Most of the aspirants want to know as to how much time should be taken by them to prepare each subject of UPSC. They look into the forums and try to decipher as to how much time has been taken by the students who have cleared UPSC.
Factors that affect the time taken to prepare for UPSC
Before understanding as to how much time should be taken to prepare each subject, the students should be well aware of all the factors that affect the time taken to prepare for the UPSC exams. Listed below are few of the factors that should be considered by the students before they start preparing for the exams.
- UPSC Syllabus
The student has to keep in mind that the syllabus of UPSC is vast. There are two sets of prelims papers. The subjects of prelims Paper 1 include the current events which are of both national as well as International importance, the Indian history along with the Indian National Movement, Indian Geography and World Geography, the Indian Polity, environment and General Science.
The subjects of prelims Paper II include comprehension, interpersonal skills, analytical ability and logical reasoning, decision making or problem-solving, general mental ability, and the basic numeracy along with data interpretation. The current affairs part that is present in the syllabus keeps on expanding.
- The Exam Format
The syllabus of UPSC is very long and it goes on for almost 10 years. The three stages are responsible for eliminating a particular number of candidates. The three exams are the two objective papers of the UPSC prelims, nine descriptive papers of the UPSC mains and the personality test of UPSC.
- Competition level
The students should be well aware of the competition of the UPSC exams. There are lakhs of students who are taking part in the prelims exams of UPSC each year. When the journey ends, only a thousand of the successful students remain selected as a final list of the candidates.
You have to keep in mind that you cannot study for a month and appear for this examination and get the desired result. You have to work immensely hard to get selected for the UPSC exams. Most of the times the students who are selected are from the IIMs and the IITs.
- Regular Practice
Considering the huge syllabus, the students generally remain worried about how they will retain everything during the exams. This is one of the main reasons as to why revision is a must for these exams.
A regular revision makes sure that you can recall 85% of what you have studied. Apart from all the regular revisions, it is important to practice the mock tests as well. Taking the mock test give the students a feeling of the exams which will help to gain speed and improve the writing skills.
The Time Required
Generally, the time that is taken to prepare for the UPSC exams is around 10 to 12 months. There have also been a number of candidates who have cleared the examination in 6 months. And for some of the students, even 6 years have proven to be less.
UPSC exams have a huge syllabus and a number of factors also come into the picture. It is very important to get the proper guidance and strategies so that you do not lose your time by studying the irrelevant materials.
There are certain internal factors as well that the students have to keep in mind. These factors include the dedication, sincerity, perseverance, and commitment. These qualities differ from one person to another. Thus, it could also be said that the time taken to prepare for the different subjects generally rely on the internal factors’ intensities.