Walk down basically any lane in Karol Bagh and count the UPSC banners. You'll lose count somewhere around the fifth building. I've had students bring me printouts from six different institutes, all claiming roughly the same
Every UPSC cycle, geography pulls one of the bigger optional crowds. Not luck. Static syllabus, diagrams that earn partial credit, decent overlap with GS.
Every UPSC aspirant reaches a point where reading notes stops feeling like enough. Somewhere around the fourth or fifth revision, the syllabus starts to blur into one long list of facts that never quite connect during actual exam pressure.
Paper II has a reputation problem.
Not the kind where everyone fears it — the opposite. Aspirants hear "qualifying paper, 33 percent" and quietly move CSAT to the bottom of the priority list.