Toppers Talk with Apala Mishra, Rank 9, UPSC Civil Services 2020

Miss Apala is the proud daughter of her mother, a professor at Delhi University and father, who is a retired army official. She has a degree in Bachelors of Dental Surgery (a 5 year course) and has the distinction of beinga gold medalist in college. She cleared the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Exam of 2020, an exam in which lakhs of candidates compete, to attain an extraordinary 9th rank. Unable to clear Prelims in the first two attempts, she straightaway cleared all the three stages of the exam in her third attempt.
00:50- The interview starts with an introduction
2:30- Her academic journey
4:25- Understanding the exam- how it is different from other exams
6:01- The importance of a holistic approach- interconnections between the subjects/ themes
6:57- Time to be devoted for preparation for this exam
7:59- How to decide for which optional to select
13:33- Tips for Anthropology
15:22- How to deal with setbacks- specific to Prelims
17:18- Importance of integrated preparation
18:37- Psychological aspect of number of attempts on a student
22:37- When to shift focus towards Prelims specifically
23:34- Analysis of mistakes in Mock Tests
23:58- Number of Mocks one should take
24:41- CSAT preparation
25:15- Importance of Abhyaas tests of VisionIAS
25:50- Prelims specific sources
27:57- Preparation for Ethics
29:59- Sources for Ethics
31:40- Viewing everything from the preparation point of view
32:07- Approach for case studies
32:57- Importance of presentation
35:57- Essay preparation
39:05- When to start answer writing
41:00- Time management and strategy during the exam (Mains)
43:10- Strategy for the actual exam (Prelims)
45:37- Interview in special circumstances
49:15- Attire for the interview
49:33- How to prepare for the interview and her experience
52:21- Service Preference
53:44- UPSC dream- when did it begin
54:50- Challenges perceived as an IFS officer
56:41- Preparation for foreign services
57:57- Unexpected questions
1:00:14- A favourite/ challenging question from the interview
1:02:57- When to start interview preparation
1:06:07- Something more on the interview that Miss Apala would like to add.
1:7:00- How to go about current affairs
1:09:42- Notes-making from newspapers
1:12:37- Notes for NCERTs
1:14:10- Role of guidance
1:17:27- Future goals
1:18:30- Message for aspirants
1:19:15- A Thank You note