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
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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.

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,

If you are an ex serviceman and you want to apply for the Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level exam then you get some extra years added to the age limit based on your category

  • if you belong to the general category you get three years of relaxation after subtracting the number of years you served in the military from your current age

  • if you are from the other backward classes category you get six years

  • if you are from the scheduled castes or scheduled tribes category you get eight years

now which jobs can ex servicemen apply for

you can apply for most jobs in group C and some jobs in group B but not all group B jobs allow ex servicemen to apply so it is important to check the job notification each year when the Staff Selection Commission releases it

To be considered an ex serviceman you should have

  • served in the Indian Army Indian Navy or Indian Air Force

  • been officially discharged or retired either because you chose to or because the military released you

  • possibly received a pension or completed your full term of service

  • if you are not a graduate then you must have served for at least fifteen years in the armed forces to apply

In simple words the Staff Selection Commission allows ex servicemen to apply for many government jobs with some age benefits but your service record and education level must meet their conditions

Hope it helps!

HEY THERE!!

Yes, ex-servicemen are eligible to apply for SSC CGL.

  • According to the eligibility criteria, ex-servicemen are eligible for age relaxation and fee exemption while applying for the SSC Combined Graduate Level (CGL) exam.
  • Ex-servicemen are exempted from paying the application fee, and ex-servicemen have reserved vacancies in some posts.
  • You need to satisfy the other general eligibility criteria (like educational qualification and nationality) as specified in the official notification.
  • Ensure to go through the elaborate request and reservation guidelines in the SSC CGL 2025 official notification when made available while applying.

The Staff Selection Commission Combined Graduate Level (SSC CGL) exam is a national-level examination conducted by the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) for the recruitment of eligible candidates for various Group B and Group C posts in different ministries, departments, and organizations of the Government of India. A bachelor's degree from a recognized university is the basic educational qualification required to appear for this exam. The age limit varies depending on the specific post, generally ranging from 18 to 32 years, with age relaxations for certain categories.

The SSC CGL exam is conducted in two tiers: Tier-I and Tier-II, both of which are computer-based online examinations. Tier-I is a qualifying stage, and the marks obtained in this tier are not counted for the final merit list. It consists of four sections: General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Awareness, Quantitative Aptitude, and English Comprehension. Each section comprises 25 questions, with each question carrying 2 marks, making a total of 100 questions and 200 marks. The total time allotted for the Tier-I exam is 60 minutes, and there is a negative marking of 0.50 marks for each incorrect answer.

Candidates who clear the Tier-I cutoff are eligible to appear for the Tier-II examination. The Tier-II exam has a different pattern and consists of three papers. Paper-I is compulsory for all posts and is divided into three sections: Mathematical Abilities, Reasoning and General Intelligence, and English Language and Comprehension, and General Awareness. There is also a Computer Knowledge Test and a Data Entry Speed Test as part of Paper-I. Paper-II is for candidates applying for the post of Junior Statistical Officer (JSO) and involves Statistics. Paper-III is for candidates applying for the posts of Assistant Audit Officer/Assistant Accounts Officer and covers General Studies (Finance and Economics). There is negative marking in Tier-II as well; 1 mark is deducted for each wrong answer in Sections I and II of Paper-I, and 0.50 marks for each wrong answer in Paper-II and Paper-III. The marks scored in the Tier-II exam are crucial for the final selection.

I hope this helps.

To apply for the SSC CGL exam, follow these steps:

  1. Visit the official SSC website (ssc.nic.in).

  2. Register for an account, if you haven't already.

  3. Fill out the application form for CGL, upload required documents, and pay the application fee.

  4. Submit the form and print the confirmation.

Hii Nisha

Steps are given below  to apply for ssc cgl exam

  1. open Google or chrome and go through this website- ssc.gov.in
  2. Scroll down and you'll see apply button there ,click it
  3. After this apply button will appear for Combined Graduate level (cgl) examination .

But application forms are not opened yet. Notice regarding SSC CGL 2025 will be released on 22nd April 2025.  Apply and last date of submission is from 22nd April 2025 to 21st May 2025 respectively.


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