What should one opt for in UPSC preparation? Self-Study or coaching? This is a million dollar question for a dedicated UPSC aspirant. Just like everyone has their own perspective, many mentors, too, have different opinions on this subject.
Abhijeet Yadav, an IITian who cleared CSE twice, asks aspirants that when everything they need to clear this exam is available online for free, why do they feel the need to pay ₹1,50,000 for coaching? In a Twitter thread, he also shared why aspirants join coaching, and what they actually need to do.
REASONS
Mr. Yadav tweeted that there are two core drivers for taking coaching:
• FOMO
• Buying certainty
Both derive from the same idea: we don’t know what to do, so we want someone else to tell us what should be done.
FOMO
He then describes the first reason FOMO, that means fears of missing out. FOMO includes two processes; firstly, perception of missing out, followed up with a compulsive behavior to maintain these social connections.
“Search “UPSC” on google/youtube & you’ll find:
• 100s coaching institutes
• 100s of ideas about preparation
• 1000s of topper talks
All competing for your attention. You wanted clarity, but you got confusion.”
CONFUSION
In the next tweet, he elaborates on it more. “Coachings Thrive in Confusion. This state of confusion is great for coaching institutes. Because they can tell you that they have all the answers. You just have to pay them exorbitant sums of your hard earned money.”
WHAT TO DO
He then comes to the second point and says what to do in such a situation.
“So, what do you do? You buy the certainty. You don’t need to, but you buy it anyway.
Everything is available for free online, but you know, just to be sure.”
THE MILLION DOLLAR IDEA
He then talks about where to find the material. “Where are these magical free resources?
Topper blogs. (Not videos!)
Why blogs?
While writing, the author talks about all the things that they feel are important. (Not what the interviewer deems important)
Reading gives you time to stop & reflect. Interviews keep going.”
SUGGESTIONS FOR BLOG
He also suggests some blogs. “Best blogs I read during my UPSC Prep:
https://www.upscprep.com/articles/
Read those blogs. You will gain more clarity about UPSC CSE prep than any coaching can give you.
Only problem: you have to figure it out yourself.”
(Abhijeet Yadav gave five years of his life to the UPSC CSE journey. He made 6 attempts, which covered 4 Mains, 2 interviews, 2 selections, and got AIR 653 in CSE 2017 and R-List in CSE 2018. He is now an UPSC mentor and the founder of UPSCprep.com. An alumnus of IIT Delhi, he also has his YouTube channel with over 142,000 subscribers, where he helps aspirants to prepare better for UPSC exams)
