This is a perennial question I get asked the most. And itu2019s understandable too. Many aspirants who begin their Civils preparation are clueless about this examu2019s demands and most cannot simply afford to go to Delhi and take coaching.There are a lot of doubts and misconceptions regarding whether to take coaching for Civils Services. So let me break it down for you.Note: Keeping beginners in mind, let me clarify that for the rest of the post, by coaching I mean the generic sense of the word: the act of going to an institute and attending their classes. Test series, institute notes and mock interviews at coaching centres are clearly distinct. So when I say coaching isnu2019t really necessary for GS, it implies that there isnu2019t any need to attend classes. I donu2019t mean to say that you should not take any test series, or read any coaching material.Q. Is coaching necessary?Think of an elite sportsman like Virat Kohli. Does he have a personal coach? Yes, he does. But would you say his career success is purely down to his coach? Of course not. Kohli trains and suffers day in day out, practices consistently to learn and improve his game. His self discipline, hard work and the burning determination to excel at the game is what makes him the elite player he is.Same goes with success in the civil services exam. Coaching merely helps you, it does not ensure you a rank. Your self study, consistency and the hard work you put in sitting at your study table matters far more than what you do in coaching classes.So if you are attending coaching classes, do take their notes, but you should not rely excessively on them and neglect standard books. In my first Mains, I did this mistake of depending on coaching notes disproportionatelyu2024 I barely read any of the standard books. When I wrote my first Mains in 2024. my lack of conceptual clarity was evident. Unsurprisingly, I failed to get an interview call.Always remember that roughly, not more than 25-30% of your preparation should depend on coaching classes. To say that without coaching you cannot crack UPSC is to tell a lie. There are people who put in even that 25% of work by themselves and have cracked this exam (that is, they might have read coaching notes, but did not attend any classes.) So it depends on your personal belief, self discipline and your basic level of knowledge to determine whether you need coaching.Suppose you know what standard books to study, what coaching notes to refer to, and by reading them you are able to understand the subject, thatu2019s brilliant and you donu2019t need coaching.On the other hand, if you are absolutely clueless about the exam process or the books you need to study, coaching institutes will definitely help you get a broad idea. But as I said, you still have to read standard books, make required notes and put in the work to outshine your competition.Q. How do you compare coaching in Delhi versus elsewhere?As I had said, coaching does not constitute more than 25-30% of your preparation. And thereu2019s nothing profound about coaching institutes in Delhi.For those preparing in far flung areas, if you cannot afford to go to Delhi, thatu2019s perfectly alright. You can get notes of all the major coaching institutes in most cities. So make a trip once to your nearby city, buy them from a bookstore and study on your own.Also, I believe internet has truly democratised information and made it accessible even to rural areas. These days many institutes are providing coaching classes via video lectures. You can opt for them too.Moreover, online websites (Mrunal, ForumIAS, CivilsDaily, Insights, IASBaba etc) have emerged as brilliant and affordable alternatives to traditional coaching institutes. So if you cannot go to Delhi to take coaching, you are not losing out on anything.Q. How helpful are coaching notes? Can they substitute standard books?Standard books are important because they are written from the ground up and they form the foundation of your knowledge. Once you read standard books, reading coaching notes not only becomes much easier, but you can also see where in that big picture does a small topic fit in.The problem with reading just the coaching notes is that they fail to give you such big picture perspective. What you will be left with are fragmented concepts and broken knowledge which doesnu2019t stick for long in your memory. For long term memory, we need a topicu2019s context which is why you should always start with standard books.For example, when I started Anthropology, I first read Ember & Ember to get an overview of the subject. Afterward, when I referred to BrainTree coaching material, I could clearly see how a particular topic such as Primate Adaptation fit into the larger concept of Human Evolution. This is why standard books are indispensable.While reading coaching notes, remember these:Coaching notes are helpful and easy to revise before the exam. But they can only supplement but never substitute standard books.Always map your notes onto the chapters and topics in