Geography drew 323 candidates in CSS 2025 and allocated a single one of them. The paper itself is genuinely scoreable, with a mean of 48% well above the field average, so the near-absence of allocations reflects a very thin written pass and a hard merit cut rather than a difficult exam. Only two candidates cleared the written stage from the entire field.
The one allocated candidate was a man, making the female share zero in a sample of a single seat. No conclusion about gendered conversion can be drawn from one outcome.
Geography's mean of 48% sits 4.5 points above the CSS optional-subject average of 43.5%, marking it as an above-average paper to score in. The favourable mean is real but largely beside the point given the outcome, since the subject produced only one allocation from 323 candidates. A strong average drawn from a field where almost no one cleared the written stage tells a candidate little about their genuine odds.
Of the 323 who appeared, 2 passed the written stage and 1 was allocated. With a mean of 48% sitting well above the 33% threshold, the paper is plainly not the obstacle, yet the written pass count of just two shows how few candidates reached a passing standard in practice. A single allocation from 323 leaves no margin whatsoever.
The mean of 48% clears the passing line by 15 points, and with the median almost identical at 49% the distribution is fairly symmetric and sits high. A standard deviation of 23 points is very wide, however, placing a candidate one deviation below the mean at 25%, well short of passing. That makes this a moderate-risk paper despite the strong average, because the large spread drops a substantial share of candidates below the line. The high mean coexists with real volatility, so consistency rather than peak performance is what keeps a candidate safely above the threshold.
The lone allocation went to a Punjab candidate, with no other province securing a seat. One allocation offers no distribution to read beyond recording where the single successful candidate came from.
Geography suits candidates with a solid grasp of physical and human geography who can write accurately and consistently under exam pressure, and even they should weigh the 2025 record. One allocation from 323 applicants is a stark figure. The scoreable paper is not the opportunity it looks like, because almost no candidate converted it into a seat.