Still confused about how to prepare for your UPSC attempts? Both upsc coaching and self-study has its advantages and disadvantages that you cannot ignore. upsc coaching has reached a whole new level in the last decade with an increasing number of students willing to become IAS and IPS every year. Due to the requirement of high-level study, dedication, and mounting competition, some students are preferring professional coaching institutes that have higher degree of success. On the other hand, some are preferring self-study that would offer them more time to study and not just follow the institutes’ curriculum. Both parties are right, yet both parties are missing some aspects by leaving the other. It seems that there is no solution to this doubt! This needs to be resolved to help students opt for any one for the best preparation.

Advantages and Disadvantages of upsc coaching

Different coaching institutes are offering dedicated upsc coaching to students appearing for exams every year. You not only get explanations, and understanding of the course and the subjects from these classes but experienced professional faculties make sure to provide quality study materials as well as offer a structured study plan to complete the syllabus within the available time. Students appearing in exams for more than once have identified some pros as well as cons of taking upsc coaching.

Pros-

1. From previous year’s questions to question patterns, important dates related to the exam, govt notifications, to the opportunity of attending mock tests, we offer everything to the applicants in the best upsc coaching institute.
2. Achieving analytical skill along with proper understanding of subjects on which you are supposed to write essays need to be perfect for successful outcome. Our team of expert faculties make sure to offer all these with guarantee of success for students.
3. You need to prepare well for the paper of current international affairs, and attending quality classes from skilled lecturers in the paper can enrich your knowledge base required in the exam.
4. You get to experience living in a strict time-schedule when you are a student of leading upsc coaching. You cannot manage to keep your routine intact without the pressure of the institution. We offer you a structured study plan to help you complete your learning and preparation.

Cons-

1. You have to follow the curriculum; your institute is following. If you are weak in a particular paper and need more practice in it, you can’t have it when you are in a class where you are supposed to learn the same that you already have prepared.
2. As a student of the coaching institute, you need to appear for the mock tests as and when advised. This may hamper your study pattern or the time you need to prepare yourself for the particular paper.

Experts have advised that students appearing for UPSC exams need quality coaching to prepare themselves properly and to achieve the most desired outcome. Students may face some issues in terms of personal preparation or understanding of specific paper or subject that they need to handle individually.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Self study

As you are already aware of the upsc coaching and both the advantages and disadvantages associated with it, you need to explore the field of self-study as well. Self-study is the priority for students who are appearing in the exam after a or two failed attempts. These applicants prefer self-study more useful as they have been in the curriculum of coaching study plans for some time now. They find it useful to study individually and learn their lessons perfectly to achieve the desired outcome. Here are some pros and cons of the self-study process to help you choose your suitable option.

Pros

1. As you are aware of your strengths and limitations, you can design your study plan for better effectiveness.
2. UPSC is all about dedication and deep-minded focus to achieve your goal. If you have achieved that discipline in your life and study system, make your study plan and divide your time similarly for all the subjects and papers you have. You can get additional help from our expert faculties as per your requirement in special classes.
3. If you are already working in some position to earn your livelihood, self-study is the best and most feasible option. In that case, you need to manage your time calculatedly to utilize all your minutes in the best possible way.
4. These days self-study can be powered by apps from leading upsc coaching institutes. You can get all the required study materials in those apps to access as a registered student. If you are repeating, you also have the materials and you are aware of the curriculum as well as question patterns. Now you only need to study hard to achieve your dream.

Cons

1. If you are completely new to the world of UPSC, and don’t know the basics, self-study may not be enough to support you for clearing the exam.
2. Experienced ones planning to study hard in their personalized structured study plans might miss the current updates on national and international front along with their expert analysis by the expert faculties.

So, self-study also has some positive and some negative aspects associated. Now, as both the options are discussed here in detail, it has become clear that there is no hard and fast rule, and it is completely your choice. If you are planning to appear for UPSC exams to become an asset of the Government, you need to prepare yourself. You need to make the decision of whether to go for the upsc coaching or not. If you are studying in a coaching or not, self-study is the ultimate that you can do to clear your exams.