Public administration vs political science?

Adi0596

I'm confused between the two subjects as optional.

My analysis so far
1) political science has less number of candidates compared to pub ad and ive been told, for pub ad your answers will really need to stand out. So in favor of political science on this basis.(2015 pub ad appeared- 7077, recommended- 359.
Pol sc appeared -1107, recommended- 121)

2) political science has a lot of theories and Indian and western political thoughts. And to put in plain words, I'm not good at doing so much theory and perspectives so would like to know how much of the subject revolves around the theories.

3) on the other hand I'm very much interested in international relations and Indian government and politics so it's just theories I'm genuinely not sure about(to be honest kind of scared)

I haven't read much in these two subjects other than comparing the syllabus. In pub ad I've read a few chapters from Arora and Goyal.
Nothing at all in Pol sc.
On a side note I'm from commerce background.

Genuine advice would be really appreciated.
Regards

djgovins

Avoid Pub Ad. You never know what questions they'll throw at you. It also has theories in paper 1. Plus the subject is an amalgam of management, law, psychology, sociology (and what not!). Vagaries in the paper pattern can be compared to that of Indian monsoon. Luckily 2016 mains was easy. But was not that easy on previous 2 years. Content as such is not difficult to understand, but answers in the actual paper demand inter-linkages.

Take pub ad only if you've no other option left.

logout

Avoid Pub Ad. You never know what questions they'll throw at you. It also has theories in paper 1. Plus the subject is an amalgam of management, law, psychology, sociology (and what not!). Vagaries in the paper pattern can be compared to that of Indian monsoon. Luckily 2016 mains was easy. But was not that easy on previous 2 years. Content as such is not difficult to understand, but answers in the actual paper demand inter-linkages.

Take pub ad only if you've no other option left.

this advice is every optional .
take any optional give sincere effort u will score good marks.
in any subject one needs to be in top 5% to get good score.

Adi0596

Avoid Pub Ad. You never know what questions they'll throw at you. It also has theories in paper 1. Plus the subject is an amalgam of management, law, psychology, sociology (and what not!). Vagaries in the paper pattern can be compared to that of Indian monsoon. Luckily 2016 mains was easy. But was not that easy on previous 2 years. Content as such is not difficult to understand, but answers in the actual paper demand inter-linkages.

Take pub ad only if you've no other option left.

this advice is every optional .
take any optional give sincere effort u will score good marks.
in any subject one needs to be in top 5% to get good score.

I agree with you but that's where my confusion lies. In pub ad it's top 5%. In Pol sc it's top 10%.

logout

Avoid Pub Ad. You never know what questions they'll throw at you. It also has theories in paper 1. Plus the subject is an amalgam of management, law, psychology, sociology (and what not!). Vagaries in the paper pattern can be compared to that of Indian monsoon. Luckily 2016 mains was easy. But was not that easy on previous 2 years. Content as such is not difficult to understand, but answers in the actual paper demand inter-linkages.

Take pub ad only if you've no other option left.

this advice is every optional .
take any optional give sincere effort u will score good marks.
in any subject one needs to be in top 5% to get good score.

I agree with you but that's where my confusion lies. In pub ad it's top 5%. In Pol sc it's top 10%.

then u r going by perception not data.
Go to DopT site see the detailed marksheet of year 2015 and compare. ard 30 student got more than 220 marks in pol sci. the ratio would be same for both subject.
only 3 score above 250.

Gurukul

Avoid Pub Ad. You never know what questions they'll throw at you. It also has theories in paper 1. Plus the subject is an amalgam of management, law, psychology, sociology (and what not!). Vagaries in the paper pattern can be compared to that of Indian monsoon. Luckily 2016 mains was easy. But was not that easy on previous 2 years. Content as such is not difficult to understand, but answers in the actual paper demand inter-linkages.

Take pub ad only if you've no other option left.

this advice is every optional .
take any optional give sincere effort u will score good marks.
in any subject one needs to be in top 5% to get good score.

I agree with you but that's where my confusion lies. In pub ad it's top 5%. In Pol sc it's top 10%.

then u r going by perception not data.
Go to DopT site see the detailed marksheet of year 2015 and compare. ard 30 student got more than 220 marks in pol sci. the ratio would be same for both subject.
only 3 score above 250.

Bhai data ka to Pta nhi..but pub ad lene layak subject nhi hai.. question kafi weird puchhate hai... selection is bar kam hi logo ka hua hai...mere hisab se koi bhi subject le lo but pub ad mat lo..kyuki mehnat ke bad bhi success ki guarantee nhi h...baki optional me chances jyada h selection hone ka..

Tsuki

On a side note I'm from commerce background.

Genuine advice would be really appreciated.
Regards

@Adi0596 - Just wondering, why arent you opting for commerce?

Adi0596

On a side note I'm from commerce background.

Genuine advice would be really appreciated.
Regards

@Adi0596 - Just wondering, why arent you opting for commerce?

Ive been considering commerce and accountancy. I'm from du so I'm comfortable with paper 2. Just not that comfortable with the practical part-accoutancy.

Tsuki

@Adi0596 - i am guessing paper 1 is the practical part? Are the accountancy problems required for UPSC very complex?

Also, go through the political science topics a bit and see the type of questions asked. Commerce mai bhi toh bhar bhar ke theories hai. Itna kyu darte ho thinkers se?

Whatever interests you and there is guidance available, opt for it.