Some Common Myths About UPSC

The Union Public Service Commission is a premier administrative body that conducts exams for recruitment to various services in the central government. The current examination is called the UPSC Main Examination, which covers almost all the major sections of central government services. The UPSC Main Exam is conducted every year in India in two stages- preliminary and main examinations.

The exam lasts for one day and candidates have 120 minutes to answer 120 questions in total, divided into four sections as follows- General Studies, Noesis Subject Studies, Optional English Language & Social Science question papers are only for those candidates who qualify or wish to take them. A lot of myths about UPSC and wrong information are often circulated about UPSC, the exam, and its results.

In this article, we will discuss some of these Common Myths and clarify the facts About UPSC.

While it is true that the UPSC exam is competitive, it is a myth that only those with expensive coaching classes have a chance to crack the exams. The fact of the matter is that all candidates who have qualified for the final stage appearance at the interview stage decide who gets selected. This means that no matter who you study under, you’ll be able to face an interview with confidence if you are well prepared for it.

By definition, the UPSC Main Exam is all about preparation and research on your own . and more. We have identified some of the Common Myths About UPSC, which we will try to bust below:

1. My coaching institute will do better than others
   No matter who you study under, the aim of UPSC preparation is the same, “The biggest shortcut to success is prior preparation”. Thus, candidates need to train themselves for the exam and make sure that their preparation follows their own goals. One of our previous articles had discussed the differences between coaching classes and institutes. In essence, if you are well trained by your institute or coach in a particular subject, you can be sure that you will be able to put up an equally impressive performance on the day of the interview.

2. My coaching institute will be a better help compared to others
   This is again a myth, instead of choosing a coaching institute based on your preferences, you should seek one that is capable of providing you with the proper guidance and training required for the exam. Several institutes and coaches have qualified for the UPSC Main Exam by themselves without any help. Therefore, it is ideal for candidates to display confidence in their learning ability and not worry about studying somewhere else because it would not make any difference.

3. I need to study my favorite subject only
   It is not true that students are allowed to choose the optional subject they want to study in each section. For example, in the General Studies section, candidates are required to study subjects from Physics, Mathematics, and Civics. If a candidate wants to study English, he has to include English in the General Studies section.

4. To crack UPSC MAIN Exam you need only to write in Urdu or Hindi (in the examination booklet)
   UPSC does not have separate languages for various sections of the exam papers- rather if you have Hindi as your mother tongue then you can read English for all sections of this exam. The same holds for other languages too (e.g., if a candidate has Spanish as his mother tongue then he can write in any of the languages covered under Noesis / Optional).

5. I’ll score well if I write in Gujarati in the examination booklet
   This is again a myth as there is no such rule for any of the sections that state “If you are not comfortable with any other language, you can write in your mother tongue”.

6. If I have studied from a football coach (or cricket coach) then I will score well in sports-related skill tests
   There is no such rule and it’s up to the candidate to prepare based on his own goal. Just because you are good at sports does not mean that you will be able to secure marks for your exam just because coaches work hard to get good results.

7. All UPSC applicants have to write separately
   UPSC has not yet issued any statement as regards this issue.

8. I should read only the main books of my chosen subject and leave the rest to the coaching institute/coach
   This again is a myth. The books which are bought by candidates, do not have any particular guidance regarding the examination marks distribution (even though many of them claim that they do). Instead, these books provide generic tips regarding exams like RRB, IBPS, other exams, etc.

9. I should study for the Personality test only after studying for the main exam
   It is a myth that students can only study for the Personality Test once he/ she has finished studying for the Main Exam. The Personality Test is conducted independently, i.e., it does not follow any particular order which means that you can start preparing for your personality test from the very first day of your preparation. 
10. I should avoid writing my name and other details on question papers

Students don’t have to worry about writing their names on question papers as they are not used in any way while determining marks during or after the exam evaluation process. 

Conclusion- Even though most of the myths discussed above are myths about upsc, candidates can go ahead and study-related subjects as they please. However, it is important to note that with the competitive nature of UPSC, it is difficult to tell which type of preparation would work best for each individual. Hence, we recommend all students to try out as many options and then make a choice based on their own goals and preferences.