r/UPSC

So I'm currently staying in ORN,Delhi preparing for the 2027 attempt (skipped 2026 to plug in my mains leakages). The thing is I dislike Delhi weather food etc and also how all this ORN ecosystem is going down the drain day by day. I don't rely on the ORN ecosystem except for the library part. Answer writing part is sorted.

So a new opportunity has popped up to move in with a few of my old Mains acquaintances in Bangalore hub who have recently shifted back. Rent is half, food is sorted as a friend's mother would send a tiffin. The weather is similar to my hometown. Most of my UPSC friends used to be from Karnataka, so i know a few know hows about the language. Also old friendly motivated acquaintances. Should I consider it a viable choice ?

Advice and opinions would be appreciated.

P.S. I'm from Maharashtra and not a native Kannadiga. Also don't advise me to go back home, i would have if studying from there was a viable option.

i saw in a notification they arent eligible... so is there no lower cutoff marks for those under pwbd4 such as specific learning disability, autism spectrum and mental illness?

This year's CSE prelims exam has shattered many a dreams and here I present to you one such story. This was my pitiful 6th attempt, never cleared prelims. I had prepared thoroughly from the standard sources for 2026. It could have worked out well but I failed. I wish I could blame the fate but there is no use for it. This exam has swallowed my patience, I can only hope to recover from this.

For those who are playing their part in the same drama called UPSC, I advice you to stay cheerful and don't get overworked with your studies. Take it as a hobby rather than passion. Be grateful for what you have and never lose hope

I met an Old IIT CS tier-1 graduate in UPSC mains last year. He spent 3 years into the game. This was his take of the situtation of Tier-1 College aspirants:

We deal with more Mental stress than regular Aspirants. Peer-pressure is way too high.

Every 2nd guy is earning like 25 lpa in my college batch.

Unlike BA students where Peers are also in the Exam Preparation game or doing low-key jobs.

Very High expectations from family

Even when Back-Up is considered- cant consider CGL/Banking.

Only legitimate back-up routes become- CAT (IIM-ABC) or just leave everything and go Abroad.

After 3 attempts it becomes a Shame to tell people that you Belong to Old IIT. I just tell them that I am from a local College.

After Mains got over-

Even after completing all papers in time.

Even after writing quality answerr with value addition- committees, laws, quotes etc

Even after referring to 100s of Toppers Answers sheets

Even after writing 50 mock tests

We both admitted there is no Surity of Success.

Every candidate in the exam hall was doing the same thing. They all completed the paper on time. Gave value-added answers.

No Surity of Success.

Its just a gamble.....

Hello Guys.

I'm a working professional seriously considering UPSC in 2027 and trying to find the right online foundation course. Budget is a real constraint, so I need something that gives genuine value without breaking the bank.

Here's my situation:

- Currently employed fulltime (can dedicate 3 to 4 hrs on weekdays, more on weekends)

- Complete beginner,no prior UPSC prep except reading couple of NCERTS.

- Looking for a structured program, not just recorded lectures

- Interactive mentoring sessions are a must, I need someone to hold me accountable and guide me when I'm stuck

- Budget: preferably under ₹30,000, open to going up to ₹60,000 if it's genuinely worth it.

TIA.

If someone is preparing for ukpsc (Uttarakhand)

Please Dm me as I want your help because I am a new aspirant

A few friends and I have been documenting everything we learned while transitioning after UPSC.

Things like:

• How recruiters actually look at UPSC gap years.
• Whether an MBA is still realistic after multiple attempts.
• How people switch into tech, consulting or finance.
• What we wish we'd known much earlier.

We've all taken different paths after UPSC, and honestly, we learned most of it through trial and error.

Before we put everything together, I wanted to ask this community:

If you're currently preparing (or have prepared), what's the one question you wish someone would answer honestly?

I'd love to learn from everyone's experiences too.

Is this booklist good enough, I'll start preparing for upsc from the mid of July most probably before that I want to finalize everything to make it less confusing .

I went through booklist of around 12 to 14 toppers and made this list, If someone is well aware of this exam please let me know if there should be some addition of deduction to this booklist to make it more effective.

Some books or names might be incorrect as I'm not well aware of all source I just wrote what i felt is good, also if there will be something that won't work for me in future while preparing I'll replace it with some other resource in the start only and revise that throughout.

PRELIMS

ANCIENT

TAMIL NADU STATE BOARD CLASS 11TH HISTORY TEXTBOOK

MEDIEVAL HISTORY

OLD NCERT

MODERN HISTORY

SPECTRUM

ART AND CULTURE

CLASS 11TH AND 12TH NCERT

POLITY

M. LAXMIKANTH

NCERT CLASS 11TH & 12TH

GEOGRAPHY

NCERT CLASS 11TH & 12TH (OR 9TH TO 12TH)

G.C. LEONG (SELECTIVE READING)

OXFORD ATLAS / MAPS

ECONOMY

NCERT CLASS 11TH & 12TH

MRUNAL PATEL VIDEOS

SRIRAM IAS NOTES

ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

SHANKAR IAS (ENVIRONMENT BOOK)

SCIENCE AND TECH

BIOLOGY CLASS 12TH NCERT (LAST 4 CHAPTERS)

CURRENT RELATED TOPICS RESEARCH

MAINS GS PAPERS

GS 1 (ART & CULTURE, POST-INDEPENDENCE, WORLD HISTORY, SOCIETY)

