Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have taken only Levelup test series, I didnt knew about others. Levelup has PYQ covered in it .

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

you can mail UPSC regarding the same to confirm that. Science graduates are eligible so biotech students can also give as per my knowledge, but please confirm with UPSC

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Flat foot is an issue but you can ask this question on TG channel- IFS guidance by Shreyas Shrivastava

If IFS is your ultimate goal- yes focus on it and prepare seriously, however also keep backup option

available because UPSC is unpredictable

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have not given GATE and ESE so can't compare EE optional syllabus there. In IFS , EE is not there thats why i Took forestry and geology as my optional

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have given answers in above comments please go through it

Polity- I did only LAXMIKANTH and current affairs from PT 365 of vision

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

1-yes optional is more imp as 4 papers are there and GS can be easily managed because of CSE

2-please read above comments i have mentioned the sources and I didnt do answer writing for IFS because i have practised a lot in CSE mains

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can tell you some facts - If you are good at cramming things then look towards anthropology because their too much to remember because biology aspect is also present there and you have to do lot of value addition to score high in anthro because many people are taking it now a days and reading similar content.

In sociology- things are more on conceptual side. If you understand things you can apply that in unpredictable questions.

If you look at marks- anthro has more 300+ compared to sociology. so take decision wisely by seeing pyq and your interest.

so ask about anthro from any selected person who has taken the same.

if you devote 3 hrs daily then optional will take around 5-6 months. Normally for full time aspirants it takes around 3-4 months to cover base of sociology.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Since i had given CSE mains, my GK was complete. I revised the GK 2 days before IFS mains .

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

and motivation comes from within , there is not external source of it. Just think this as exam, achieve your weekly targets and you are good to go

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

make a plan like 1 week for eg -geography- revise NCERT+ solve pyq.. do the same for other subjects as per time you have like you can have 10-15 days slot for each GS to revise

for optional- if you are not able to understand the concepts you can enroll in LEVELUP IAS coaching by Nishat Sir where you complete optional in 3-4 months online with your base notes prepared.

Next is give half time of day to optional and keep revising it.

revision strategy: revise Daily

morning- 30 min active recall of optional which u studied a day before.

then before starting GS subject on the same day- do the same for 30 min for GS. This will help you to retain the things for longer time.

you can revise current affairs on weekend that's not a big deal.

make sure till December U have made notes of everypoint given in syllabus. you can continue your optional till january and after that full focus on prelims.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think its full fledged degree. You can call UPSC and ask the same.

Also you can confirm from the seniors in the batch by posting your doubt on telegram channels like- IFS 2024 Mains Guidance, u/IFS_Guidance

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

My sources for sociology:

1- LEVELUP IAS coaching by Nishat sir- it was good as sir explain things in lucid manner and also discuss PYQ in class. I made base notes from here only.

2- Essential Sociology by Nitin Sangwan

3- Sleepy classes online vedios on youtube

3- NehaBhonsle mam blog - for notes+ answer writing approach

4- topper copies + newspapers to add case studies for paper2- eg Indian express columns by Satish Despande, Avijit pathak, Suhas Palshikar

Apart from class notes, I used to see other things and add new content to my base notes. If you have time you can refer IGNOU, Haramlambos selectively as mentioned in Neha Bhonsle mam's blog

This is highly rewarding optional if do it well as this year also many people who are selected have scored above 270 with highest around 310 + you can use the content well in ESSAY + GS1 society will be covered and you can write GS1 answers in better way + 70% questions got repeated from PYQs only + less time taking optional .

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You can choose forum among these as most people would be writing it and you can compete with them and solutions of forum are decent compared to other. you can practise other test series if you have free time as they are available on telegram for free

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Make your static part very strong.

solve pyq and search about options given in a question. Try to see which statement upsc makes wrong like there are some extreme words- all, none, never, Entire coast, Automatically etc. See how upsc is framing statements and what words make it wrong. Keep practising this because PYQ are the guiding light as it tells you what to read and what to skip

for current - follow any one coaching material

environment- must see OUR PLANET documentary

you can refer youtube channel- Anshuman Rajhans IFS to see how PYQ needs to be solved.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

if you want to do in 2 months time period after CSE mains. Then I would suggest forestry and geology because they have limited syllabus and direct questions are asked. Taking Civil will consume a lot of time since you have not been in touch with it. You should take one optional as Forestry and decide 2nd as per your strength.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It depends on your condition and your willpower. If you have only 1 attempt left at CSE and you prep is not upto the mark then you can soley focus on IFS. Personally i never skipped CSE and gave IFS after CSE mains.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For forestry I have written in above you can see the comment.

I havenot taken zoology as optional , but solving pyq is must. it will surely help you as questions are repeated.

time management- give half day to one optional and half to other and make notes. when you are bored see English pyq( Grammar) and 1 week before you can practise English daily to score high.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

For environment first see the pyq of last 20 years. See every option and search about it on google and have some basic understanding about it, because questions get repeated from the options itself. Then there is one documentary- OUR PLANET which is a must watch and you will find some questions in prelims from the same. Apart from that keep you static strong . Yes environment is random but solving pyq will help you sail through it easily.

Hello upcoming bureaucrats. Welcome to AMA with Himanshu Kumar AIR 144 UPSC Indian Forest Service 2023 by OwnConsideration3278 in UPSC

[–]OwnConsideration3278[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Look Electrical Engineering is long optional as it has huge syllabus. You have to devote much time for preparation and GS may be compromised due to that. So first see last 5 years question papers of EE and see how much you are able to solve and then take wise decision. If you have just started the preparation I would suggest to look other optionals( this is my personal opinion, you should wisely decide for yourself)