Is your IAS coaching centre worth all the hype?

You have successfully enrolled yourself in the most popular Civil exams coaching centre in your locality! Congratulations are in order, for you are finally on the path to fulfilling your long-cherished ambitions. But wait, have you chosen the right place?

Every year, young graduates and persistent IAS aspirants find themselves in a tizzy when it comes to choosing the leading IAS coaching centre. And that’s mainly because IAS is the most coveted of all the Civil Service Exams. However, choosing the right coaching centre is the first challenge of all. There is an overabundance of IAS coaching centres particularly in metropolitan cities like Chennai, with each one claiming to be the best in town. It isn’t as simple as filling a form and making the payment. A coaching centre that doesn’t support and nurture the aspirant’s ambitions is a complete waste of time and money.

Being the leading IAS coaching centre in Chennai, we share below the list of basic criteria that helps to evaluate the worth of coaching Centre easily.

Ten criteria that are the benchmarks of a leading IAS coaching centre

If your coaching centre ticks at least nine of the ten criteria, you can rest assured that you’ve made the right choice. If not, it’s time to reevaluate your decision.

• Proven Track Record: The past performance and results are the prime parameters of every coaching centre. The percentage of students who have qualified every year and the consistency of the results are the real markers. Most coaching centres harp their success with advertisements that carry vague numbers. These advertisements will discreetly hide the total number of students who’ve appeared for the exam and will give you only what you want to know- the number that passed the Prelims. 400 students qualifying out of 1200 is certainly more impressive than 500 out of 10,000.
• The Expertise Of Faculty Members: The second most crucial parameter is the faculty, for that it is their experience and expertise that steers the aspirants on the right path. Not to mention their dedication and willingness to guide aspirants without any restrictions. Faculty should be adept in their respective fields and possess the knack to take both online and offline classes. Aspirants need teachers who are approachable even after class hours. Young teachers are as valuable as experienced senior teachers. They are more tech-savvy and quick to acclimatise themselves with the change in syllabus or question patterns.
• Coaching Methodology And Duration: Your IAS dreams will attain fruition only if the institute has a result-oriented approach and a systematic, flexible, and proven methodology. The only way to assess this before enrollment is to talk to the faculty to gain a better perspective about the teaching patterns. Mock exams, open discussions and interactive sessions are measuring parameters that will help you arrive at the right decision. A good coaching centre will have a definitive study plan and a qualitative approach to utilize the time in the most productive manner. The institute must inculcate time management because every single day counts!
• Feedback From Previous Students: If you want an unfiltered, candid opinion about the institute, there’s no better way than to get it from the former and present students. Gather opinions based on experience with the teaching process, coaching quality, faculty expertise and study materials. When you talk to students from former and current batches, it will give you an idea about the institute’s flexible approach to dealing with the challenging syllabus.
• Student-teacher Ratio: Any institute that boasts about training hundreds of aspirants in one batch is not worth approaching. The student-teacher ratio overrides all other parameters. It determines the effectiveness of the coaching, which is the very point of choosing the institute. There is not much to gain if you are going to be sitting in a banquet-sized lecture hall with a hundred other trainees.
• Catering To Specific Requirements: An institute that might work for a fresh aspirant might not work for one who has cleared the Prelims and is looking to train for the Mains. There is no question that the preparation for both is a highly demanding and complex process. It is a question of whether the centre is equipped to train aspirants of all levels. Some centres prefer only freshers or those who are yet to clear the Prelims. Hence, it is better to get a clear picture before you make your payment.
• Performance-oriented Tests: There’s no way you can assess your progress if you do not face regular mock tests or sectional tests. Mock tests help to reveal your weak points and pitfalls in your learning strategies. A regular self-assessment is crucial in building the confidence to face the real exam. Go for a coaching centre that takes up the responsibility of conducting mock tests at regular intervals, rather than asking you to do it for yourself.
• Quality Of Study Material: A reliable centre will provide students with abundant study materials, which suffices the requirements of all the aspirants. The institute should be in tandem with the ever-changing components of the syllabus, let alone its complexity and enormity. A fresher is bound to be overwhelmed by the infinite number of resources available at his/ her disposal. It is the institute’s responsibility to guide the candidate about what to study and where to source the material from.
• Fee Structure: Coaching centres can demand exorbitant fees with false and fancy claims. Make a comparison of the fee structure with other centres and assess if the investment is worth the coaching that you will receive. Ask for payment in easy instalments and scholarships that will simplify the financial hurdle.
• Upgradation: A good coaching institute will be alert of the changing exam patterns and keep its aspirants well-informed and updated. Without up-gradation in the teaching patterns, tests, and study materials, aspirants may lag behind, thus affecting the outcome of the results.

Chinmaya Academy of Civil Services: The leading IAS coaching centre in Chennai

Chinmaya Academy of Civil Services holds a high reputation for being the leading IAS coaching centre in the city of Chennai. What’s best about CACS is that we offer the best coaching at the most affordable fee structure. Call us @
+91 – 98413 80738 for a detailed insight into our teaching methodologies, faculty and more!