How I Scored 181 In SSC CGL Tier 1

How I Scored 181 In SSC CGL Tier 1

Updated on Oct 04, 2022 09:30 AM IST | #SSC CGL
Ongoing Event
SSC CGL  Application Date : 09 Jun' 2025 - 04 Jul' 2025

Combined Graduate Level Examination (CGLE) is one of the examinations conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), for recruitment to the posts of Inspectors, Assistant Section Officers, Auditors, Junior Accountants, Tax Assistants, etc. in various ministries or departments working with the Government of India offices. I scored 598 out of 700 and was able to achieve an All India Rank of 912 in SSC CGL 2018 in my first attempt. My tier 1 score was 181 out of 200. I am currently working as Inspector of Customs (Preventive Officer) at Custom House, Cochin.

How I Scored 181 In SSC CGL Tier 1
How I Scored 181 In SSC CGL Tier 1

My SSC CGL Exam Preparation

My SSC CGL preparation journey started when I enrolled myself at Kisco Career Heights, Pala in July 2018. But to get a head start on other students in my class, I had started practising English vocabulary and basic mathematics questions two months prior to joining the institute. Throughout my preparation, I tried to make sure that I was ahead of my peers, so as to crack the exam in the first attempt itself. So, right after my classes at the institute, I used to study at a nearby library till night and practice previous years’ questions and go through the class notes provided by the institute.

SSC CGL Preparation Strategy And Materials Used

1. General Intelligence/Reasoning (GI/R)

The first stage of SSC CGL (Tier 1) consists of 25 questions of General Intelligence and Reasoning (GI/ R). I learned GI/ R topics from the notes provided from the institute and YouTube/ Google. For increasing the accuracy and speed, I mainly depended on mock tests and sectional tests by online exam preparation sites like Testbook. Attempting the mock tests has been vital in developing my own shortcuts and techniques in the GI/ R section.

2. General Awareness (GA)

General Awareness also consists of 25 questions in SSC CGL Tier 1. The questions asked from GA will be a mix of Static GA as well as Current affairs. Static GA can be covered from Lucent’s GK book. If aspirants find Lucent’s GK to be too hard to study, they may opt for learning static GA from previous year questions. Relying solely on SSC CGL previous year questions for Static GK will not fetch you great marks, but will be able to help you score decent marks. For Current Affairs SSC CGL preparation, I mainly relied on free monthly current affairs pdfs/videos by online channels like GKToday, StudyIQ etc. I covered Current Affairs of the last six months prior to the Tier 1 examination. Also, further static GA and current affairs questions were learnt from the online mock tests.

3. Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

Same as above mentioned sections, Quantitative Aptitude (QA) also consists of 25 questions of 2 marks each. As Tier 2 of SSC CGL also consists of 100 questions of QA, I gave a slight weightage to SSC CGL QA preparation compared to other sections. The institute where I prepared for the exam had good mentors for mathematics and they were able to help me understand the concept of various questions. For covering basic mathematics and to increase speed and accuracy, I heavily relied on SSC Mathematics Solved Papers by Kiran’s Publications, which contained almost 8,000 previous year questions from various topics.

I practised every question in that book twice. When I practised it for the first time, I attempted every question and searched online and other sources to find a shortcut or a technique to solve that question. Then I used to note down the question numbers of the questions which I found difficult on the top of the page. On practising the second time, I attempted only the questions which I had already noted on the top of the page, thus saving time. I also depended on offline mocks provided by the institute and online mocks as well as live weekly mocks to improve myself and to assess my performance for SSC CGL preparation.

4. English Comprehension

English Comprehension was one of my favourite sections among the four sections. As Tier 2 of SSC CGL consists of 200 questions of English Comprehension, I gave a slight weightage to English Comprehension, just like I did for QA preparation. For English vocabulary, I used Word Power made Easy by Norman Lewis, and for learning one-word substitutions, and synonyms, antonyms, idioms and phrases, I used General English by SP Bakshi. To cover more topics in limited time, I recorded all the vocabularies, idioms, synonyms, one-word substitutions, antonyms etc. in my phone and I used to play it whenever I used to get free time. For covering grammar, I relied on English for General Competitions by Neethu Singh. For practice, I used SSC English Language Solved Papers by Kiran’s Publications.