POST INDEPENDENCE

NITIN SANGWANS NOTES

WORLD HISTORY

VISION IAS NOTES

CCRT WEBSITE

SOCIETY

SOCIOLOGY CLASS 11TH & 12TH NCERT

GS 2 (POLITY, GOVERNANCE, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS)

POLITY & GOVERNANCE

VISION IAS NOTES / MATERIAL

2ND ARC SIXTH REPORT - LOCAL GOVERNANCE

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

BOOK BY RAJIV SIKRI

GS 3 (ECONOMY, AGRICULTURE, INTERNAL SECURITY, DISASTER MANAGEMENT)

INTERNAL SECURITY / DISASTER MANAGEMENT

FORUM IAS RED BOOK OR VISION IAS NOTES

2ND ARC THIRD REPORT - CRISIS MANAGEMENT

NDMA GUIDELINES

CURRENT AFFAIRS - VISION IAS MATERIAL

FOR AGRICULTURE REFER TO CURRENT AFFAIRS RELATED

GS 4 (ETHICS, INTEGRITY & APTITUDE)

ETHICS, INTEGRITY AND APTITUDE

LEXICON

2ND ARC REPORTS

MUDIT JAIN SIR / SATHI IAS LECTURE NOTES

CURRENT AFFAIRS & GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS

THE HINDU / INDIAN EXPRESS NEWSPAPER

VISION IAS MONTHLY MAGAZINE / PT365

ECONOMIC SURVEY & UNION BUDGET SUMMARIES

PRS INDIA LEGISLATIVE RESEARCH WEBSITE

RAJYA SABHA TV (RSTV)

PIB (PRESS INFORMATION BUREAU) SUMMARIES

CSAT (PRELIMS PAPER II)

VAJIRAM CLASS NOTES / BLUE BOOK

I read The Hindus daily, but still I am facing difficulty with questions related to Current affairs. Now I am thinking of starting PT 365 as well. Whenever I stumble upon a CA question, there is one such option of which I don't know. Sometimes such a ques is asked of which I don't know anything of. Kindly help me, this is getting really frustrating. Also should I watch something on YouTube for this? Like The Hindus summary or CA classes, etc. kindly help.

PS==> i don't read any magazine as of now, which one should I get?

I'm filling my DU CSAS preferences and can't decide between Political Science (Hons.) and Sociology (Hons.). I genuinely enjoy both subjects.

My long-term goal is UPSC CSE and later a master's from JNU.

A few questions:

Which course helps more with UPSC preparation?

Does DU's Political Science syllabus overlap well with CSE?

If I take Sociology (Hons.), is choosing Sociology as my UPSC optional a good idea?

For JNU, which is a better path: M.A. in International Relations or M.A. in Sociology?

Would love to hear from DU/JNU students or UPSC aspirants.

Thanks!

How you guys are covering survey for 2026 mains ?

Hi everyone!

I'll be joining my Master's this year, and alongside my degree I want to begin my UPSC preparation. My target attempt is 2028, so I'm hoping to build a strong foundation from the beginning.

The problem is that I'm really confused about which coaching to choose. I'm specifically looking for completely online, live classes because of my Master's schedule. I mainly need coaching for the structure, consistency, and guidance rather than just the study material.

Unfortunately, I don't have the budget to enroll in multiple coachings or go through a trial-and-error process, so I want to make the best decision the first time.

If you've had a good experience with any online coaching, I'd really appreciate your recommendations. Also, if you think it's better to take different coachings for GS, Optional, and CSAT, please let me know which ones you'd recommend and why.

For context, my optional will most likely be Political Science & International Relations (PSIR).

Thanks in advance! Any advice or personal experience would be really helpful.

Hi. I will be writing my first mains this year. I am studying properly but these thoughts are bothering me. So I am outsourcing my worry to you all here.

I have been jobless for 3 years now. I was an SDE for around 1.5 years. I am from one of the old IITs. I want to know what all options I have that I can pursue after writing this year mains. Given the uncertainty I dont want to put all my eggs in one basket. I will pursue UPSC on the side. How is the software market currently? Has the recruitment process been the same(coding rounds and interviewing)? I heard that a lot has changed. Can anyone who is back to work after a break comment here? I would also like to explore some government jobs if there are any that I can easily crack. I am open to doing consulting as well (coding is not my forte and interest anymore). Any kind soul, please comment anything about the above things.

1. Cover PYQ themes extensively.

PYQs are your most solid bet so you shouldn't miss them. Make one pager notes on each theme and revise them 4-5 times.

2. Don't run after courses and answer writing programs.

Any answer writing program or course at this juncture won't help much if you're already panicked. At this point you should follow the basics if it feels too much.

3. Trust your knowledge and judgement.

You have cleared Prelims, not by luck but hardwork so trust your hardwork. You have the basic knowledge, now you just need to re-orient it.

4. Read-Revise-Pratice-Repeat.

Don't forget to revise and practice answer writing. Don't waste time in note making and material gathering. There's enough material on the internet.

5. Make sure to write atleast 1 FLT for each paper before Mains.

It is one thing to write answers and another to write a paper. So try to write at least 1 FLT for each paper in a simulated environment.

Done with my parents they only somehow care about my exam clearing I spent my whole day in damn library still they say you are not studying enough for the exam demotivating me that u don't study hard enough and won't clear exam (1st attemp btw)

that would be really helpful