Success Story of A Manoj Kumar| Cleared GATE, CAT & RRB PO, While preparing for Civils

Manoj Kumar Aguru’s Success Story

I did my graduation in civil engineering department from JNTUK university in Andhra Pradesh. After my graduation, i started preparing for civil service exam and gave UPSC CSE 2019, in which i missed the prelims cutoff by 2.5 marks. I was devastated. And then, because of my poor financial background, i cant take the risk of preparing for civils anymore. So i started searching for other jobs just as a backup to civils. So i wrote different exams which are completely unrelated to my civils preparation.

Which exams did you appear in till date?

I have given UPSC CSE 2019 and missed the prelims cutoff by 2.5 marks. Wrote APPSC GROUP-1 MAINS and still waiting for the result.. Wrote GATE 2021 in civil engineering and got rank around 1100. Wrote SEBI GRADE-A 2020 MAINS and NABARD GRADE-A 2021 MAINS and missed the interview cutoff by very narrow margin. Secured 94 percentile in CAT 2019. Qualified RRB PO 2021, GATE 2021. Qualified for NIACL AO INTERVIEW but did not attended the interview as i want to stay in my home state and also to get ample time to prepare for civils, i preferred RRB PO.

Section-wise Preparation Strategy

English Section Preparation Strategy

I did not prepare for english separately. As i have the habit of watching english videos in youtube, i did not spend much time on english grammar as such. In my view reading books or newspaper helps more.

IBPS PO mains free mock test

Quantitative Aptitude Section Preparation Strategy

Just learning the basics enough. No need to do CAT level problems.

Reasoning Section Preparation Strategy

I just watched topic wise videos in youtube and selected one best approach for each subtopic and practiced that two or three times..

Reasoning free topic wise quizzes

General Awareness Section Preparation Strategy

Revising STUDY IQ and ADDA monthly magazines 2times before the exam.

SSC CGL Tier I Free Mock

Computer Awareness Section Preparation Strategy

Mostly relied on youtube.

Overall Strategy, Study Schedule & Challenges Faced

I dont have a proper study schedule, but having one will help in channelizing your preparation in a proper direction. My preparation was random. I study when i feel like studying, because of that mindset, i wasted most of my time watching unnecessary videos in youtube. In my whole preparation i spent more than 95% of my time studying current affairs, because i know that i can manage the other four sections with just basic knowledge. Its better to analyse your own strengths and weaknesses and act accordingly.. Overall, one month is more than enough for this exam

SEBI Grade A Phase 1 Paper 1 free mock test

How did PracticeMock help you?

Ofcourse yes. In the initial days i practiced the daily quizzes, which helped me alot in my preparation.

RBI Grade B phase 1 free mock test

Message for the Fellow Aspirants

In the initial days of preparation, watch toppers strategy videos, to get a rough idea about the exam.. And then make your own strategy based on your strengths and weaknesses and stick to it at any cost.

IBPS PO mains free mock test

For those who have cleared any exam and want to get featured on our blog can share his or her success story by filling in the details here bit.ly/PMSuccessStories.

Cheena Sawhney