Rahul Shekhar, AIR 75 - UPSC CSE Prelims Strategy
Clearing the UPSC CSE Prelims is often considered the most unpredictable stage of the civil services journey. But what if there was a mathematical and strategic approach to conquering it? Rahul Shekhar, who secured AIR 75 in UPSC CSE 2025, has successfully cleared the Prelims three times (2023, 2024, and 2025), even qualifying for the Indian Forest Service (IFoS) with an AIR of 46 in 2024 .
In a detailed breakdown of his strategy, Rahul explains that Prelims is not just a test of rote learning; it is a test of aptitude. Here is a comprehensive guide to his Prelims strategy for both General Studies (GS) and CSAT.
The General Studies (GS) Strategy: Beyond the 80-Mark Barrier
According to Rahul, it is incredibly tough to cross the 80-mark threshold relying solely on pure knowledge. You can score around 60-80 marks from what you know, but the rest depends entirely on your aptitude and guessing skills.
1. Static Conceptual Clarity Over Endless Resources
Questions rarely come directly from your notes, but having a deep, foundational understanding makes your guesswork highly accurate. Rahul relied on his foundation course notes (from Next IAS) and revised them multiple times over the course of 10-11 months. He emphasizes that instead of reading standard textbooks like Laxmikanth 20 times, you can rely on concise foundation notes that serve the same purpose. Beware of the "FOMO" trap that makes you run after every new book in the market; multiple revisions of a single crisp resource will yield better accuracy.
2. Maximize Your Attempts and Master "Smart Guessing"
Attempting only 70-75 questions is mathematically imprudent and reduces your chances of selection. Rahul strongly advocates for maximizing your attempts. He points out that even mathematically, if you blindly guess four questions, probability dictates you will get one right and three wrong, resulting in a net zero score. However, as a prepared aspirant with logical deduction skills, your guesses will almost always yield a net positive score (+2, +10, or even +25). Taking risks is essential; in fact, not taking risks is a risk in itself.
3. Test Analysis: Fixing Your "Mental Makeup"
Taking mock tests is not just for learning new facts—it's for understanding your psychological vulnerabilities. Analyze your tests to identify patterns where you consistently fall into traps. Do you misread "not correct"? Do you get confused when terms like "IMF and World Bank" or "President and Governor" are swapped? Identifying and fixing these blunders will drastically improve your score.
4. The Last 15 Days: Shift Completely to PYQs
While you should give 40-50 coaching mock tests leading up to the exam, stop taking them in the last 10-15 days. Coaching mocks do not perfectly replicate the examiner's mindset or option framing. Instead, solve the Previous Year Questions (PYQs) from the last 5-6 years multiple times. This trains your subconscious mind to identify the examiner's patterns—like noticing that the answers to certain "How many of the following" statement questions are historically biased towards a specific option.
5. Simulate Exam Conditions for "Muscle Memory"
UPSC Prelims is a high-pressure environment, often conducted in harsh summer heat. Build your cognitive muscle memory by simulating these conditions. Rahul suggests even attempting three mock tests in a single day or taking open tests at centers to accustom your mind and body to stress and heat. On exam day, you should rely on this conditioned muscle memory rather than pure intuition, which can fail under pressure.
The CSAT Strategy: Don't Take It Lightly
Coming from a technical background, Rahul found CSAT manageable but warns that failing CSAT despite knowing your weaknesses is a massive injustice to your entire year of preparation.
1. Identify and Master "Easy" Topics
Instead of superficially skimming all Math and Reasoning topics, deeply master 15-20 specific topics (like Number System, Time & Work, Syllogism, or Venn Diagrams). This allows your brain to intuitively scan and hunt for these easy questions within the first 5 minutes of looking at the paper—a trick Rahul used during his JEE Advanced days. Skip time-consuming topics (like complex relations or probability) if you find them tough, as you do not need to attempt every question.
2. The Attempt Sequence: English First
Regardless of whether you are from a humanities or mathematics background, always attempt the English comprehension section first. English requires a calm, subjective interpretation. If you leave it for the end when you are panicking, your guesses will likely be wrong. Spend about 45 minutes finishing English, and then switch to identifying and solving the easy Math and Reasoning questions.
3. The "4N Rule" for CSAT Attempts
Rahul shares a brilliant mathematical trick for CSAT: always attempt questions in multiples of 4 (e.g., 40, 44, 48, 52). Because of the one-third negative marking system, you need the exact same number of correct questions to pass whether you attempt 41 or 44 questions. If you find yourself at 42 attempts, you might as well logically guess two more to reach 44, which could give you a slight edge if you are on the borderline.
Clearing Prelims requires standardizing the simple things, practicing extensively, and developing a resilient mindset to handle the stress of D-Day. Build your conceptual clarity, take calculated risks, and map the examiner's mind to become the best version of yourself in the examination hall.
