How to Become a UPSC CSE Topper?

Becoming a topper is a dream of many aspirants, still only a few make it a reality. It demands a combination of smart planning, consistent effort, and effective time management. It involves setting distinct goals, practicing self-discipline, and adopting efficient study techniques. Staying motivated, analyzing self weaknesses, and learning from your own mistakes are the core ingredients to become a topper. This article will provide a planned strategy to become a topper in UPSC Civil Services Examination.

• To become a topper in UPSC CSE requires a dedicated 12–18 months of disciplined strategy, resilience, and smart work.
• Build on your Base: Focus on NCERTs (Class 6–12) for General Studies (GS) basics to cover static syllabus first like Polity, History, Geography, Economy in first 3–4 months.
• Very attentively read daily newspapers (The Hindu or Indian Express) for current awareness.
• Although time consuming in the beginning but make concise, revision-friendly notes with mind maps.
• For Prelims: Cover static part (70%) & dynamic portion (30%).
• Practice comprehension and maths through mocks for CSAT paper.
• For Mains: Make separate notebooks for GS-I (History/Geography), GS-II (Polity/IR), GS-III (Economy/Environment/Science) & GS-IV (Ethics).
• Link them with the latest contemporary examples to write better answers & fetch more marks in exams.
• Choose scoring optional subjects (Anthro/PSIR/Sociology) since toppers score 300+ marks.
• Practice PYQs: Solve past 10-year Previous Year Questions (PYQs).
• Solve 50+ Prelims mocks & 20+ Mains tests (NEXT IAS).
• Timely analyze your mistakes by weekly review.
• Practice Answer writing (2–3 daily) with proper structure (intro-body-conclusion, diagrams).
• Revision and Time Management: Revise the whole syllabus before exam 3–4 times minimum. To achieve this target, study for 10–12 hours daily.
• Topper’s Habits: Toppers focus on consistency over intensity & self-study. They get a good sleep of 7–8 hrs & timely exercise for their good health.
• Topper’s Mindset: They are always process-focused and learn from failures.

• Shakti Dubey has adopted the same discipline of strategy across her five attempts at UPSC CSE 2024.
• The postgraduate from BHU in Biochemistry used her solid academic base to provide her focused preparation.
• Shakti believes one should understand the syllabus and align preparation with it.
• It took the standard books, limited study material and repeated visits.
• She read the newspapers every day for current affairs and used to accompany it with small compilations by the month.
• PSIR was her optional subject, and it was a subject chosen keeping in mind that she could prepare for GS as well as an interest in human sciences.
• She practiced answer writing regularly through test series to improve articulation and time management.
• Shakti believes she owes her success to self-evaluation about the change in strategy after each attempt and also the mental resilience.
• An even-paced routine allowed her to take breaks and reflect.
• So, her journey from clear ambition to untiring hard work has shown how to get a UPSC with rebate.

• The triumph of Aditya Srivastava as UPSC CSE 2023 AIR-1 is an illustration of the disciplined, consistent, and self-motivated way of preparing that is rooted in the strong academic foundation.
• His tactics for the Prelims focused on great conceptual clarity, lots of practice, and targeted revision.
• In the case of Mains, he did not lack in writing skills or ideas but relied on his Electrical Engineering background for his optional subject, all of which were decisive in winning the battle.
• Aditya’s background was modest but supportive and he followed a carefully planned study regime without any coaching which makes his journey a testament to the power of persistence, self-assessment, and time management when it comes to winning the UPSC exam.
• His success is a challenge to aspirants to blend hard work with smart strategies for long-lasting victory.

• Ishita Kishore is the topper of UPSC CSE 2022. She earlier made a disciplined plan that lasted about 40–45 hours per week. She used limited but standard books. She focused on consistent revision, made self-written crisp notes, and practiced multiple mock tests.
• She had different focus areas for prelims, mains, and interviews to counter the two prelims failures that she had gone through with, in her preparation years.
• For Prelims, she followed a daily routine with fixed reading of NCERT books, standard books, and a newspaper and did multiple revisions.
• For Mains, she used limited resources, revised short notes, and focused on the repeated revision of General Studies (GS) and optional (PSIR) (chosen for its overlap with polity, governance, IR) to score maximum marks.
• For the interview, she participated in many mock interviews to sharpen her body language, listening skills, and balanced answers under pressure.

• Shruti Sharma, the 2021 topper, emerged from Bijnor, Uttar Pradesh, with a remarkable story of resilience.
• After missing the interview call by just one mark in her first attempt, she turned disappointment into motivation.
• She focused on NCERT textbooks and utilized online resources to enrich her notes.
• She also wisely avoided social media distractions.
• Shruti’s journey exemplifies that setbacks can be turned into stepping stones by learning from mistakes and prioritizing quality study.

• The topper UPSC CSE 2020 Shubham Kumar focussed on the strength of self-belief, affirmative environment, and consistent practice for the exam.
• He emphasized on building supportive belongingness and chose a suitable optional subject to create an advantageous environment to become a topper.
• His success strategy lies in keeping self motivation, practicing numerous mock tests consistently, and avoiding distractions or negative thoughts (of failure) throughout his preparation journey.

To become a topper material, you need to change your mindset. You need to be positive and avoid negative thoughts. You need to set weekly goals or targets and try to achieve them within stipulated time. Always remember that by doing small things daily, you can achieve big things in life. You need to work harder, smarter and regulate your sleeping hours accordingly. Exercise regularly, perform yoga and meditation to keep your mind calm and composed. Revise monthly, whatever you have studied for the exam so far, to increase your retention power. Consistency over intensity will certainly lead you to become a topper in UPSC CSE.

Discipline, strategy and perseverance are the key pillars of becoming a topper. Always try to transform your effort into excellence, success will follow. Your dedication will show the result with flying colors irrespective of the huge competition. So, do your duty(karma), stay focussed and the top rank shall await you.

How long does it take to become a UPSC topper?

Depending on background and consistency, 2-3 years of dedicated preparation is needed to become a topper.

What's the biggest mistake aspirants make?

Lack of writing practice is the biggest mistake aspirants make. Toppers focuses on daily answer writing and gradually makes improvements.

How to stay motivated during preparation?

Schedule small targets, track your weekly progress, and visualize success daily. Additionally, take short breaks to avoid burnout.