Analysis of CAT Test 2016

Finally, CAT-2016 has been completed. Now, you can read the analysis.

Although this is an exception, it was not a major surprise that the CAT exam examiners didn't make any significant changes. The exam was almost identical to last years in terms of structure, pattern, and difficulty level.

Exam Structure and Pattern

CAT-2016: First Slot Analysis

The paper was divided into three sections, namely, 'Quantitative Aptitude', ’Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning' and 'Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension. Each section contained 34, 32, and 34 questions. Each section was limited to 60 minutes.

These sections were divided as follows:

Attempts and Expected Percentile Table together with B-Schools Cutoffs

Below is a table that shows overall and section-wise attempts, as well as probable score & percentiles for different slots.

Table – Morning Slot

Table - Evening Slot

After receiving the latest student responses, the tables were updated.

Please Note:

The marking scheme for the exam was not correct. The marking scheme for questions was mentioned in the directions to the exam as +3 for correct answers and -1 for incorrect answers. In the consolidated question window, however, the marks mentioned were +1 for correct answers and -1 for incorrect questions. This does not affect the total score as the percentage of negative marking remains the same.

B-School Cut-offs

B-Schools use CAT scores as a primary screening tool for shortlisting candidates to the GD/ PI round. Other factors that are considered when generating calls are academic performance in 10th, +2, Graduation and duration of work experience. The cut-offs for older IIMs are usually higher than for new IIMs.

Section-wise Review

Verbal Ability Review The difficulty level for this section is easy to moderate. The exam was similar in difficulty to last year. Students reported finding RCs easier than they did last year. However, Verbal Ability is more difficult than other sections so any review should be taken with a grain of salt. It was again difficult for students to know the order of the four subjective para-jumbles.

The exam this year did not include any questions from vocabulary, FIJs or Phrasal verbs. The result was that those who are proficient in reading-based topics would have felt more at ease in this section. The RC passages were moderately long, ranging between 400 and 600 words.

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning: This section, like the previous year, was long and tedious. This was overall the most difficult section of the exam.

Both slots reported that LR–DI was the most difficult section of the exam. It is a time-consuming section that students found very frustrating. This section has the lowest cut-off.

Quantitative Aptitude Review The difficulty of this section was moderate, but it was more difficult than the previous year. You can therefore expect that the cut-offs will be slightly lower than last year.

The Quant Section represented almost all areas. There were many questions on Commercial Math (Percentage Profit & Loss and Ratio). Surprisingly there wasn't one question about probability. There was however one question about Permutation and Combination. Time and Distance were also very limited in questions, but traditional areas such as Number System, Algebra and Geometry were covered in a large number.

Concerning the first slot, there were some issues in the exam. Two ambiguous questions were asked in the first slot. The square root symbol was also used in the exam as a pie symbol. Some students were confused by this. This issue is still under investigation by the IIMs. This could have an impact on the overall cut-offs. Students have also reported.

Verdict

Overall, the paper was slightly more difficult than last year's exam. Quant was moderate to difficult, Verbal was medium and LR was difficult. If you answered 72+ questions correctly, you can expect multiple IIM calls at 99.5+ percentile. The LR-DI section is crucial for many students. This section will likely have a low cut-off.