professors from good institutes across the board, share almost the same academic bent of mind. For example, Econ professor of SRCC and Econ professor of Amity will share the almost the same concerns of economy in the country, will have almost the same solutions, will know the different economy curves and perhaps might be working on some paper or research project.
You might not get the exact level of UPSC Mains examiner but this will be the closest. Also, here there is a high possibility that you might be getting your practice answers corrected from a real UPSC examiner and you might not even know about it.

I do realise many of us came to UPSC field thinking "now these egoistic professors will beg me to pass their pension file and then I will show them." lol... does not happen...
For now, bridge the differences, request them with folded hands because you might just get lucky enough to see yourself achieve the dream.

What if I dont have any contact with professors? Second option is someone who cleared Mains- does not have to be an officer because they spend half the time in stress and half the time wondering whether it was worth it. So, target those who have cleared Mains and are actually good people- willing to help.. yes, we exist...

Third option is UPSC teachers and peer review- good friends who can point out the mistakes- you help each other out, honestly.

Last option is Coaching Institute. Why last? They follow the "one size fits all approach" and punish severely if you even budge an inch- killing individual creativity and uniqueness. Also they have a lot of copies to check- so getting individual attention becomes super hard.

If you have any questions, please feel free to discuss.

Good Luck!

Some aspirants are fully prepared. They score well in mocks, have revised PYQs multiple times, yet something holds them back — trauma.

The thought of sitting in the exam hall and the mind going blank haunts this tiger 🐅. Missing the cutoff by half a mark last year (or the year before) brings sweaty palms.

People say, “Be courageous.” Sounds like fancy words 😒 right? So let’s talk practical solutions.

What’s happening in the brain 🧠

The brain has linked the exam hall with past failure. So when you enter it, the body triggers a threat response — fight / flight / freeze. The solution is to retrain the brain so the exam environment feels familiar instead of dangerous.

1. Drishyam Technique

Live the trauma every weekend.

Treat Saturday–Sunday like Prelims weekend. Prepare on Saturday — clothes, meals, sleep schedule. On Sunday:

• Sit on a hard chair like the exam hall
• Start exactly at 9:30 / 2:30
• Use OMR sheets
• No phone, no breaks

Do this every week until the brain says: “Oh this again… nothing scary.”

2. The Everest

You don’t need to solve 100 questions in one stretch. Break the paper into targets of 25 questions.

After each set: sip water, breathe, reset.

Small summits make the Everest climbable.

3. Start with Easy Kills

Every paper has 8–10 very easy questions. Hunt them first.

Once you secure ~20 marks quickly, the brain shifts from panic mode → problem-solving mode.

4. Accept the Panic

Panic will come. Accept it and follow a simple protocol:

• Take a few deep breaths
• Recall a mock where you performed well
• Take a sip of water

Water literally helps reset emotional state — which is why people offer water when someone is crying or angry.

Same idea here: calm the system.

Final Point

Practice these every Sunday until the exam environment becomes boring.

Familiarity kills fear.

Hope this helps someone.