syllabus. Most coaching institutes do not cover the syllabus entirely. Even if they do, they usually rush through some chapters. So when you see a topic not covered well in your notes, read on your own from other sources and make notes.Coaching notes and material come in handy to cover a specific topic. For example for a topic like Govt schemes, instead of you labouring to compile them from ministriesu2024 websites, itu2019s better that you buy a compilation booklet of any institute. Smart work saves you a lot of time.You have to remember that UPSC is not at all like a graduation exam. In college, itu2019s fairly easy to read just the notes and score really well. But in UPSC, the questions are of higher standard and of deeper analytical depth. None of the questions usually come directly from your coaching notes. Itu2019s your clarity of conceptsu2024 especially in optionalu2024 that will help you write good answers.Q. How to choose which coaching institute to join?When you are thinking of joining a coaching institute, do not go by their advertisements. Many institutes simply put names of toppers even if they might have just paid a visit to their institute for an open mock interview because it was free. There are gradations of the level of association of a topper with an institute, and you need to recognise it before deciding to join them.Itu2019s always advisable to take the opinion of people who had already taken coaching in that institute to make an informed decision. Their feedback should be given more weight, not pamphlets or advertisements.Q. What about the competence of teachers at coaching institutes?Many a time, aspirants (especially beginners) place too much trust and credibility in coaching teachers. Some teachers are indeed good but some are plain terrible. Especially in specialised subjects such as optional, reading standard books and referring to internet will tell you whether what you are being taught in coaching institutes is accurate or utter garbage.You can also search for topperu2019s blogs on that particular subject who would have put an accurate account of his/her opinion about the institute.Q. Should I take coaching for GS?General Studies is not quantum physics. UPSC only expects candidates to have a generalist understanding of a diverse range of topics. So if you have the material with you and can study on your own, you will be able to understand the subject and GS coaching isnu2019t really necessary.Q. Should I take coaching for optional subject?Optional requires in-depth specific knowledge and coaching definitely helps you in covering the syllabus systematically. Also, many engineering graduates find themselves clueless about arts subjects like philosophy, sociology etc.. Coaching will definitely be beneficial to those people.But as always, the caveat is that just like GS, you can prepare for optional yourself. I didnu2019t take any coaching for Anthropology and I scored 318.Q. How helpful are Test Series at coaching institutes?Many aspirants commit one fundamental mistake: they read and revise, over and over, but never practise. Remember that the examiner checking your copy will have no idea about the number of books youu2019ve read or the number of hours youu2019ve slogged. Your answers are all that he has to judge you. So it makes sense to learn it, practise it and perfect it.Test series definitely helps in that sense because it trains your brain to get the hang of how the actual exam feels like. You write tests so that in the final exam you are not taken in by surprise.So even if you practice daily answer writing, you should write full length tests within dedicated time limits. Writing such tests with all the seriousness of an actual exam will teach you to manage time and give an incredible insight into where you are going wrong. The feedback on your answers will also help you get an independent, critical perspective.Moreover, you need to remember that Mains exam demands not only our memory and intelligence, but also endurance. If you lack prior practice, writing relentlessly for 6 hours a day and do this for 5 days will cause both mental and physical fatigue. The only way to overcome it is to practice enough before the final exam.If you want to run a marathon, you cannot simply show up on the race day and expect to run 42 kmu2024 it needs prior training. Same goes with Mains. By joining a good test series, you will get such practice and it prepares you both mentally and physically for the final battle.ConclusionSo analyse your strengths and decide whether you need coaching, and for what subjects. But please donu2019t join an institute just because you happen to see my picture or any other topperu2019s picture on their pamphlet. It always helps to take feedback from a few people who had took classes there. Also verify through a handful of blogs by successful candidates to confirm the competence of teachers and their institutes.I hope this answer helps you in making an informed choice.Best wishes,Anudeep.Footnotes:Blog link- Anudeep Durishetty
