In this article, we are giving you information about how to prepare for upsc without coaching 2025. Many students are unable to afford coaching for upsc. They need the right guidance. Before starting the preparation for the upsc exam all you should know about the upsc post information, the upsc syllabus, the upsc marking system for prelims, and the main,upsc pattern for prelims and mains exam. Many students start upsc preparation without knowing the syllabus and marking pattern. Then they become confused because they do no know the syllabus and pattern. So first thing first you should be aware of the syllabus, marking pattern, and rules for exams. Before starting upsc preparation you should read and remember the upsc syllabus and find out important topics. For upsc preparation, you should follow the syllabus and not books. Before starting actual upsc preparation you should read the syllabus and remember all topics.
Now you are going to understand how to prepare for upsc without coaching class, whether it is possible to prepare for upsc without coaching class, and why self-study is best for upsc, we are now going to tell you all the information. If you are going to prepare for upsc without coaching class. One thing you have to keep in mind is that no one is going to guide you or support you or help you so you have to guide yourself. Since you will be preparing alone, you will not have many friends. While studying, you will constantly worry that there will be no one to guide you. Since there is no one to guide you, if you face any problem while studying, you have to get yourself out of that problem. Think positive and learn selectively.
You need to develop a strong mindset to study by self-study or without coaching classes. You have to become self-made, you have to become self-sufficient. You have to check yourself for the latest updates related to the exam daily. You have to use the internet properly to know new information. You should have information about what books upsc toppers read as well as what study sources they use. Every day you have to update yourself. If you don’t update, you become outdated. Every year many upsc toppers prepare for UPSC without coaching classes. Preparing for upsc without coaching class gives you plenty of time and you realize your mistakes while studying.
Preparing for UPSC without a coaching class means self-study. Some students do not have a good financial situation. Not all students can join UPSC coaching classes because these days UPSC coaching classes charge very expensive fees. UPSC coaching classes have attracted many students through publicity. So students and their parents feel that they need to join coaching classes to prepare for upsc. Many students are doing UPSC preparation with jobs without coaching. If you don’t join a class while preparing for upsc, it saves your money and time. According to us the best way to prepare for upsc is through self-study. Every year lakhs of students go to Delhi for UPSC preparation. Every year, as many students go to Delhi to prepare for upsc, as many students return from Delhi.
Nowadays many upsc coaching classes have been advertised and attracted many students and their parents for class admission. It has been seen that there is no need for coaching class to prepare for UPSC, even if you do self-study only, you can clear the UPSC exam easily. If you are not able to go to Delhi for upsc preparation then you can join a good library in your city or any other city and start studying there. The flood in Delhi in July 2024 exposed the true situation of students in Delhi. How students prepare for UPSC in Delhi and what difficulties they face came before everyone. After that many students accepted to do self-study. You can also prepare for UPSC well by reading some basic books and good reference books. After 1999, Delhi has become the major center for UPSC preparation. As the center of many famous UPSC coaching classes in India is in Delhi, many students go to Delhi for their preparation. One advantage of preparing upsc in Delhi is that you can find coaching classes, hostels, restaurants, and bookstores all in one place. Major areas like Old Rajendra Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, and Patel Nagar are considered best for upsc preparation. You should focus on self-study for UPSC preparation.
Benefits of Self-Study for UPSC Preparation –
Former upsc Chairman Mr. D. P. Agrawal has often mentioned in his speeches that there is no need to join any coaching class to prepare for upsc and only you can do UPSC preparation by self-study. You don’t need to depend on any coaching class to prepare for upsc. UPSC coaching classes will only teach a subject knowledge but not tell you how to study. If you prepare for UPSC by self-study, you will have the advantage that you will have more time to study, you will understand your mistakes, you will get time for self-analysis, and you can use your right strategy for study. By doing self-study you will know what to do and what not to do. Many coaching class owners may ask you to purchase their self-published book for you. If it is seen that whatever study material or whatever notes are there for the UPSC coaching class are not so useful. If you analyze, you will realize that as many students as are in the upsc top 100 list Out of these 80 percent of students have cleared the upsc exam only by self-study. Some students join different coaching classes for CSAT, essay writing, answer writing, current affairs, and other subjects so they spend a lot of their day time in these classes.
Disadvantages of joining UPSC Class –
If you join a UPSC class in a place like Delhi or any other city, you have to spend at least two to four hours a day for classes. Finally, the classes recommend their books to you to read their books. Similarly, they tells the importance of their notes so that every student should take notes for him. For one, not everyone can join the UPSC class due to the expensive fee. Apart from the coaching classes fee, you have to spend a lot of money on the hostel stay, food, library, and other expenses. In a single batch, almost 400 to 500 students are studying with you at the same time so teachers can’t give you individual attention. These teachers do not pay attention to clear doubts in a subject. Coaching classes teach you every topic but they don’t teach you how to study or how to plan your studies. Also, it may take you a lot of time to go to class. Traveling makes you very tired and it affects your studies.
