Drishti Jaiswal: Achieving AIR-255 in CSE-22 Prelims, Mains & ....

Drishti Jaiswal, who achieved an impressive AIR-255 in CSE-22, has shared her valuable insights and experiences gained during her 5 years of preparation and 4 attempts. In her write-up, she summarizes the valuable lessons learned and the journey that led her to this remarkable success.

Introduction

I am Drishti Jaiswal, and I am delighted to share that I secured AIR 255 in UPSC CSE 2022. I completed my schooling and graduation in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. My journey with UPSC has been a five-year-long endeavor, comprising of 4 attempts. I faced 3 failed prelims, succeeded in one prelims, appeared for mains once, and attended one interview.

Before delving into the booklists and strategies, which are commonly discussed by everyone, I would like to emphasize the importance of understanding where to begin.

When embarking on the UPSC preparation journey, we often seek advice from various toppers through videos and resources. However, I believe it’s crucial to first assess our own starting point. Recognize your strengths and weaknesses to develop a personalized strategy that suits you best. It might be necessary to prioritize certain subjects over others, so take the time to realize that. Neglecting this aspect can lead to wasting one or more attempts, which can be avoided by understanding and catering to your unique needs.

Strategy/ Tips

One should start by a basic understanding of the UPSC syllabus.
NCERTs are to be read to build the basic understanding of the whole syllabus from Class 9 TH TO 12th.
Then standard books or notes.

History

Ancient: NCERT+vajiram class notes(2018)
Medivel: NCERT
Modern: spectrum+ vajiram Parmar sir’s class notes(2018)

Polity

Lakshmikant + current events

International Relation

Current affairs

Geography

NCERT+ GC Leong(Part 2)

Environment

Vajiram class notes+ current affairs

Science and Technology

Vajiram class notes + current events

Current Affairs

Everyday newspaper (The Hindu) + PT 365 for value addition

After completing the syllabus

Prelims

Solve mocks (I did around 35-40 vision IAS)
CSAT: Given the recent trends, one should not ignore CSAT+ solving PYQs is important.

Mains

I began my answer writing after completing the syllabus once.
GS: The time between pre and mains should be utilized to harness the content studied during the time of prelims in the form of answers; Solving mocks helped in this regard.
Optional: (Mine was sociology) I relied on Class notes of Mahapatra sir and Nitin Sangwan sir’s book + value addition while solving mocks.

Interview

Prepare each and every thing from your DAF. But one should understand that it may happen that not even single question is asked from the DAF, but while preparing for the questions one gets the confidence to face the board confidently. PS: The interview board is more cordial and will want to have a conversation.

General advice for aspirants who start on early

While in college, one should try to engage in extra curricular activities like debates, Speech writing, Essay writing etc, this will improve one’s writing skills which would reflect while writing answers.
The journey of UPSC makes us more calm, gives us a better understanding of our surroundings and definitely makes us a better citizen, so we should enjoy it while preparing for it.

Last piece of advice regarding the mental stress that one encounters in the process

Isolation, uncertainty and sometimes heartbreaks are part of this journey, try to surround yourself with people whose thinking align with your goals, good friends are very important. o
Talk to friends and family for once in while, keep them updated
Don’t miss out on life while prepration phase. Have a hobby(Mine was scrapbook journalling), give time to your health too.
There are always many other options to pursue in Life, and after this preparation one is in a better position to excel in life.
Work hard and work hard consistently.
Trust your sources and do multiple revisions.