The decision of which optional subject to choose is something all UPSC students struggle with as this decision can make or break their careers, this article will take a look at one of the most underrated options available to them.

Geology when compared to the most preferred subject-geography has substantially lower applicants(37 vs 2669 candidates respectively). However, geology’s success rate has still maintained a consistent similarity with its more popular counterpart as seen below:-

Despite the surprisingly low number of candidates choosing geology optional, it has many benefits:-

• Geology IAS and IFoS share the same syllabus so it is an excellent choice for students appearing for both exams.
• Geology is a factual and highly scoring subject leaving nothing to interpretation.
• Few Geology topics overlap with the General science exam and prelims.
• Geology is very interesting, logical and based on basic science principles with less memorization.
• Geology has less competition than most subjects which means that candidates have higher chances of qualifying.
• Geology has a static syllabus with no new updates or additional findings added to the syllabus letting students make the most out of previous years question papers.

Why Candidates hesitated to take Geology Optional:

1. No single book covers the entire syllabus thus students had to invest in many different books and other sources while avoiding out of course topics. (Which is why Geology Concepts provides excellent lessons that cover the entire UPSC/IFoS course,check out a demo here)
2. Considering the low amount of candidates opting for geology tests series, guides and ready made study materials were almost impossible to find. (Geocon provides not only all of that but also interactive quizzes,mindmaps,crosswords and more. See a few practice questions here)
3. Lecturers and Coaching classes teaching UPSC course  based geology were scarce. (Geocon has excellent teachers diligently working to help students ace whichever exam they decide to tackle including UPSC-CSE/IFoS,GATE,NET,IIT-JAM,GSI/CGWB.)
4. Students had to rely mostly on their own notes and self-study to clear the exam. (Geocon provides students all the materials they can possibly need in a neat package and gets all the questions or doubts they may have answered by the teachers, contact us here, whatsapp us at- +91-9120494939 or mail us at mailgeocon@geologyconcepts.com)

Of course considering the establishment of geoconcepts all these obstacles are now in the past as Geology Concepts provides excellent resources for students to qualify both the UPSC-CSE/IFos geology optional.