
Hi All,
I am Ayushi Jain, and I graduated from IIITDM Jabalpur with a degree in mechanical engineering. I’m from Dag, which is in the Rajasthan state of Jhalawar. About my journey with UPSC, I have tried a total of 5 times:
Table of Contents
- 1 Ayushi Jain UPSC Booklist
- 2 Ayushi Jain UPSC Marksheet (Prelims)
- 3 Ayushi Jain UPSC MARKSHEET (MAINS)
- 4 Ayushi Jain Biography
- 5 List of books and general plan for getting ready
- 6 Coaching institute joined by Ayushi Jain
- 7 Possible reasons for failing to pass prelims twice
- 8 Particular Suggestions for Mains:
- 9 Optional Geography strategy by Ayushi Jain
- 10 Interview Preparation Strategy by Ayushi Jain
- 11 Ideas from Others
Ayushi Jain UPSC Booklist
Ayushi Jain UPSC Marksheet (Prelims)
Ayushi Jain UPSC Marksheet (Prelims) | |
Roll Number | 1122806 |
Name | Ayushi Jain |
Paper 1 | Unknown |
Paper 2 | Unknown |
Ayushi Jain UPSC MARKSHEET (MAINS)
Ayushi Jain UPSC MARKSHEET (MAINS) | |
Subjects | Marks |
ESSAY | 113 |
GENERAL STUDIES 1 | 109 |
GENERAL STUDIES 2 | 106 |
GENERAL STUDIES 3 | 84 |
GENERAL STUDIES 4 | 114 |
Optional Paper 1 | 137 |
Optional Paper 2 | 139 |
Written Total | 802 |
Personality Total | 202 |
Final Total | 1004 |
Ayushi Jain Biography
Ayushi Jain Biography | |
Particulars | Details |
Name | Ayushi Jain |
Age | Unknown |
All India Rank | 74 Rank |
Roll Number | 1122806 |
Marks | 1004 |
Optional Subject | Geography |
Hometown/City | Rajasthan |

- I couldn’t pass prelims on my first try (CSE 2018).
- On my second try, I passed the main exam and had an interview, but I didn’t make it onto the list.
- I got an AIR 85 on my third try (CSE 2020).
- On my fourth try, I still couldn’t pass prelims.
- The CSE 2022 was my fifth try, and I got the 74th place in all of India.
List of books and general plan for getting ready
- Polity: “Polity” by Laxmikanth. • Modern History: “NCERT of 12th class once or twice, then switched to Spectrum publication’s book.” • Ancient History: “NCERT + Lucent.” Didn’t read much about the Middle Ages, but I did read Lucent.
- Shankar’s book on the environment
- Sriram IAS book on economics
- Geography: NCERT 11th and 12th, and Vajiram yellow book
- International relations: recent events + vision 365
- Society: short notes found by Googling terms from the course outline; • Science and Technology: current events.
- Vision 365: internal security
- Disaster management- forum IAS guide
- Ethics: Mudit Jain sir’s approach (not from the book, but from his notes). • Current affairs: VisonIas magazines and sometimes forum IAS Dipin sir’s notes.
Coaching institute joined by Ayushi Jain
• No coaching for GS;
• Optional: Vajiram;
• GS test series: vision (2019), forum (2022);
• Geography test series: ALS in 2020 and MSP by Edukemy;
• Mock interviews: at Deeksha in Hyderabad.
Particular Suggestions Prelims: Read several times and edit many times
- Answered 50 tests, including 15 full-length tests from various coachings; • Took notes on specific things after analysing the answers to the tests;Solve the 10-year PYQ and look up each answer choice on Google. • Look for PYQ beyond 10 years as well.
Possible reasons for failing to pass prelims twice
- 1st attempt- I didn’t change much. I also read a lot of facts.
- 4th try: The results for cse 2020 just came out a few days ago, so I couldn’t practise for the preliminary test. I didn’t even look over the whole material.
Particular Suggestions for Mains:
Don’t spend too much time making notes.
Practise the following:
• Write 3–4 GS answers every day.
• Structure 2–3 more GS questions.
• Answer 2 optional questions every day.
• Write PYQs, especially for optional, for at least 5 years.
• Write 1 essay every week and 1 essay structure every week.
• Read all PYQ essay quotes and use them in future essays.
- “Find” (don’t make) a list of key words and key quotes. Give an example after each point; do this for the first two or three points in GS.
- I also read finished mains paper (test series) of vision IAS (available in the market).
Optional Geography strategy by Ayushi Jain
Make a list of short notes and make a copy to practise all the diagrams and plans.
- Practise putting together PYQs in a geographical way, and look it up on Google if you have trouble. • I also read model answers from Edukemy’s collection, which I bought from the market.
- Write at least 2 full-length tests on both papers.
Interview Preparation Strategy by Ayushi Jain
The trip has been very interesting for me. Here are the results of my personality tests:
- 2019: 138
- 2020: 187
- 2022: 202
I’m not really sure how it happened, but I think that honesty, confidence, and answers that are well-structured and short played a big part. Rest relies on the person and can only be judged one-on-one.
Ideas from Others
- I didn’t usually write things down. I usually had to rely on notes from the market. (This is not something you should do).
- I often didn’t know which test set to join. But I understood that they were all the same because everyone who works for coaching copies from each other. Not much to worry about.
- Motivation only helps up to a certain point, so get into good habits. To do well on any test, you need to be consistent.
- It’s great to have a group of friends who watch out for each other.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help without any assumptions. I met some of the most honest people, whose advice was very helpful.
Lastly, be positive and optimistic, but always bring yourself back to reality. Never ever tell yourself a lie about being ready.