SSC CGL Coaching Experience

I started preparing for SSC CGL in the last semester of my B.Tech in 2017. A little back story about my B.tech days: I realised halfway in between that Computer Science was not my calling neither it interested me and I don’t want to pursue it. I was confused about the future. That’s when my mother suggested I take up coaching just near my place. I took the evening batch in Paramount coaching from 6:30– 9:30 pm after coming back from college.

I was already good at maths and English since my school days. Gs was something I was always afraid of. But all in all, I made up my mind to give CGL a fair shot and hence began my journey at SSC.

After my B.tech final exams, I seriously committed to studying for the upcoming CGL 2017. I started in June and the prelims were in August. So there were hardly 2–2.5 months. It won’t be wrong to say that I was an amateur and naive aspirant back then. I hurried up to finish my maths and English basics. Gs I completely studied from the coaching notes and some parts from Lucent. In the last two weeks, I prepared for important current affairs.

Came the day of prelims. I attempted 77 questions and was pretty happy about it considering my first attempt (now I feel it wasn’t a very good attempt I could have done better). Let me tell you about the parts where I faired poorly according to vocabulary, GS, dice questions in Reasoning(it was so easy I just didn’t know the tricks back then), and a lot of short tricks in maths which could have saved my time. Anyway, I scored 142.5 in pre.

After that, I immediately started preparing for the mains. Some of the Books that I followed right from 2017 till today: are Rakesh Yadav class notes, Rakesh Yadav 7300 for maths, Lucent for GS, Neetu Singh Plinth to Paramount Volume 1 and 2, Kiran previous year papers, Play with advanced Maths Abhinay Sharma.

I vigorously studied for the mains exam because I wanted to cover up for the low score in pre. My aim was at least 180+ in both subjects. I changed many things in the main preparation as compared to the pre. I used I made my notes(along with the coaching notes I had) including all the important formulae, tricks, and recurring patterns, also For GS and vocab I made it a point to write down and learn those topics that were sure shot to come like Rivers, national parks, states and CM, important history dates and events, etc. The more I started writing vocab the more confident I felt the next time I revised it. Sundays were only for revising what I did the whole week and giving mocks. Don’t give mocks too early into your prep. Once you are at least 60–70% prepared analyze yourself through mocks and write down your mistakes in a separate register. Solve as many previous year papers as possible. Practice rounds minimum of 4–5 times what you already have done are essential(especially the books you follow and difficult questions you come across)

After many delays on 18th Feb, I wrote my main exam. It was a disaster I blanked out on some very basic questions in the maths section. Later on, I realised it was all a lack of practice and more focus was needed. English was still manageable.

The key was released and I scored 145.5 in maths and 169.25 in English. It was an average score and I qualified for tier 3. Tier 3 preparation requires you to get into the routine of reading newspapers, especially the editorial every day (no kidding pls do that) and writing 3–4 essays and letters daily. I took the tier 3 exam and scored 58. My total score was 515.25/700. I was barely hanging by a thread and was very scared because yes I had worked hard but I knew somewhere that it was not only the hard work that counted in competitive exams but also smart work.

The incessant court cases and delays made things even worse and took a toll on me and my studies. I was aiming for 2018 with a much better score now. I had my bad and anxious days where the future seemed bleak and no coming out of it. I was full-time at home with a B.tech degree and relatives taunting my parents for letting me sit at home. But I paid no heed to anybody and picked myself up again. I used up my free time now to analyze all the 2017 main papers and came across Ramo sir’s channel. I wrote down every solution with the help of his videos and amazing explanations. It was an eye-opener where I went wrong. I watched so many of his videos and came to know I wasn’t even half prepared with what I had learnt. Believe me, I spent the next 6–7 months only studying maths from various sources mainly Ramo and Abhinay sir’s videos, especially advanced maths. It was a game-changer. I bought 1–2 more books for maths and solved them- Play with advanced maths by Abhinay sir and Paramount’s mock test series (eng and maths). But please understand that you have to be very careful about who you follow on YouTube or any other platform. Don’t go for paid content because trust me there are ample free videos available that will surely skyrocket your knowledge. Don’t waste your time on YouTube watching unnecessary videos as it can be quite a trap.

I had qualified for DV and CPT but missed a seat by 8–9 marks. I was devastated after waiting for so long and was down even for a few weeks. But I knew I wasn’t going to give up. I had another chance at it with better resources and knowledge.

