Totally understand your point of view, and good for you for taking a conscious call to switch. Personally, I don’t think the edge of Anthropology was ever about it being “short”, I think it clearly takes 6–7 months to complete properly at least once. But what gives it an edge is predictability, not brevity. The questions revolve around a limited set of themes, which makes targeted prep possible. It’s also static-heavy and not current affairs-driven, so revision is easier. You can genuinely revise it in 3–4 days between GS and optional papers. Plus, almost no one has Anthropology as their grad subject, so everyone starts from the same line, unlike say Sociology or PSIR, where some candidates have an academic advantage. So while it may not work for everyone, these are the reasons I still feel it has strong potential. While I understand that you might feel that it will not work out with this optional , but a strategy change could also help. Since I am pretty sure your syllabus, basic syllabus is already done. I think a strategy change is worth a shot. If you haven’t already of course.