Most civil service aspirants would tell you that attending coaching classes for the civil service examination (CSE) is important, for you need to know not just what to study but also what not to study.

While choosing a coaching centre, ask yourself the purpose of joining an institute. Identify what kind of guidance you need and choose accordingly. For instance, an institute may be good for general studies coaching but not for optional subjects. Identify your weak areas and choose an institute accordingly.

The entire approach to clearing CSE lies in a well-devised strategy. Coaching too is an integral part of preparation and if you join any fly-by-night operator you may end up not just losing money but your precious time as well.

Ask your seniors in college who are preparing for CSE to guide you. You can also ask your professors for their opinion. Don’t go by tall claims made by the institutes. A reputed institute may not necessarily give you the kind of personal attention you seek. Many good institutes do not advertise, but word-of-mouth works for them.

Join an institute only after checking its credentials. Most reputed institutes have websites where they highlight the achievements of their students. Call or write to former students and ask whether they were happy with the institute. Take their opinion on how to choose the right institute.

Visit a couple of institutes, talk to the faculty and students. “Check out the kind of personal attention given to each candidate,” says Manish Kumar, sub-divisional magistrate, Sasaram, Bihar.

If your city doesn’t have a good institute, don’t hesitate to travel to the closest city or town that boasts of good coaching institutes. Hailing from Varanasi, Kumar stayed in Delhi for a year to avail of the best coaching options. “If your goal is to clear CSE, you should opt for nothing but the best,” says Kumar.

Kumar advises aspirants not to go just by the name of an institute but by its quality of teaching. “Even if a teacher is attending to a class of 150 students, he or she should be available when you raise a question,” he says. Kumar, who ranked fifth in the civil services, enrolled for a four-month crash course for the preliminary examination while for the mains he devoted three months to coaching.

A good coaching centre also allows you to meet like-minded people with similar goals. “You tend to prepare best when you are in a peer group,” says Ajith Nair, who is currently attending coaching classes at two institutes in Delhi.

Checking the infrastructure too is important — as Priyanka Sharma learnt the hard way. “Initially, I had joined a reputed institute but left the place after 10 days. There was no space in the classroom,”says Sharma. Often, she attended the lectures without even finding a place to sit. “I realised there was no point in attending coaching for a crucial examination in a cramped set-up,” she adds. She later joined another institute, only after talking to the faculty and students.

One of the few places to avail of coaching in Calcutta is the Institute for Civil Service Aspirants. Some of the leading institutes in Delhi are Sriram’s IAS coaching centre, Vajiram and Ravi, Rau’s Study Circle and Vedanta IAS Academy. Most institutes charge between Rs 20,000 and Rs 40,000 per subject.

Those who cannot find any good institutes in their city can avail of postal coaching from Brilliant Tutorials, Vajiram and Ravi and Rau’s Study Circle. Visit their websites and gather details regarding the mode of payment and other information. “Postal coaching can act as the next best thing to personal coaching,” says Kumar.

Students availing of postal coaching should also regularly update themselves, check web resources and libraries to know if there has been any change in their area of study.

If you are ready to invest over a year in studying for CSE, spend at least a week in deciding about the coaching institute.

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Check out these websites for information on coaching institutes

www.brilliant-tutorials.com

It has four sets of courses, ranging from a nine-month module to an 18-month one. The fee ranges between Rs 3,500 and Rs 7,500, depending on the course and duration.

www.sriramias.com

Based in Delhi, this institute offers three courses — prelims-cum-mains course, the mains course and a viva training programme. The fee for general studies is Rs 22,500 for prelims and Rs 33,000 for both prelims and mains. For public administration, the fee is between Rs 21,000 and Rs 25,000, depending on the duration of the course.

www.vajiramandravi.com

This Delhi-based institute provides coaching for general studies, public administration, psychology, sociology, commerce and accountancy, and geography. The fee is Rs 37,500 for general studies and Rs 27,500 for optional subjects.

www.rauias.com

It charges Rs 58,000 for the prelims and mains. The course covers general studies, the essay paper and one optional subject (law, psychology, public administration, history, economics, geography, sociology and commerce).