Sanjita Mohapatra , hailing from Rourkela secured the tenth position in UPSC CSE 2019. A women at her thirty secured the 10th rank making her state and parents proud of her.

UPSC CSE 2019 Rank 10 Sanjita Mohapatra

Yet another women among the top 10 UPSC CSE 2019 Toppers  whose confidence and struggle made her way to success. The immense strength within her had proved that nothing in the world is impossible to tackle. Even the toughest exam in India, IAS exam.

Early life and education

Sanjita Mohapatra completed her schooling from Rourkela and completed her graduation in Mechanical Engineering in 2012 in Rourkela itself. Her father, Shaktipada, is a small retired businessman and mother, Anjali, is a house maker. Sanjita’s sister works at BHEL, Bengaluru. Thirty year old UPSC CSE 2019 Rank 10 Sanjita Mohapatra says that she was literally surprised to hear her name in top 10 as no one prepares aiming to be the topper.

Becoming a Collector was her long-cherished dream which became a reality this year. She had attempted 4 times and this time she cracked all the stage and that too with flying colors. After her graduation, she had worked with Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) as an assistant manager. Thereafter, she quit her job in 2018. After her marriage in 2018 to Mr. Biswaranjan Mundari, she moved to Mumbai. He works as a manager with Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

“I am hopeful of getting into Indian Administrative Services (IAS). Since childhood, I always dreamt of joining the IAS and becoming a Collector”, she said. She suggests that the better way to study and prepare is to have a weekly schedule written down. Sanjita says to make sure that you achieve the targets because that is the only way to be consistent.

Preparation

Sanjita did not go for any coaching, instead studied and prepared all by herself. Her optional subject was sociology. For that she had attended a three month crash course. Her mentor under sociology department helped her a lot during the period.

Sanjita had secured second position in Odisha Civil Services Examination before she ranked 10th in UPSC. She says that without the support of her family, husband, in-laws, friends and mentors she wouldn’t have succeeded.

She says that one should only study which is important for them in that particular day. Studying more than required will cause harm to your brain. You brain needs rest after some time of intense work. During her preparation, she focused what she studied and not how much she studied. Make sure that all the subjects targeted for a day is covered.

Instead of focusing on the quantity, focus on the quality of input as well as output. She says, “I used to prepare my schedule for every week and study accordingly”.

“How dedicated you are towards your studies is a very important factor”, says Sanjita.

Hard work is the secret

Hard work and determination is the secret recipe to the success. Sanjita started preparing for UPSC CSE exam from a very early stage. Without coaching, she secured 10th rank. She did self study everyday and gathered information from her acquaintances and internet. Her mentor was the primary source of her information. For general studies and essay writing, she prepared all by herself. Her optional subject was sociology.

The habit of reading newspapers and magazines were in Sanjita from beginning itself. This helped her a lot during her prelims as well as in her interview.

The books she preferred were mostly NCERT textbooks. This gave her the basic knowledge and study materials required for any aspirant.The major issue she faced was lack of a guide or a mentor. Because she didn’t have anyone to guide her, this motivated her to study and gather every information possible. Getting support and getting a guidance is totally different. Without guidance it becomes tough to know what needs to be done and what to be excluded.

Tips for all

She was at first confused about which book to study because it had vast syllabus. Sanjita says that it is really very important for an individual to choose the optional subject. Because it gives a whole idea on what exactly you need to focus on. She focused more on her optional subject. Having a job and preparing for UPSC CSE exam was really hectic for her. She couldn’t find time for preparing and because of this, she quit her job. Sanjita also adds that being married and preparing for UPSC CSE exam was bit hard because she was not able to devote her full time on this.

She wishes for the best to each and every candidate who is going to appear for the coming years competitive exams.