Medical Science has the highest success rate among UPSC optional subjects, says report

Medical Science as Optional Subject has high success ratio

When the ratio of ‘the number of candidates appeared’ vs ‘the number of candidates selected’ are analysed, records show that Medical Science has the highest success rate among optional subjects chosen in the UPSC Civil Services Examination.

Amongst the subjects opted by 100 or more candidates, the highest percentage of success is observed with candidates who had opted for Medical Science.

UPSC Prelims 2020 Test Series - Register Now!

The high success ratio of Medical Science is not just accidental for 1 year, but consecutively for three years – 2014, 2015, and 2016 (where data from UPSC reports is available in the public domain).

Medical Science had a 20% success rate in 2014

Out of the 356 candidates who appeared UPSC Civil Services Main Exam taking Medical Science as an optional subject, 71 candidates were finally selected. This accounts for a near 20% success rate.

With respect to success-rate, Medical Science (19.9 percent) was followed by Law (17.0 percent) and Psychology (15.8 percent).

UPSC Prelims 2020 Test Series - Register Now!

Medical Science had a 20.2% success rate in 2015

Out of the 327 candidates who appeared UPSC Civil Services Main Exam taking Medical Science as an optional subject in 2015, 66 candidates were finally selected.

Medical Science (20.2 percent) was followed by Law (16.7 percent) and Physics (15.6 percent) in terms of success-rate in UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination 2015.

Medical Science had a 17% success rate in 2016

368 candidates appeared in UPSC Civil Services Main Exam 2016 opting for Medical Science. Out of that 61 candidates made it to the final rank list after the interview.

Amongst the subjects opted by 100 or more candidates, the highest percentage of successful candidates had opted for Medical Science (16.6 percent) followed by Psychology and Literature of Kannada Language (15.6 percent each).

Also read: 'Important Judgments that transformed India' by Alex Andrews George - Book Review

This Analysis by ClearIAS is based on a sample size above 100

In years 2014-2016, some optional subjects have shown better success rate than Medical Science, however, we have not taken that into consideration as the sample size was too low. For example, in 2016, Literature of Bodo Language had a 100% success rate, however, only one candidate had appeared with that optional subject in UPSC CSE Mains and he cleared.

Medical Science – Optional Subject of Doctors

While anybody is free to choose any subject as an optional subject in UPSC Civil Services Main Examination (written), medical science is generally chosen only by doctors. For others who don’t have a background in the same, it is not easy to finish the subject without assistance.

Also read: Geography is the Most Popular Optional Subject in the UPSC Civil Services Examination

Is Medical Science a scoring optional?

Optional Subject with the highest success rate in UPSC

The data shows that when the ‘the number of candidates appeared’ and ‘the number of candidates selected’ are compared, Medical Science has the highest success rate among optional subjects opted in UPSC Civil Services Examination (Mains).

However, one cannot conclude that Medical Science is consistently high-scoring (when compared with other optional subjects) from the above data. To know that, one should know the median and range of marks awarded to each optional subject. Unfortunately, such details are not available in the public domain.

The total marks of candidates and thus final selection is not just dependent on the marks of optional subject. The marks of General Studies, Essay Paper, and Interview are equally important. One can conclude that doctors perform equally well in all these areas.

Also read: ClearIAS Backgrounder (Current Affairs) - 100 Most Important Topics for UPSC CSE (PDF)

What makes doctors more successful in UPSC Civil Services Exam?

Most doctors are above-average performers right from their childhood. They have a scientific approach to life and have good analytical skills. Much more than that, they are hardworking. As we can now see, hard work and intelligence is an unbeatable combination!