The above discussed are ssc cgl preparation tips for tier 1. The SSC CGL tier 2 tips are shared in the next article.

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Questions related to SSC CGL

Have a question related to SSC CGL ?

Hello Aspirant,

Yes, B.E. (Bachelor of Engineering) is considered as a Graduation (Bachelor’s Degree) for SSC CGL and all other government exams.

In the SSC CGL application form, you should select the option “Graduation” (or Bachelor’s Degree if given).

All the best for your SSC CGL preparation.


Hello Aspirant,

No, there won’t be any problem during SSC CGL document verification if you have:

Consolidated Marksheet (showing all semester-wise subjects and marks)

Provisional Degree Certificate

These are accepted for verification, especially if your final degree certificate is yet to be issued by IGNOU. Many universities, including IGNOU, issue provisional certificates until the original degree is awarded at convocation.

All the best for your SSC CGL journey.

Hello Chandan,

Yes , a PharmD (Doctor of Pharmacy) graduate is eligible to write the SSC CGL (Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level) examination after completing their course. The SSC CGL examination is open to candidates from various educational backgrounds, including those with a PharmD degree. However, it is important to review the specific eligibility criteria and requirements for the SSC CGL examination to ensure compliance before applying.

Depending on their specific educational background and field of study, diploma holders may be able to do the following jobs:

  • Junior Engineer (Civil, Electrical, Mechanical, etc.)
  • Statistical Investigator Grade-II
  • Assistant Section Officer (CSS)
  • Assistant Section Officer (MEA)
  • Assistant Audit Officer
  • Junior Statistical Officer
  • Tax Assistant (CBDT/CBEC)
  • Assistant (Central Vigilance Commission)
  • Sub-Inspector (National Investigation Agency)
  • Sub-Inspector (Central Bureau of Narcotics)
  • Divisional Accountant
  • Inspector (Central Excise)
  • Inspector (Preventive Officer)
  • Inspector (Examiner)
  • Assistant (Other Ministries/Departments/Organizations)

Well, this list needs to be more comprehensive, and more jobs may accept Diploma as an educational qualification. Please refer to the official notification regarding this.

I hope this helps.

Dear student,

Yes, as a Pharm.D (Doctor of Pharmacy) graduate, you are eligible to apply for the SSC CGL exam, as long as you meet the other basic criteria like age and nationality.

The minimum educational qualification for most SSC CGL posts is a Bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognized university. Even though Pharm.D is a professional doctorate, it is treated as a graduate-level qualification for SSC CGL purposes. So, you qualify academically for almost all general posts under SSC CGL.

However, some specific posts like Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) or Statistical Investigator do require a background in Mathematics or Statistics , either in your 12th standard or as a core subject in your degree. If you don’t meet that, you’ll have to skip those specific posts.

The general age limit for SSC CGL is between 18 and 32 years , depending on the post, with relaxations for reserved categories. You should check the exact age criteria for the post you're targeting in the official notification.

Also, a few posts like Inspector or Sub-Inspector may require you to meet certain physical standards.

To sum up, with a Pharm.D degree, you're eligible for SSC CGL , especially for most of the administrative and officer-level roles. Just be sure to read the official notification for any post-specific requirements.

Hello Aspirant,

Yes, as a 33 years and 9 months old OBC candidate, you can apply for most of the posts in SSC CGL with the benefit of age relaxation by three years provided to OBC candidates. So, in an effective sense, your upper age limit would be 33 years for posts with upper age limit 30 years and 36 years for posts in which the upper limit is 33 years. You are eligible for Assistant Audit Officer and Inspector of Income Tax posts. Just make sure you meet the educational qualification for AAO, which may include a desirable qualification in CA/MBA/Cost Accounting, etc.

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