UPSC CSE Prelims failed Success Stories 

Rajeshwari Suve M (AIR 2, CSE 2025): 

 She cleared the exam in her 5th attempt after failing the Prelims in her first four attempts.

Subhadharshini M (AIR 83, CSE 2023): 

 She succeeded in her 7th attempt. She notably missed the CSAT cutoff by just 0.5 to 2 marks in several of her previous attempts.

Priya Singh Chauhan (AIR 45, CSE 2025): 

She failed the Prelims 5 times and cleared it for the first time in her final attempt to secure AIR 45.

Tanushree Meena (AIR 120, CSE 2021): 

She cleared the exam in her 5th attempt; she failed the Prelims in all four prior attempts, twice specifically due to the CSAT paper.

Rahul S Sankanur (AIR 17, CSE 2018): 

 He secured AIR 17 in his 5th attempt after failing the Preliminary exam four times consecutively.

Priyanka Goel (AIR 369, CSE 2022): 

 She famously cleared the exam in her 6th and final attempt after failing the Prelims five times previously.

Gunjita Agrawal (AIR 26, CSE 2022): 

 She cleared the exam in her 5th attempt after failing the Prelims four times.  

The list does not end here; many candidates who repeatedly failed at the Preliminary stage eventually went on to secure top ranks.