I really liked what Jatin Sir from VISION IAS had to say on his X account. Here's what he thinks.
Summary - He's asking the selected candidates not to downplay the effort they put in and to guide others responsibly.
An Open Letter to Those Who Just Cleared the Civil Services Exam
The UPSC CSE 2025 results are out. And before everyone could even finish celebrating, all the coaching institutes and ed-tech platforms started approaching you. They all want a piece of your success story. They want to use your face to sell their courses, and they want to make it sound like their one course was all you needed to crack the exam.
I want to talk to you, not as an outsider, but as someone who has been through this process.
I left my corporate job back in 2011 to prepare for this exam. I was really passionate about it, and I started preparing with some friends from college. We would take every word of advice from our seniors very seriously, and we would discuss it all the time. But I remember we could always tell who was giving genuine advice and who was just saying things to sound good. The ones who made it sound too easy, or who said one book or one trick was all they needed, we didn't really respect them. Not because they were wrong, but because we knew someone might take their advice and get hurt.
It seems like that sense of responsibility is missing now.
You've cleared an exam that tests you in so many ways, and it took years of hard work. If you say it was all because of one teacher or one course, that's not just wrong, it's also unfair to yourself. And when you let people think that, or when you say it yourself, you're not just misrepresenting your own journey, you're also affecting someone else's.
Think about that person who's just starting out, who's watching your interviews on YouTube, who doesn't have a mentor or a senior to guide them. They'll take your word for it, and they'll plan their entire strategy around what you say. If you make it sound easy, they'll blame themselves when it's not. If you start endorsing coaching brands right after your result, they'll think that's what it takes to be successful.
Don't do that to them.
Be honest about how tough it was, about all the sources you used, about the times you failed, about the loneliness and the self-doubt. Don't reduce your years of effort into a brand endorsement. When someone puts a camera in front of you, remember that the person watching is looking for guidance, not just entertainment.
Maybe most of you won't even read this, but if even one of you thinks twice before that next interview or brand deal, it'll be worth it.
I've been teaching in this field for twelve years now, and I've seen a lot of changes. Some of it is good, like how ed-tech has made it easier for people to access resources. But it's also turned preparation into content, and candidates into celebrities. That's not what this is supposed to be about.
You've achieved something amazing, and tomorrow you'll have new responsibilities. But today, you already have one responsibility - to every aspirant who's looking up to you for guidance.
Don't let them down. Be the senior you wished you had when you started.
I'm disappointed, but I'm still here, still teaching, still hopeful, because I believe you can be better than what this system is trying to make you.
Prove me right.
The truth can be uncomfortable, but it needs to be said. Well said.
I wasted two years because of these toppers. I'm from a rural village in Odisha, and no one from my district had ever cleared the exam. I had no seniors or relatives to guide me, but I joined some Discord servers and got help from fellow aspirants who had appeared for the mains and interview. They really helped me, and I'll always be grateful.
Do you think they're on Reddit?
He may come across as harsh, but he's one of the most genuine people I've met. Him and Jayant Parikshit are really great.
They probably aren't on Reddit, no?
Not related to the post above, but I have a question. Is it right that we should answer 10-mark questions in 150-170 words, 15-mark questions in 200 words, and 20-mark questions in 250 words?
By making it sound easy, they're doing the coaching classes' job for them. Thousands of people will think it's easy to just join a coaching class or online course.
This is a really important point. A lot of aspirants take the advice of toppers very seriously, so if they make it sound too easy, it can mislead people who are just starting out.
Commenting to get more views.
He's a senior from my college, and he's a really great person. He's quite blunt, but he's always looking out for his students. He's mentored many people from our alumni, especially during the interview phase, and he never takes credit for their success like some other teachers do. He's also really smart, with CAT 99+ percentile, and almost perfect scores in GRE and GMAT. I think he's given a few interviews too. I'm not trying to butter him up, but I just felt like saying this. He's a great alum, a great teacher, and a great person.