SSC CGL 90-Day Study Plan 2026: 12-Week Plan from Basics to Mocks
Ninety days is the most comfortable runway for a first serious attempt. It lets you rebuild school-level basics, cover every CGL topic with timed practice, and still run two to three weeks of full mocks. The plan assumes about 5.5 hours a day in three phases: Foundation (weeks 1 to 4), Build (weeks 5 to 8) and Test (weeks 9 to 12).
Plan structure and daily budget
| Phase | Weeks | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation | 1 to 4 | Speed maths, arithmetic, DI, verbal reasoning, grammar and vocabulary habit, GA reading |
| Build | 5 to 8 | Geometry, mensuration, algebra, trigonometry, non-verbal reasoning, RC and cloze, science, topic tests |
| Test | 9 to 12 | Mocks, error analysis, revision loops, Tier 2 style practice |
Daily budget (about 5.5 hours, six days a week):
| Slot | Hours |
|---|---|
| Quant | 2.0 |
| Reasoning | 1.0 |
| English | 1.5 |
| General Awareness | 1.0 |
Seventh day. Test or revision day. Foundation and Build weeks: a sectional test and 2 hours of analysis. Test weeks: a full mock and analysis. Every night spend 15 to 20 minutes on the mistakes notebook, and revise each topic on day 1, day 7 and day 21 after you learn it. The 12 weeks add up to 84 days; the remaining 6 days are buffer for illness, travel or catching up. Working candidates can halve the budget and stretch the same sequence to 180 days.
Phase 1, weeks 1 to 4: foundation
Goal: speed and accuracy on the arithmetic backbone, plus a daily reading and vocabulary habit. Do not take full mocks yet; do one sectional test per week.
| Week | Quant (2 h) | Reasoning (1 h) | English (1.5 h) | GA (1 h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Speed base (tables, squares, cubes, fractions), Simplification, Number System | Series, Analogy | Grammar essentials: parts of speech, tenses, agreement; 8 new words a day | Current affairs habit begins (current affairs), Ancient history |
| 2 | Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Average | Classification, Coding-Decoding | Grammar: articles, prepositions, modals; Spelling | Medieval and Modern history |
| 3 | Profit, Loss and Discount, Interest, Mixture and alligation | Missing number, Mathematical operations, Dictionary order | Error spotting, Sentence improvement | Polity |
| 4 | Time and Work, Time, Speed and Distance, HCF and LCM | Syllogism, Order and ranking | Synonyms and antonyms, Idioms, One-word substitution | Economy |
Weekly test day: one sectional test on that week's subjects, then analysis. In place of the sectional test at the end of week 4, take your first diagnostic full mock just to measure where you stand; do not worry about the score.
Phase 2, weeks 5 to 8: build
Goal: finish the syllabus, with the largest Quant blocks getting the most time. See the weightage page for the per-topic counts. Add a topic test (10 to 15 questions, timed) after every topic.
| Week | Quant (2 h) | Reasoning (1 h) | English (1.5 h) | GA (1 h) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Data Interpretation (all types), Statistics | Seating arrangement, Blood relations, Direction and distance | Reading comprehension: one passage a day | Indian geography |
| 6 | Geometry: lines, triangles, circles, quadrilaterals | Venn diagrams, Statement-conclusion, Cube and dice | Cloze test: one passage a day | Biology |
| 7 | Mensuration 2D and 3D, Algebra | Counting figures, Mirror and water image, Paper folding | Sentence rearrangement, Fill in the blanks, Active-passive, Direct-indirect | Physics, Chemistry |
| 8 | Trigonometry, Heights and distances, Geometry revisit | Embedded figures, Figure series, weak types | Vocabulary revision (list of 150 words), RC and cloze timed | Static GK, Art and culture, World geography |
Test days in this phase: week 5 sectional (Quant), week 6 sectional (Quant + Reasoning), week 7 sectional (English + GA), week 8 full mock. From week 7, add 15 minutes a day of keyboard practice on the typing test; the data-entry speed test is qualifying in Tier 2.
Phase 3, weeks 9 to 12: test and refine
Goal: convert knowledge into speed. Each mock is followed by at least 2 hours of analysis. Use the mocks page for full-length practice.
| Week | Mocks | Other work (5.5 h days) |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | 2 full mocks | Day-wise repair of weak topics from the diagnostic and week-8 mocks; re-solve all wrong questions |
| 10 | 3 full mocks (alternate days) | One section drill per day: 25 questions in 15 minutes; revise formulas and idioms |
| 11 | 3 full mocks | Tier 2 style practice: harder Maths sets, a longer English set (45 questions), 25 GA questions; revision of weak chapters |
| 12 | 3 full mocks | Last two days only: formula sheet, mistakes notebook, vocabulary; rest the day before the exam |
On mock days, attempt at your expected shift time. In the last week stop learning new topics; use only the formula sheet, the mistakes notebook, and the idiom and vocabulary lists. Use the score calculator to check your normalised-style estimate, and compare your trend (not one score) with the cutoffs page.
Revision system that runs across all 12 weeks
| Loop | What you revise | When |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | New words (8), 20 current-affairs points, last day's mistakes | 30 minutes, any slot |
| Weekly | The week's topics via a timed 25-question set | Test day |
| Fortnightly | Formula sheet end to end, idioms and one-word list | One 90-minute block |
| Phase end | Whole mistakes notebook, grouped by topic | Last 2 days of weeks 4, 8 and 12 |
The 1-7-21 rule: revisit each topic one day, one week and three weeks after learning it. That is why Phase 1 topics get touched again in weeks 5, 6 and 8.
Linking the plan to Tier 2
Tier 1 does not decide the final merit; Tier 2 Paper 1 (out of 390) does. Use weeks 5 to 8 of this plan at full depth, because Tier 2 Maths and English draw on the same chapters with harder questions. After Tier 1, you can run weeks 5 to 12 again with Tier 2 mocks; see the Tier 2 strategy guide for the pattern, marks and sectional approach. Check the exam pattern and syllabus pages for the current structure.
Frequently asked questions
Is 90 days enough for SSC CGL from scratch?
For a graduate with school-level maths, yes, if you can give 5 to 6 hours daily and take mocks seriously. Many selections come from 3 to 5 months of focused preparation. Nothing is guaranteed, but 90 days leaves enough time for one full syllabus pass and about 8 to 10 mocks.
How many mocks should I take in 90 days?
Roughly 12 to 14 full mocks (one diagnostic mock in week 4, one in week 8, then 3 a week in weeks 9 to 12), plus weekly sectional tests. Analysis time per mock should be at least twice the attempt time.
What if I can study only 3 hours a day?
Run the same sequence at half the daily budget over about 150 to 180 days, keeping the weekly test day intact. Do not cut mocks to fit the schedule.
Should I start with Quant or English?
Start both in week 1. Quant needs speed built over weeks, and English needs a daily reading and vocabulary habit. GA reading fits into small daily slots.
When do I start Tier 2 preparation?
Weeks 5 to 8 already prepare the ground. Tier 2 specific work (harder Maths, 45 English questions, the Computer module and the data-entry speed test) starts after Tier 1 or from week 11 of this plan.
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