Why to stay with your back-ground optional for IAS preparation:
- All background optional subjects like Commerce, Management, Economics have very high success rate of more than 12.9% comparing optional subjects like anthropology, political science, sociology and public administration that have success rate between 7% to 10%. No one can deny that fact.
- Intellectually it is easy to reach kind of depth required by UPSC. You have studied background subject for a minimum of 5 years. New optional can not equate that broad and deeper knowledge and understanding. It is due to this reason that background optional candidates qualify early or even in first attempt. The new optional takes minimum 2 years to develop kind of depth and understanding required by UPSC.
- Emotionally you relate to Commerce & Accountancy since a younger age. It has become part of your thinking. Reading it is listening to any good music. Not stressful. Rather stress buster. New optional would require full attention of every word and sentence. In commerce you may read at para level by just reading heading. After reading the new optional you may feel exhausted. Read commerce in the evening. You will feel fresh as you have read the subject of your emotions. Garima Lohia says that ‘After a day’s study you need to read something which you are comfortable about. That is your background subject.’
- Time consumption – New optional will take almost double the time required to prepare back-ground optional. You can save around 50% of your time by taking commerce optional. Saved time can be put for better preparation of General studies and essay. Garima Lohia did it. She got 2nd rank by putting less time in commerce preparation and more time for GS. She has 2nd highest marks in GS.
- Lower marks in new optional. Visit any telegram channel of sociology or political science or anthropology. You will find more than 95% of candidates lamenting about poor score in these optionals. It is difficult to cross 200 in new optional in first attempt. In commerce you can get 250 with good preparation, that too with self study. Getting 280+ in new optional is possible only after good study of 2 years.
- Candidates turning back to commerce: Every year many students take commerce after facing difficulties in sociology and political science. Really grass is green from distance. Every optional looks easy until you read. Once you read 5-10 pages, you come to know the true nature of optional. Candidates are suggested to read one-two chapters before finalizing new optional.
- Open vs limited competition: in optional like sociology there is tough competition among thousands of candidates. It is difficult to write something better than others. In commerce around 250 candidates appear. Limited competition is an edge. In the same effort you write better answers and get more marks.
- Facing unexpected questions in new optional becomes out of blue and getting blank, particularly in compulsory short notes and analytical questions. There is no such issue in Commerce. No one can be blank in even unique question. Even analytical questions can be answered well in commerce.
- Coaching dependence – New optional necessarily requires joining coaching to gain knowledge & understanding. No such essentiality in back-ground optional. One may prepare commerce by self-study. Only test series may be joined for good answer-writing practice. Full course coaching in commerce helps add more value to your existing knowledge and make you more exam focused. In new optional students have to struggle for 6-8 months to get basic understanding and little hold over concepts.
- Govt needs people from “Commerce and Economics”. By choosing new optional you give message of lack of interest in Commerce. It is easy and natural to justify taking Commerce in Mains. In new optional unexpected questions may be asked by interview board that are difficult to answer.
