Competitive Exam Preparation: Self-Study vs Coaching, Pros, Cons & Strategy

Each year, many aspirants start their competitive exam preparation, whether it’s UPSC, SSC, ESE or any other competitive exams, and almost everyone faces the same problems: Should I join any coaching centre or prepare on my own? 

But there is no perfect answer for this question. The best choice depends on the learning styles, discipline level, financial situation and how much your structure you personally need to stay on the track. 

In this article, we will discuss how to self study for any competitive exams, what is the importance of self-study is, and what the pros and cons of self study and coaching, this will help you in building a strategy that will actually work for you. 

What is Competitive Exam Preparation? 

Competitive exam preparation is considered the systematic process of studying for the examinations where candidates need to compete for a limited number of seats and vacancies. 

The competitive exam preparation needs more strong conceptual understanding, speed, accuracy and extensive practice. Some of the common competitive exams are UPSC CSE, UPSC ESE, GATE, SSC JE, RRB JE, JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, NEET and other competitive exams.

A candidate needs a successful preparation plan for cracking any competitive exams. It must include understanding about the syllabus, studying concepts, solving PYQ, taking mock tests and analysing performance. 

Furthermore, success is not only about knowing enough; it’s about knowing faster and more accurately than most of your competition. 

What is Self Study Preparation? 

Coaching is considered the great option, but you can crack any government exam without coaching as well. Stats have shown that most of the students who crack the government exams do it on their own and do not join any coaching. Most students travel to different cities to take coaching; however, in the era of technology, coaching is not necessary to crack government exams in the country. The basic benefits of preparing for government exams without coaching include the following:

• You can stay in the comfort of your home.
• No worries about food or shelter.
• No financial tension.
• You have your family as your support system.
• Coping with rough days becomes easy.
• You do not have to look out for ways to rejuvenate yourself.

Self Study vs Coaching: Which is Better?

Basically, there is no perfect answer to this question of whether self study is better or coaching is better. The decision depends on how effectively you can understand the concepts, maintain consistency and evaluate the preparation. Here, we are providing the difference between self study and coaching: –

The candidates who are very well structured and disciplined and are comfortable in learning independently and self-study can be very effective. The candidates who need the structured guidance, regular tests and expert support can look for competitive exam coaching centers. 

What is the Importance of the Self-Study? 

The importance of self-study cannot be overlooked in case you are preparing for the competitive exam. Coaching can only provide the guidance and mentorship, self study is equally important. It will strengthen your concepts, boost confidence and help in identifying the weakness. Regular self study can also help in developing confidence, discipline and time management skills. Some of the key benefits of the self study are as follows: – 

1. 1. Help in building conceptual understanding 
   2. Improve time management skills 
   3. Enable personal development
   4. Personalised preparation 
   5. Improved retention
   6. Helps in analysing problems

Self-Study: The Independent Route

Self-study means preparing for the competitive exams using books, self study notes, online resources and planning your study plan, without relying on the structured coaching sessions. Some of the pros and cons of self-study are as follows: 

Pros of self study

1. You can decide on your own what to study, when to study and how much time each for each topic. Suppose if you are weak at quantitative aptitude but your english subject is strong, then you can allocate your hours accordingly instead of following any generic coaching schedule.
2. Famous coaching centers can be expensive, they may ask lakhs of rupees for longer duration courses. On the other hand, self study costs the price of the books, few online resources and test series subscription.
3. Self study help in building analytical skills, discipline and problem-solving ability; these skills are considered to be very important for the exam.
4. Self-study helps in time management. You can study from your comfort zone. This will help you in saving hours every week that can be redirected into actual study time. 

Cons of Self Study 

1.  If there is no external or mentor accountability, the self study preparation period can even last a year or more. 
2. Many times candidates are not aware of which topics have high weightage and which topics have low weightage. Which mistake is commonly avoided by the toppers. So, the learning method can be slow. 
3. While doing self-study, the candidates will not be able to connect with peers or friends to discuss any doubt or compare the progress. 
4. There are many candidates who focus on the strong areas, and they completely ignore the evaluation; this will lead to gaps which will only be reflected in the actual examination. 

Coaching: The Structured Route

Competitive exam coaching centre means taking admission in any structured programme which includes the syllabus coverage, testing methodology, doubt-clearing sessions and mock tests which are guided by the experienced teachers or faculty. Some of the pros and cons of the coaching centre are as follows: 

Pros of coaching centres 

1. A good coaching centre will always ensure that no important topic has been missed, and they will provide the structured guidance regarding the exam pattern and preparation hacks
2.  Mentorship and guidance provided by the coaching centre can help the students in understanding about the patterns, common traps and shortcut hacks that would take an individual years to discover alone.
3. The coaching centres provide the weekly test and provide you with performance analysis report, so that you can know where do you stand. 

Cons of coaching centres 

1. Good and quality competitive exam coaching center can be expensive especially if you are looking for exams such as UPSC, JEE, NEET etc. 
2. At every coaching institute, batch moves at a very set speed. If you are a fast learner or a slow learner, sometimes the candidates might find it boring or left behind. 
3. The offline coaching centres involve daily travels and cutting the study hours, unless the candidate chooses the online format. 
4. While doing competitive exam preparation at the coaching centres, there might be some students who are used to spoon-fed content and struggle when they need to think independently during the exam. 

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I know whether self-study is right for me?

Ans: The self study is considered to be suitable for any candidate if they can maintain and follow discipline, follow the self-study timetable, understand concepts and regularly evaluate the progress. So, if you are comfortable with the study resources and solving doubts on your own, self study can be an effective approach for any competitive exam preparation. 

• Can I prepare with coaching while working or studying in college?

And: Yes, candidates can do competitive exam preparation while working or studying in the college by choosing online learning, weekend classes, creating a realistic schedule or weekend classes, revision and practice. You must remember that consistency is more important than longer study duration. 

• How can I avoid wasting time on too many study resources?

Ans: You can avoid wasting time on too many study resources by following only a limited number of resources and completing these resources before moving ahead to another resource. You must choose only one study resource and simultaneously use the previous year’s question papers and a good test series and avoid repeatedly switching between books and lectures.

• Can I switch from self-study to coaching later?

Ans: Yes, you can switch from the self study to the coaching centre later if you wish to have expert guidance, structures preparation and better doubt-solving guidance and mentorship. But before making a switch, you must know about the specific areas you need to support so that coaching complements your existing preparation rather than repeating everything. 

• How can I balance coaching classes with self-study and revision?

Ans: Prepare a daily time table for attending classes, revising what was taught, solving practice questions and revising older topics. A good way to revise is to go back to the class material of the day on the same day, solve related questions and dedicate some time in a week for revision and mock test analysis.