Academy for Administrative Careers, Mumbai University

After over a year into UPSC preparation, imagine my shock when I learnt that there's UPSC coaching in Mumbai available less than a km from my home. And I never knew about it.
So much for publicity!
Presenting to you - Academy for Administrative Careers, Mumbai. AAC.
(I missed their admission notice. Didn't know there was such an academy at all. ) So visited and met the director today.
I learnt that they have a huge nice budget (which MU allocates to this department), for this reason itself I would suggest Mumbai UPSC aspirants to try and leverage this.
Like SIAC Mumbai, AAC also conducts an entrance exam along prelim lines.
It should be worth exploring.

Reasons -

1) Mumbai University professors would have a PhD at minimum to become a lecturer there. Hopefully this should be of some use to AAC.
2) You will get access to a good library and resources, at minimum. Which is the most important factor in preparing from a city like Mumbai - which is so UPSC resource starved.
3) I do not have any more idea about AAC. But I expect that adequate pressure should definitely fetch the desired response. Nearly every govt institution in India works on this principle. I mean that AAC too might start being good the moment students absolutely insist on and precisely define what they want arranged. (be it books, lectures or tests) Keep persisting, keep going with the demands, get lectures arranged. No reason why this AAC shouldn't be good.
I was also told (by the Director) that coaching is available to anyone, and not just Mumbai University students


Here is their website : http://mu.ac.in/others/aac/profile.html
Here is their admission notice which I missed : http://mu.ac.in/others/aac/admupscmpsc.pdf
Admitted candidates list : http://mu.ac.in/others/aac/Merit%20List.pdf

And here's the address :
Academy for Administrative Careers 
Room No.4, 1^st Floor, J.P. Naik Bhavan, 
Vidyanagri campus,Kalina,
Santacruz (E), Mumbai � 400 098 
Web: mu.ac.in/others/aas/profile.html 
E-mail: director.aac@mu.ac.in

State Institute for Administrative Careers, Mumbai / SIAC

A quick review of SIAC, Mumbai. State Institute for Administrative Careers or SIAC is the only well known UPSC coaching option in Mumbai.

Positives:
1) good library. any book that isn't available too is made available for students fairly quick
2) well lit reading hall
3) Group Discussions. the only and biggest advantage SIAC has to offer is that it connects you with other aspirants. it is upto you to identify the serious aspirants whom  you want to talk to or keep in touch with. For example, there is a 6pm daily news reading/group discussion session which goes on. This is a student-driven model. (ie, institute plays no role. ) anybody can join that.
4) stipend - whenever it is paid ! (lot of problems in this.)
5) good access to Delhi's resources. you can get access to most of the materials, books, test series, question papers, MAGAZINES, etc which you get in delhi right here in Mumbai. generally not available anywhere else in mumbai. but you get these at SIAC. by resources i mean people as well. the students who come there too.
6) networking with good students. many who come there are sincere or bright. (though there are the non serious as well. but less compared to delhi, in my opinion.) it is possible for you to get a healthy competitive network, if you want. (i prefer to read alone)

Negatives:
1) premises and facilities are not very well maintained. dusty. sometimes the place really needs very good cleaning.
2) Irregular lectures. History and Maths (for the prelims batch) teachers are good, rest are okay or bad. History by Bhushan Deshmukh sir is excellent though - better than Delhi. But please note that SIAC isn't really about the coaching. It's about the support system that it tries to provide students. More of an enabler role.
3) We're trying to request classes for mains! yet to start.
4) stipends are very very very late. Right now nearly 5 months' stipend is due. Do not depend or plan anything based on the stipends!


Conclusions : 
 SIAC is not much about the coaching or coaching quality. What it manages is to give you access to a variety of UPSC-related things, (which you otherwise will never get in Mumbai). It is more of a voluntary group study model or networking opportunity if you are looking for one. I prefer to use it for the reading hall and library facilities.

I have already posted the SIAC entrance question paper here
Here is their result declaration link