Is it possible to clear Civil Services without joining a coaching institute?
Can you provide examples of candidates who have done so
Whenever someone hears the word 'UPSC', the image that often comes to mind is of thick books, sleepless nights, and most importantly — expensive coaching classes in Delhi or other big cities. But the real question is: can someone actually crack this exam without ever setting foot in a coaching institute?
Absolutely yes -clearing civil services without joining a coaching institute is possible. Every year, many aspirant prove their success story but let's be real- it is not an easy journey. When you are preparing without coaching, you need a strong self- study starategy, the right resources and complete discipline.
The real foundation: Self belief, the first thing needed isn't a coaching fees its self belief.
Toppers Who Did It Without Coaching
There are many inspiring names — like Ira Singhal (AIR 1, 2014), who primarily relied on self-study, or Anudeep Durishetty (AIR 1, 2017), who did self-study in his final attempt. Even many rankers in the top 100, every year, clear the exam by studying at home with online resources.
These examples prove that coaching is not a magic pill — consistent hard work and smart planning is.
They believed in their approach refined their strategies and stuck to their plan.
Syllabus + strategy
UPSC is not a test of coaching notes, it is a test of your understanding of the syllabus, current affairs and ability to express your thoughts. The syllabus is publicly available. Previous year questions tell What's important. Resources are abundant online classes NIOS NCERT books and government resources like PIB and Yojana.
With a smart plan, you can easily divide your time between GS, optional ,current affairs and answer writing without ever stepping into a classroom .
What Coaching gives (And What You Can Still get without it)
coaching provide three things
1. Structure
2.Pear environment
3.Doubts solving
But you can recreate this yourself; for example:
Structure- make a daily weekly plan using proper st strategy.
Environment- join telegram groups answer writing groups or simply study with a timer.
Doubts- Use platform like Reddit ,Quora or even Grok for clarifications
Coaching is not a shortcut
It is important to remember coaching helps but does not guarantee selection , thousand takes coaching every year and still didn't qualify what really counts is how you study and revise study and revise.
What makes difference ?
A limited set of reliable resources
regular answer writing practice
mock test analysis
Mental and emotional stability
This matter for more than any physical classroom.
The Real Question
So can you clear UPSC without coaching ?
Yes absolutely, but you need to be your own teacher, motivator and evaluator. It's harder, but it builds you stronger. Coaching can guide ,but self study build character- and UPSC is at its core, a test of character.