The Paradox of Choice

[asamad786]

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.

[soloflyer]

Originally Posted by asamad786

Would anyone be kind enough to answer my question. Thanks.

since you already know the basics of CSS , the next thing is deciding your subjects. as you might have seen you have to select optional subjects that make a total of 600 marks. since you are in georgetown i believe you have good grip on english and with daily newspaper reading you can cover current affairs too. decide your optionals , buy some books and whenever you have spare time read them

opt subjects like international relations, political science that you are already studying . this will reduce the workload. then once you are free , you can give your 100% to preparation and at that time i think 3 months will be enough for you.

[asamad786]

Thank you. As for the optionals, here is what I am considering: Political Science, European History, International Relations and Constitutional Law.

If I do graduate by December(Inshallah) and give the exams in February 2014, what does one do in the screening and allocation process that takes about 2 years? I do have some ideas-I could either pursue a Masters in Germany(Heidelberg University) or decide to work full time. Oh, and I am specifically aiming for the Foreign Service group.

[soloflyer]

Originally Posted by asamad786

Thank you. As for the optionals, here is what I am considering: Political Science, European History, International Relations and Constitutional Law.

If I do graduate by December(Inshallah) and give the exams in February 2014, what does one do in the screening and allocation process that takes about 2 years? I do have some ideas-I could either pursue a Masters in Germany(Heidelberg University) or decide to work full time. Oh, and I am specifically aiming for the Foreign Service group.

if you give papers in feb 2014 , then written result will be declared in oct/nov 2014 and final result will be declared in june/july 2015. you will start your training hopefully in november 2015. so after appearing in your papers you can do anything , but if you pass the written exam then you will have to appear for psychological 2 days, medical 1 day and 1 day for interview. your subject selection is fine. if you are interested then do opt for one regional language , like punjabi , pushto etc . these languages are very scoring.