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पुणे आणि मुंबईतील क्लासच्या एका जाहिरातीने मी हबकलो  When I started looking for guidance , I was fascinated by some words of a coaching class in Pune & South Mumbai…..they said;

-We focus on only IAS coaching, unlike others who have diversified courses;

-We have faculty coming from Delhi, You must admire this…

-We have Toppers interaction, do attend to know more

Today ,I am a officer with the state government and have already given 3 UPSC CSE Interviews and I am mentoring a few students who are victims of above claims. I want to tell you the hollow facts of the above 3 claims:

1. that We focus on only IAS coaching, unlike others who have diversified courses; – Soon i ‘discovered that this institute was involved in many courses, right from kids hobby courses.
2. that We have faculty coming from Delhi, You must admire this… Ya this faculty came every Saturday,Sunday, and taught in class-bla-bla and flew back the next day. When I actually started studying , writing answers, I found no one by my side. I soon discovered the hollowness of this claim.
3. that We have Toppers interaction, do attend to know more….. i found, that these toppers were paid enough to come and address and throw a perception that they were products of this institute. ‘Image of toppers interaction, never said,that the topper was their product” uff-how dumb I was then, not to fall in this perception trap.

The fact soon drew me into more in-depth study of what should students look for, while searching for right guidance.

  After UPSC Civil Services 2018 final result have been declared, aspirants are left with a presumption on whether UPSC will continue emphasizing on current affairs or it may change the streak and ask questions about static questions based on current events, –So now whatever may be the inclination, only one skill survive and can save the stinking boat i.e., efficient and consolidated writing skills.  Towards Effective Answers What should be the ideal answer for any question? – This is a baffling question itself. It is totally depends upon the candidates background and varied ideas and perspectives, but it is totally on an aspirant’s judgment to decide what is apt to be mentioned or not. — It is based on this and only this point, should students decide about coaching class, mentor and self . When I decided that I was going to prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam, the next major decision was whether to join a coaching class or not. Back then, online content had just begun to come up. Hence, whether to join a coaching or to study online was not even a question. But online content has matured a lot in last 4 years. So a major question among aspirants starting their preparation now is whether they should join a classroom, or whether they can prepare effectively for civil services relying solely on online content.

Towards Effective Answers What should be the ideal answer for any question? – This is a baffling question itself. It is totally depends upon the candidates background and varied ideas and perspectives, but it is totally on an aspirant’s judgment to decide what is apt to be mentioned or not. — It is based on this and only this point, should students decide about coaching class, mentor and self . When I decided that I was going to prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam, the next major decision was whether to join a coaching class or not. Back then, online content had just begun to come up. Hence, whether to join a coaching or to study online was not even a question. But online content has matured a lot in last 4 years. So a major question among aspirants starting their preparation now is whether they should join a classroom, or whether they can prepare effectively for civil services relying solely on online content.

Lets start with basic talks,

What UPSC Needs?

– UPSC exams is the total story of how well you present yourself-your personality test-through answer writing and Interviews. So the crux is knowing your personality and writing answers . This should be evaluated by officers who have approached that path. Personalised feedback and inputs should be given and in such a way, incremental progress over a period of time must take place.

What students do?

-Joining a class OR self study- more focus on reading – some may be doing answer writing and may or not may not be getting them evaluated from some senior. Where do you get a personalized touch to this type of studies.

What classes do?

They will give you live classroom coaching-bla bla bla, or videos, contents, notes and tests. Who evaluates the paper, how do they do scaling?-check this

Is there any personal touch? NO, and given the commercial narrative that they follow, even the best of best faculty, class cant give that personal guidance.

Coaching V/S Mentorship
When I was preparing for Civil Services Exam, I always felt if there was some mentor who could help me strategize and provide me study feedback, rest I can handle myself, without any coaching. This is even more true today. The truth is that UPSC is 99% about self study and only 1% about guidance. That 1% guidance has to be extremely minimal, –to the point and -be effective.

Hence, my hypothesis, that in today’s digital world, classroom coaching for UPSC Civil Services is redundant and a huge waste of time and money. But the flip-side of online content is that so much content becomes available, it becomes almost impossible for a fresh aspirant to filter out the relevant content. Thus, mentorship is the need of the day. Someone who could help you decide what to study and what not to study. Someone experienced to help you strategise and motivate. Someone who is capable of resolving your conceptual doubts. Someone who keeps monitoring your progress and provides you the feedback on what and how to improve, while you could invest your full energy in studying what is prescribed

Preparing For UPSC From Home Or In Classroom

Based on these beliefs, I have started a Classroom (in Mumbai Dadar & in Pune) as well as online mentorship program , called ‘Sankalp UPSC 2020’. 
In this program, Officers and academicians with proven credentials will mentor a small batch of students. We will help each student create a clear strategy and timeline for next one year. This strategy will be personalised for each student. Based on it, we will help set up monthly and weekly targets for the aspirant. We will teach in classrooms and help select and prioritize reading material. I will help resolve conceptual doubts. All this assistance will be in classrooms and also online, so it also becomes possible for aspirants sitting anywhere in the country to prepare in the best possible manner without having to physically shift to Delhi/Pune. Most importantly, we will provide assistance on demand only where it is required, thus minimizing the interference and allowing the aspirant to give maximum time to self study, which is what the UPSC Civil Services Exam is all about.

For more details about the program, write to me at shreesankalpfoundation@gmail.com or whatsapp me at +919930075295. Call 9930075267 if am unreachable.

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