Success Story of Aniket Saha – Selected in IBPS Clerk (CSA) 2025

If you are preparing for banking exams and feel tired after repeated near misses, Aniket Saha’s story will feel very real to you. He started in 2020 and kept improving year by year, but selection didn’t come easily. Sometimes he cleared prelims, sometimes he missed the final list by a small margin. It was frustrating, but he didn’t stop. He stayed consistent, kept learning from mistakes, and finally cracked IBPS Clerk (CSA) 2025. Let’s read his story below.

Q1. Please brief us on when did you start preparing for the competitive exams and how was your preparation journey?

I started preparing for competitive exams in 2020 with a strong determination to secure a job in the banking sector. Initially, it was quite challenging to understand the exam pattern, syllabus, and the level of competition. However, with time, I became familiar with the structure of exams like IBPS and began working on building my basic concepts in Quantitative Aptitude, Reasoning, and English.
My preparation journey was not always smooth. There were ups and downs, moments of self-doubt, and times when results were not in my favor. But I treated every setback as a learning opportunity. Regular practice, especially through mock tests, helped me improve my speed, accuracy, and time management skills. Analyzing each mock test thoroughly became a key part of my strategy.
Consistency was the most important factor in my journey. I followed a disciplined study routine, revised regularly, and focused on strengthening my weak areas. Over time, my confidence grew, and all the hard work finally paid off with my selection in IBPS CSA 2025.
Overall, this journey from 2020 to selection has taught me patience, perseverance, and the importance of believing in myself.

Q2. Which exams did you appear in till date and what were their results?

I have appeared for multiple banking competitive exams since 2020 as part of my preparation journey.

I appeared for IBPS RRB (Office Assistant) a few times and was able to clear the preliminary examination but could not make it to the final list initially. I also appeared for SBI Clerk, where I cleared the prelims once but narrowly missed the mains cut-off.

In IBPS Clerk (CSA), I consistently improved my performance over the years. In the earlier attempts, I could clear the prelims but missed the final selection by a small margin. However, with continuous improvement in mock analysis and time management, I finally secured my selection in IBPS CSA 2025.

Each attempt helped me understand the exam pattern better and refine my strategy. Even when the results were not in my favor, they strengthened my preparation and ultimately led me to success.

Q3. How did you prepare for the English section?

For the English section, I focused on building strong fundamentals along with regular practice.

Firstly, I worked on improving my grammar basics such as tenses, subject-verb agreement, prepositions, and sentence structure. I revised rules consistently and practiced topic-wise questions to strengthen my foundation.

Secondly, I made reading a daily habit. I regularly read newspaper editorials and articles to improve my vocabulary, comprehension skills, and reading speed. This helped me a lot in solving Reading Comprehension and Cloze Tests more confidently.

Mock tests played a crucial role in my preparation. After attempting each mock, I carefully analyzed my mistakes, especially in error detection and sentence improvement questions. I maintained a small notebook for new vocabulary words and revised them regularly.

Most importantly, I focused on accuracy rather than attempting all questions blindly. Gradually, my speed and confidence improved, and English became one of my stronger sections in the exam.

Q4. How did you prepare for the Quantitative Aptitude section?

For the Quantitative Aptitude section, I focused on clearing my basics first and then gradually moved to speed-building practice.

In the beginning, I revised fundamental concepts like percentages, ratio & proportion, profit and loss, simple & compound interest, time & work, and averages. I made sure I understood the formulas properly instead of just memorizing them. Strong basics helped me solve both arithmetic and data interpretation questions confidently.

After that, I practiced topic-wise questions daily to improve calculation speed and accuracy. I worked especially on Data Interpretation sets since they carry significant weight in the exam. I also practiced simplification and approximation regularly to save time in the prelims.

Mock tests were a major part of my strategy. I analyzed every mock carefully to understand where I was losing marks—whether due to calculation mistakes, time management, or question selection. Gradually, I learned to choose the right questions first instead of attempting everything.

Consistency, daily practice, and proper mock analysis helped me improve my speed, accuracy, and overall confidence in Quantitative Aptitude.

Q5. How did you prepare for the Reasoning section?

For the Reasoning section, I focused on strengthening my basics first and then gradually improving my puzzle-solving skills and speed.

Initially, I practiced basic topics like inequality, syllogism, coding-decoding, blood relations, direction sense, and alphanumeric series to build confidence. Once I became comfortable with these, I shifted my main focus to puzzles and seating arrangements, as they carry the highest weightage in both prelims and mains.

I practiced different types of puzzles daily—linear, circular, floor-based, box-based, and month/day-based arrangements. In the beginning, puzzles were time-consuming, but with regular practice, I learned how to approach them systematically and identify the right starting point.

Mock tests played a crucial role in my preparation. I analyzed which type of puzzles were taking more time and worked specifically on improving those areas. I also learned the importance of question selection—attempting easier and moderate sets first to maximize my score.

Consistency, daily practice, and proper mock analysis helped me improve my speed, logical thinking, and accuracy in the Reasoning section.

