I am Aashish, from Ranchi, Jharkhand. A 2021 Mathematics Honours graduate. I prepared for UPSC through self-study with Maths as my optional, and wrote Mains in 2022 and 2023.

My first encounter with the coaching industry came as a JEE aspirant. Paid upfront, poor quality, no accountability, and no refund. That experience shaped how I think about mentorship and education.

The Fifth Option was never designed as a large-scale coaching initiative. It remains intentionally limited and 1:1 because every aspirant is different and needs guidance built around their preparation, not a "one-size-fits-all" approach. The most rewarding part of this work has been seeing mentees gradually build confidence in their preparation and more importantly in their thought process.

The mentorship journey began organically after a single Reddit post following Prelims 2024. What started informally with just 4 regular mentees gradually evolved into a focused 1:1 mentorship system.

In 2024, 3 out of 4 mentees reached the Interview stage, with one securing AIR 355.

In 2025, with 7 mentees, 3 qualified for Interviews and 2 secured final selections at AIR 731 and AIR 933.