BCS exam studies: 5 ways to prepare online

2021 is probably an exceptional year for public service examinees around the country. In less than two months, govt job seekers will have the opportunity to sit for two BCS preliminary exams. Preliminary exams for the 41st and 42nd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) will be held on March 19 and February 26 respectively. Four lakh 75 thousand people have applied for the 41st BCS and the application procedure for the 43rd one has already started. 

So there is not much time left. But educational institutions are closed and so are the coaching centres. As a result, students have no options left but to take preparation at home. So here are five full-proof ways to prepare for BCS and other competitive exams online.  

1. Live MCQ: It's an online exam app for govt jobs and other competitive exams. They take exams every day on respective subjects. The syllabus and the exam schedule are posted on the site in the routine section. So one can prepare and participate in the exam anytime he/she wants. 

For model tests and other elaborate exams, they charge 8 to 10 taka, and 3 to 5 taka for everyday subject related exams. The amount can be paid through mobile banking channels like Bkash, Rocket, Internet or SMS banking channels, and bank accounts. According to the website, it uses payment gateway provider SSLCOMMERZ, which is safe for transactions. 

LiveMCQ is registered and approved by Bangladesh Government, and it's guarded by the Copyright Law-2002. 

Right now they are offering special packages for upcoming BCS examinees. And the best part is - the exams are open for the entire day. So anyone who has downloaded the app on his/her phone can take the exam anytime during a day. The exams and the syllabus are archived with correct answers so that you can find it later. 

The result is given right after you finish the exam. And there is a notice board where you can find your mark and see your position among hundreds of other examinees.     
 
2. E-book collections: Books for competitive exam preparation can be very expensive. And it's not just one or two, if you are serious about the exams, you need to buy quite a number of them. Bangladesh Affairs, International affairs, Math, Bangla grammar and literature, English grammar and literature, Science, ICT- at least one book for each of these subjects. And other supplementary books like the constitution of Bangladesh, Bangla and English grammar books of NCTB are also essential. 

For many, it is almost impossible to buy all of these. But there is an e-book app for all the necessary books for competitive exams, which is absolutely free to download and use. It's called the E-book Collection. The books are categorised according to the publication, as well as subjects. The app has an option to apply for BCS exams as well. That means you can apply for BCS from that app. 

You can even download the pdf books on your phone. 

3. Facebook groups: There are way too many Facebook groups to join for BCS and other competitive exam studies. Some of these groups focus on the previous years' questions; others focus on subject-wise problem-solving. 

If you find a math problem that you can't solve or a general knowledge question which you don't have the answer to, the groups could prove to be quite handy. You can post the problems in the groups, and within an hour you are very likely to find someone giving you the solution. 

However, these channels can be very distracting and filled with bizarre conversations in the comment sections. You can even find people giving advertisement posts for their businesses. So before joining these groups, just make sure that you judge them well and focus on conversations related to your studies only. 

4. Youtube channels: 10-minute school, Gurukul and other Youtube channels have some excellent videos on different subjects as well as matters related to competitive exams. You can search for specific topics to find explanatory videos. 

Some channels focus on suggesting the essential aspects of these exams- what skills to develop, which jobs to focus on, how to determine the perfect job for you or even how to go through the cadre selection process. Sometimes these channels bring previous years' BCS cadres who share their experiences as well as tips and tricks to study. 

The most satisfying thing about these channels is that it feels like you are sitting in a classroom and you can revisit them as many times as you want. The teachers explain the topics with charts, maps and share links in the description box for comparative studies. All these make the lessons more graspable. 

But just like Facebook groups, there are some cons here as well. Before subscribing to any channel or investing your precious time on any of these channels, just make sure they have good ratings and views. Otherwise, it will be unnecessarily time-consuming to search for better videos.     

5. BCS study.com: This website allows examinees to take short notes on subjects. The website's interface is also user-friendly. So wherever you are, on your bed, study desk, on the road- you can run through the bullet points on different topics. 

The website has a section for previous years' questions and answers. It also has an online bookshop where you will find every kind of book for competitive exams to order and buy. Although the delivery service is a bit slow.

In addition to these, it has a section for job circulars where you will find every govt job opening at that moment. Besides having all previous years' questions solved, you may participate in the model tests there to check your efficiency and preparation.