Benchmark scores by category:

• Below 230: Weak performance — needs urgent strategy revision
• 230-260: Average — sufficient only if GS and Essay are strong
• 260-285: Competitive — the typical range for candidates who clear with a decent rank
• 285-310: Good — puts you in the top-300 zone in most years
• 310+: Excellent — characteristic of top-100 finishers

Verified topper data:

Shakti Dubey, AIR 1 in CSE 2024, chose Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) as her optional and scored 132 in Paper I and 147 in Paper II, totalling 279 out of 500. Her overall Mains written score was 843 out of 1,750.

Aditya Srivastava, AIR 1 in CSE 2023, chose Electrical Engineering as his optional and scored 148 in Paper I and 160 in Paper II, totalling 308 out of 500. His overall written score was 899.

Subject-specific scoring trends: For Sociology optional, the typical competitive range is 260-285, with toppers reaching 310-329. For PSIR, 270-300 is the competitive range for candidates in the top 200. Technical optionals like Electrical Engineering can reach 300+ when mastered deeply.

The key insight from topper data is that raw intelligence is less important than depth of preparation, quality of answer writing, and the number of high-quality revisions before the exam.