What is success rate for optional subjects in UPSC CSE mains? - pravinnath/upscpreparationguide GitHub Wiki

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Let me put it like this - It varies from individuals to individuals and from year to year. So try not falling in the trap where ‘random’ people who never made it to the merit list opt in for a particular subject and leave the others.

What I can tell you this that choosing an optional (any optional) will prove beneficial if you have an excellent grip over it. The fact that an optional like , let’s say Public Administration is more popular with aspirants (owing to the accessibility of both resources and guidance) than Kannada Literature does not make Kannada Literature less scoring. It’s just that the number of aspirants opting for it is way less (given the parameters).

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Before choosing an optional, instead of focusing on the ‘success rate’ , I recommend the following 3 criteria for aspirants -

Interest in the optional (Damn Important. You’ll have to stick with it through out your preparation) Availability of Study Material (Both online and offline as well as Mock Tests) Accessibility to Guidance (You’ll need it at times especially if the optional chosen by you is new to you) Having mentioned the above three criteria, I’d also like to point out the following -

The one thing that aspirants have got to ignore is this - “Last year’s topper opted for an XYZ optional. I should choose the same.”

Please don’t allow yourselves to be tortured in studying an optional you might end up hating just because somebody else chose it and cracked the exam.

Personally speaking, I chose English Literature as an optional. It worked brilliantly for me but may not turn out to be the same for someone else. So be wise, take some time in making an informed choice and then go ahead. It’ll save you a lot of trouble.

All the very best for your preparation. Make your attempt count.

If you feel the need to ask more questions pertaining to Civil Services examination, feel free to drop by my blog

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Success rates are not because some optionals were easy vis a vis others or the paper evaluators are biased towards any particular optionals .

I would suggest to go for any optionals which you are interested in because your interest in that subject will form base for you to develop expertise in that optional and develop creativity .All other factors viz success rates with that optional in past , number of candidates opting with that optional , availability of study materials etc do not matter much .

P.S: I personally know an IAS officer who being engineer had aced CSE with Sanskrit as optional having studied sanskrit only during school days upto class 9th.