In January 2019, I full-fledgedly started preparing for CGL 2018, the pre was in June. I practised a lot, all the subjects and made some minor changes for GS. I bought the Kiran GS book which had all the previous year’s questions compiled. I started solving them daily along with reading Lucent and making my important notes. Going to show you a glimpse of it( it’s a personal choice, I always learn better with the help of my handmade notes)

Now I had taken extra time beforehand to make all these notes thoroughly with the help of Lucent(my only holy grail) which helped me save time during the actual preparation period. When pre got closer I doubled my efforts and honestly, there was no time limit as to how many hours I put in to study..my whole day used to go into preparing only with 3–4 hours for myself which I utilised mostly in spending time with family or sleeping.

In prelims, I scored 183.844 and it was quite a motivation that boosted me to thrive more and more in the mains exam. Some people feel pre is the deciding factor in what post you get but for me, it was always the main exam because I loved both the subjects and used to enjoy studying them. Hard work goes far but I also learnt you need to like and enjoy what you are doing every day that’s what will keep you going in this long journey.

Fast forward to the mains, this time the preparation period was quite a challenge. I was already anxious that last year’s pattern would repeat and that questions might be time-consuming. So I also focused on quicker calculations and speed along with accuracy. I always followed this rule in the maths mock: Go through the whole paper in three rounds.

In the 1st round do all questions that you can solve just by looking at them or you know the exact solution to without thinking twice(the questions where do u don’t stop to think )

In the 2nd round go for those little lengthy questions that will require you to use pen paper like figure questions, especially from advanced maths.

In the 3rd round, you will be left with the last 10–15 questions which will decide your fate. They are the tough elite questions that almost every paper has. Take your time to solve them with a calm mind and don’t panic. Keep a check on the time you’re spending on these questions. Don’t compromise other questions for the sake of one tough question.

Anyway, my mains went well I attempted 91 in maths and 198 in English. My score was 182.91 in maths and 195.05 in English. I was elated and felt proud of myself for having come this far and seeing my hard work pay off. Still, I was unsure and not even thinking about the post I wanted for myself. I just wanted to keep working with the same rhythm I had maintained for so many months. Tier 3 was 3 months away which gave me ample time to look up important topics and study about them. I had some previous notes from 2017 as well. I improvised those topics and added lot many current topics as well. I used to read the newspaper daily, write down 2–3 essays thoroughly and letters as well. This went on smoothly and I took my tier 3 exam without any hassles. The topic which was asked I had prepared with lots of facts so I was happy with my answer. Our result was expected in May 2020 but all came crashing down with the Covid-19 pandemic followed by nationwide lockdown. It was one of the most challenging times I ever faced … After coming so close to my dream when things were finally moving smoothly, CGL 18 aspirants were again faced with delays. But finally, in October 2020 our marks were released and I was expecting at least 60–65 marks this time as tier 3 is said to be purely luck-based. I was so surprised when I saw 71 marks on my scorecard. I couldn’t believe or even understand what this did to my final score taking it to a total of 632.85/700. I was relieved beyond words and finally, I could think about my dream job, MEA and let myself believe that I could achieve it this time.

I was still sceptical till the last moment because I had made some typing mistakes and missed a line I think and CPT was mandatory for getting MEA. But when the result came, tears rolled down my cheeks when I finally found my Name and the postcode B06 for MEA. Before I could react, the struggle of the last four years flashed through my eyes all the things said behind my back, aimed at me, sometimes my parents, all the sympathetic looks, everything came to fulfilment and trust me everything was worth it from 2017–2021, worth that MOMENT when I realised I had finally made it as an ASO in the Ministry of External Affairs :’) The AIR 105 was the cherry on the cake

Trust me when I say this I was just a very normal aspirant expecting just about any job through SSC CGL. I was so tired of the delays that I didn’t care about which post at one point. That’s why the second time I prepared I never did any calculations or expected a bracket of marks. I just studied regularly, and consistently, leaving the rest to GOD. I’m glad I did that and was pleasantly surprised by the result. I can’t forget how extremely supportive my parents and friends were throughout, never did they ask me any questions or any clarification as to why it took so long. Now finally my parents are relieved, happy, and proud of me.

Don’t beat yourself so hard that you forget to stay focused on the task at hand i.e. your preparation. Your perseverance, patience and faith in yourself will take you miles ahead. Don’t let anybody discourage you from your aim.