A beginner just thinking of preparing for the IAS Exam often needs to be guided well when it comes to choosing the best IAS coaching institution. The point to be noted is that the beginner, in most of the cases, rushes to Delhi, leaving his native town with the dreams of preparing well acquiring a score good enough to join IAS.
Needless to say, the IAS aspirant is usually not only new to the entire process of preparing for the IAS Exam, but also to the Indian capital as well. He usually does not have many of the relatives or acquaintances here. Thus with no one to turn to in order to seek a guidance for the preparation for the IAS Exam, he finds it quite difficult to make the right choice while looking for the best IAS coaching institution.
A few tips to the beginners to choose the best IAS coaching institution
When you are in a new locale, away from your home town, and not among your kith and kin, it certainly is not an easy job to search for the best IAS coaching institution in Delhi. However, the tips given below would definitely serve as a guide for the beginners to choose the best institution for themselves:
#1. Has the institution been producing successful students recently? There is no point if a coaching institution prides itself for having produced successful candidates who cracked the CSE at the first attempt 10 years back! If you want to be sure of the quality of the coaching provided at the institution, it would be wiser that you opt for an academy that is known for producing successful candidates at the present time.
#2. Do not go by big names: Many of the IAS aspirants look for big names in the field of IAS coaching. However, that’s no guarantee that a coaching institution that has been coaching for, say 30 years, would be able to equip you successfully to crack the CSE.
On the other hand, many of the comparatively newly established IAS coaching institutions have also been coaching in a competent manner. And the IAS aspirants coached by them have also been successful clearing the Civil Services Exam.
So, it’s advisable to opt for an IAS coaching institution for the sake of a flawless coaching rather than for getting coached at an institution simply because it happens to be a big name and has been there since the 30 years! Remember, it’s the quality of the coaching that is going to help you crack the IAS Exam and not the number of the years since the coaching institution has been there.
#3. Get a feedback from the current students: These are the students being coached at the institution currently who can provide you with the true picture of the quality of the coaching being provided at the institution. In case, you get a negative feedback, it’s best not to get enrolled at the institution.
#4. The teaching pattern: Though the faculty should be having a strong hold over the respective subjects that they teach, you should not ignore the teaching pattern opted for by the institution at any cost. That is to say, the faculty should be accessible in case you require getting your queries answered or the doubts solved.
The coaching institution should provide the students with regular query solving sessions or keep a provision(s) for allowing the students to get all their queries and doubts clarified. Only then can you have a crystal clear understanding of all the concepts as per the syllabus prescribed by UPSC for the Civil Services Exam.
#5. Mentorship: It’s a MUST, apart from the query solving sessions or a suitable provision for the same. Many a times, a student might be facing some complexity encountered while preparing for the IAS Exam and may require more of time to simplify the same. Besides, an IAS aspirant might have a unique complex problem, apart from the issues usually faced by other candidates. Thus, he might be needing mentorship. It’s advisable to look for the IAS coaching institution that provides the mentorship in a competent manner.
#6. Study Material: The importance of the study material is not to be compromised with. The institution that you choose should provide the study material that not only covers all what UPSC prescribes in a highly competent manner, but also in a precise and lucid language. Besides, it should be completely devoid of any kind of diversions for that would only result in a waste of time.
#7. Test Series: The institution that you opt for should provide you with test series that are designed in a competent manner. The test series along with essay test series should cater to all the changes, if any, produced by UPSC in the CSE pattern, apart from the requirements of the UPSC syllabus, of course.
#8. Mock Interview Sessions: Your entire effort to qualify the Prelims and score well in the Mains would simply prove to be futile unless and until you clear the last stage of the IAS Exam, i.e., the Interview successfully. So, it would be only sensible to opt for the coaching institution that provides you with the Mock Interview Sessions.
#9. Do not be influenced by the peer pressure: It’s you who would be facing the IAS Exam. So, decide for yourself rather than letting the peers decide for you.
#10. Ask for a demo class: Ask the IAS coaching institution that you feel like getting yourself enrolled at, if it provides its future students with a demo class. Attending the demo class would give you an idea of the manner and the quality of coaching that you would be receiving at the institution in future.
Finally, give yourself at least as much of time as might be required to sit in a relaxed frame of mind and consider if you require something else from the IAS coaching institution concerning your preparation for the IAS Exam, apart from what has been discussed above. Choose only the institution that you feel would be able to equip you in the best possible manner to clear the IAS Exam.