Q6. What was your strategy for the General Awareness section? (If Applicable)

For the General Awareness section, I focused mainly on banking awareness, current affairs, and static GK related to banking.

Firstly, I followed monthly current affairs capsules regularly and revised them multiple times. Instead of studying from too many sources, I stuck to one reliable source and revised it thoroughly. I made short notes of important points like appointments, awards, government schemes, banking updates, and important days.

Since banking awareness plays a crucial role, I prepared topics like RBI functions, monetary policy, banking terms, important committees, and financial institutions. I also revised recent mergers, headquarters, taglines, and CEOs of banks.

Revision was the key to my preparation. I made sure to revise the last 4–6 months of current affairs multiple times before the exam. I also attempted sectional quizzes and mock tests to understand the pattern of questions being asked.

Consistent revision and focusing more on banking-related current affairs helped me score well in the General Awareness section.

Q7. What was your overall strategy? Did you follow a study schedule? If yes, please share the details.

My overall strategy was based on consistency, smart planning, and regular mock analysis. Since I started my preparation in 2020, I understood that competitive exams require patience and a long-term approach rather than short bursts of study.

Yes, I followed a proper study schedule. I used to study around 6–8 hours daily, dividing my time among all sections. I ensured that I practiced at least two subjects every day to maintain balance.

My daily study plan looked like this:

2 hours – Quantitative Aptitude: Concept revision + topic-wise practice + calculation practice

2 hours – Reasoning: Puzzle practice + miscellaneous topics

1–1.5 hours – English: Reading editorials + grammar practice + vocabulary revision

1 hour – General Awareness (for mains phase): Current affairs revision and banking awareness

Mock Test Practice (3–4 times a week): Full-length mock followed by detailed analysis

Mock analysis was the most important part of my strategy. I spent more time analyzing mistakes than attempting the mock itself. I noted down weak areas and worked on them specifically.

I also kept one day in the week mainly for revision and re-attempting difficult questions. Instead of studying randomly, I focused on quality study with proper revision.

Overall, discipline, regular mocks, continuous revision, and staying positive throughout the journey helped me achieve my selection in IBPS CSA 2025.

Q8. Did you face any hurdle as well? How did you overcome it?

Yes, I definitely faced several hurdles during my preparation journey that started in 2020.

One of the biggest challenges was dealing with repeated setbacks. There were times when I cleared the prelims but couldn’t make it to the final list. Missing the selection by a small margin was emotionally difficult and sometimes led to self-doubt. Staying motivated for such a long period was not easy.

Another hurdle was time management and maintaining consistency. Some phases were mentally exhausting, especially after putting in a lot of effort and not seeing immediate results.

I overcame these challenges by changing my approach rather than giving up. I started analyzing my mistakes more deeply instead of just attempting more mocks. I focused on improving weak areas one by one and worked specifically on time management and question selection. I also avoided comparing my journey with others and reminded myself that everyone’s timeline is different.

Most importantly, I maintained consistency. Even on low-motivation days, I made sure to study at least a few hours. Gradually, my performance improved, my confidence increased, and all the perseverance finally paid off with my selection.

Q9. Did PracticeMock help you in your success? Please elaborate.

Yes, PracticeMock played a very important role in my success.

The quality of mock tests was very close to the actual exam level, which helped me understand the real exam pattern and difficulty level. Regularly attempting full-length mocks improved my speed, accuracy, and time management skills.

What helped me the most was the detailed mock analysis. The performance reports clearly showed my strong and weak areas, section-wise accuracy, and time spent on each question. This allowed me to work specifically on the areas where I was losing marks.

The sectional tests were also very useful, especially for improving puzzles in Reasoning and Data Interpretation in Quantitative Aptitude. The current affairs quizzes and banking awareness content helped me revise important topics for the mains examination effectively.

Overall, consistent practice on PracticeMock, along with proper analysis of each test, significantly boosted my confidence and played a key role in my selection in IBPS CSA 2025.

Q10. What’s your message for the fellow aspirants who are preparing for competitive exams?

My message to all fellow aspirants is — never give up on your goal, even if the journey feels long and exhausting.

Competitive exams test not only your knowledge but also your patience, consistency, and mental strength. There will be setbacks, low scores in mocks, and even missed selections — but that does not define your capability. Every attempt teaches you something valuable.

Focus on building strong basics, practice regularly, and most importantly, analyze your mistakes. Mock tests are important, but learning from them is even more important. Avoid comparing your journey with others because everyone has a different timeline.

Stay consistent, even on days when motivation is low. Small daily efforts create big results over time. Believe in yourself, trust the process, and keep improving step by step.

If you remain disciplined and positive, success will definitely come — maybe not immediately, but surely at the right time.

Conclusion

Aniket Saha’s journey feels like what many aspirants go through — trying again and again, coming close, but missing it by a small margin. It’s not easy to stay motivated in such situations, but he chose to continue. Instead of getting stuck in disappointment, he worked on his mistakes, improved his strategy, and stayed consistent every day. Slowly, everything started falling into place. His story reminds you that success doesn’t come suddenly — it comes from small, daily efforts that you keep doing even when it’s tough.

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