How to prepare for upsc without coaching 2025 –
1. Make your unique strategy – To pass any exam your strategy should be unique and different from others. If you are doing self-study, you should focus on making your strategy unique and simple. There should be a convenient and easy strategy for General Study and CSAT papers in the prelims exam. Similarly, you should make an integrated and convenient strategy for mains exam’s four papers of general study, essay writing, answer writing, and optional subjects. If you see every UPSC topper strategy is different. UPSC toppers do not make their strategy to same as anyone else. One thing that you need to include in the prelims and main exam strategy is that you need to concentrate on how you can use your prelims book list in the main exam.
That means you don’t need to read any new books except the same books that you read for each subject for prelims which you need to read for the mains exam. Every upsc topper follows this strategy. Your friends and you should have different strategies for upsc. In UPSC preparation you should make a strategy that you can easily follow. While preparing for upsc you don’t need to take the tension of interview because first you have to clear prelims then after mains you get two to four months to prepare for the UPSC interview. So the highest priority for you should be for Prelims and Mains exams. You can show your strategy to your close friends or your teacher and ask them if there changes are required.
2. Make a customized and short book list – If you are going to do self-study and not join any coaching class for upsc then you first need to make a unique book list for yourself. You need to review the important books that upsc toppers read. And need to include the same book in your book list. For each subject you have to read basic books from 6th to 12th plus one reference book. No need to read two or more books for a subject. First of all, you need to read the basic book. Basic Books i.e. Central Govt NCERT Textbooks. If a book is new, then you can add that book to your book list if you think it’s important. Every UPSC topper reads at least one book but revises it a maximum number of times. Avoid reading readymade notes of coaching classes as much as possible. Rather, you should read the notes you have prepared by studying on your own.
And most importantly you should read and understand the complete syllabus before reading the book. Add very few books to your book list. Keep in mind that you are studying to clear the UPSC exam and not to become an expert. Your book list should be ready before starting preparation so that you can read the books for the prelims and also in the mains. Even for optional subjects, you need to read very few books because finally, you have to go to the exam and write the answer so even if you read fewer books you can write well. You need to create a consolidated book list. The lower the book in the book list, the higher your success rate.
3. Follow the timetable And Be Punctual – Every upsc topper follows his timetable daily. The daily, weekly, and monthly planning of upsc toppers is fixed as well as they do the study on the scheduled day. You should have a proper plan for every hour, every day, week and month and you must follow it. Every upsc topper would have often mentioned in his speech that he started his studies by waking up early in the morning. Which means they don’t study at night. It is considered best to study early in the morning. The study done at night stays in your mind temporarily but then you forget it after one day or two days so you need to start studying early in the morning. Even if you cannot wake up early in the morning and start studying, you should start studying at least seven to eight in the morning. You should write your schedule in writing on a piece of paper and stick it on the wall.
You should be able to give equal time and equal justice to each subject. A specific time should be reserved for each subject. You don’t need to read only one subject every day but you must study two or more subjects every day. Studying two or more subjects in a single day does not make you feel bored while studying. If you are preparing for UPSC then you can’t take a holiday on Sunday, you have to reserve special time on Sunday to study and solve the test. You should not take leave for any festival. Waking up early in the morning on time, eat on time, study on time, and go to bed on time should be a daily routine.
4. Update yourself – If you want to prepare for UPSC by self-study then the most important thing is that you have to keep in mind that here no one will guide you so you have to be your own guide. You need to know about the changes in competitive exams, changing syllabus, pattern, and marking system daily. Daily current affairs should be studied. For current affairs, you need to read one to two newspapers daily and read monthly magazines. Studying the important happenings of the state, the country, and the world, and you need to know the new updates. You must get complete knowledge of each piece of news considering that they might ask in UPSC interviews, pre-exams, or main exams. Find out which books are of good quality and reliable. Similarly, you need to know which books to read and which books not to read. Read daily new social, educational, and financial information which keeps you updated. You must be aware of the changes in competitive exams.
5. Practice – If you are preparing for upsc without coaching class then the most important thing is that you need to practice a lot of mock tests. You should have a plan for the test series for the prelims and mains. In the main exam, you should practice four papers of general study, an optional paper, an essay paper, an English paper, and a mother tongue paper. If you are preparing for upsc for a full time, you should solve at least five multiple choice questions for the prelims every day. Also for the main exam, you should write at least three to five answers daily. The more you practice the test, the better your chances of success. In a UPSC topper interview in 2023, one topper said ‘I prepared less, my revision was poor but I got a good rank as I practiced test series.’
Studying is not just about reading lots of books but revising along with practice is important and more importantly, practicing the question papers. The most authentic source for UPSC is UPSC Previous Year Question Papers. You should solve the upsc previous year’s question paper of the last 10 to 15 years and analyze it. Practicing question papers helps you understand where you go wrong, which topic you don’t understand, and which topic you are weak in. You should try to practice question papers daily. Practicing test series will remove your exam fear. And understand how much competition there is for the exam.