Salam,

In the last few days, spurred on by relatives and family members, and even by personal curiosity, I have developed an interest in the CSS examinations, the feared, revered and all important exam, the gateway to success for thousands of aspiring candidates. Skimming through the blog posts, I have acquainted myself with the rules of the paper, the content of the syllabus, the style of the questions and the general attitude of the nation's youth towards the Civil Service(Its staggering and inspiring how motivated the members of the forum are). I have a few questions for the senior members of the forum and would be deeply obliged if anyone entertains my queries.

I am a junior in Georgetown University School Of Foreign Service, majoring in international politics. I have the option of graduating early, that is six months beforehand(by taking extra credit and summer courses), which would, as a consequence, allow me to register for the CSS exam by Dec 31 2013(I graduate from university in the second week of December) and consequently appear in 2014. This way, I would save me an year. Is this advisable, given that I wont have much time to prepare for the exam(2-3 months at best) to go ahead with this plan? Do consider that in university, I have-am studying subjects like philosophy, political science and law and because I read the news daily-as a habit- I would not be entirely unprepared for the exam. Excuse the length of the post and thanks in advance.