Civil Services Examination (CSE) is an annual exam conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC.) The pattern of the exam is such that it occurs in three stages:
- Preliminary Stage
- Mains Stage
- Interview Stage
Each stage of the examination has its own peculiarities. Before an aspirant sits for the exam, he/she should know the important details of it like – Exam Pattern, Syllabus, UPSC Result and many more. The table below will brief you about the exam.
| Name of the Exam | Exam Pattern | Exam Month | Result Date |
| Prelims | Two papers:
|
It usually occurs in the month of May/June | The result comes after 1.5 months of the exam. Tentatively, the result comes out in the 2nd week of July. |
| Mains | Nine Papers:
|
It occurs in the month of August/September | The result usually comes out in the month of December/January |
Personality Test is the last stage after which the final UPSC Result is declared, usually in the month of April/May. Since it is a dream of lakhs of aspirants to clear the CSE, only a few can see their name in the final result list.
How to prepare for the exam to see your name in the UPSC Result
There are many strategies in the pandora boxes of the past year toppers. An aspirant preparing for the exam has to find a relevant strategy that matches his/her interests, comfort and personality. Once an aspirant finds such a strategy, all he/she has to do is to be consistent. An aspirant should be well aware of the intricacies of the exam. For example, how to fill an application form, how to download the UPSC Admit Card before each stage of the examination, how to fill a detailed application form (DAF). These intricacies might not be the core of the exam but without knowing the details of these, your preparation will be futile for the exam as any mistakes in these processes can straight away disqualify you for the exam.
Basic Details about the Exam:
The following list gives you the basic but important details about the CSE:
- The notification for CSE comes out in the month of February so aspirants should always be updated when the form is out so as to not miss the deadline.
- The online application form is the only way to submit your candidature. No offline application is entertained.
- Medium of paper should be checked by the aspirant.
- Photograph dimensions and signature details should be well known to the candidate before uploading it.
Candidates should know that the UPSC Admit Card comes three weeks prior to the examination and the same can be downloaded by the aspirants from the official website of UPSC. If an aspirant knows these details before even starting the preparation for CSE, he/she will at least not be missing out on the technicalities of the examination. Remaining battle of the examination can be won with a defined strategy.
