Hello and AoA everyone!
It's great to see so many people actively participating in this forum!
I have made up my mind about appearing for the CSS Examinations in 2014 and had a couple of questions to ask. Before that i would let you know a little about my educational background.
- Schooling + O Levels + A Levels from Beaconhouse School System
- Bachelors in Business Administration (Honors.) from one of the top Universities in Lahore.
- Masters in Management from U.K
My English Language is good, but after looking at the past-papers i realise that i need some practice to come up to speed. I have studied, Economics and Business Management related courses throughout. I love reading books and have been reading and writing regularly since school.
This is my first time appearing for the CSS Examinations, and i intend to keep it that way by working hard and giving it my best shot inshaAllah !
Anyway.. back to the questions
1. Is it actually useful to go to an academy to get the basics of the exams? Do they teach students things which we can not learn from books or the internet?
2. Time. I have heard people saying that ''you will have to study for 10 months daily and for 8-10 hours, stop any social activities and stay at home all day and study!'' - How true is this? Frankly speaking, i have never been able to concentrate more than just a couple of hours at a stretch. Will i have to change my self for this ?
3. Subject selection. First of all, what do experienced people suggest - is it better to have more subjects because they might be easier for you or is it better to study less subjects because there would be lesser subjects to study? For example: I have come up with a couple of combinations but have not decided yet because i want to study the syllabi further.
Option A: Public Administration, Sociology, Journalism, US History, Constitutional Law and International Law.
Option B: Economics, Sociology, Journalism, US History and International Law.
Option C: Economics, Political Science and Islamic History.
Now. I really like option A, but i will have to study 6 different subjects where as in option C i will only have 3 subjects (but again, those 3 subjects have a really lengthy syllabus and I'm uncertain about Islamic History)
So.. is it worth going for Option A/B or is it better to go for option C?
Out of these which ones are usually considered as scoring and which ones are usually tough?
4. Books. Are there any set of good books for the mandatory/compulsory subjects? I do not want to read people's notes. Can any one recommend a single book for each subject? (Or is it better to study from more than one book?)
5. I am currently working full-time and plan to leave my job around August/September so that i can fully concentrate on CSS preparations because these days i only have some time on the weekends. Would you recommend this? Or would you suggest that either i keep on with the job, or leave it next month i.e May ?
I would be grateful for answers and recommendations to the above questions.
Hats off to the good people managing this forum! God bless!