CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2023

Abhinav Chamoli

Updated On: December 22, 2023 11:11 am IST | CAT

Increasing your accuracy while solving questions will increase your CAT percentile but it impacts the time you take to solve each question. So, where does the sweet spot lie in the CAT attempts vs percentile 2023 analysis? Find out here.

CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2023

The CAT attempts vs percentile 2023 analysis is a crucial statistic that candidates require to ascertain their percentile score after the CAT 2023 exam but before the CAT result 2023, which was announced on December 21, 2023. One of the most useful but uncommon pieces of advice that experts share with CAT aspirants is not to try attempting every single question in the CAT exam. Such a suggestion may be hard for many students to follow since leaving no question unanswered is the typical examination strategy followed by everyone.

However, since the CAT is a competitive exam, the approach to solving the CAT question paper should also be different than average exams. Many candidates also use this information to devise an examination strategy to earn them a 99-100 percentile score. In this article, we have provided all the necessary information on and around the CAT 2023 attempts vs percentile analysis. Aspirants can also find details on the CAT 2023 exam pattern, marking scheme, score calculation, and other aspects of the exam.

Also Read:

CAT Score Weightage in IIMs

Will Cut Offs for IIMs Drop Due to Difficult Quant Section in CAT 2023?

CAT Toppers List 2023

Top Jobs after CAT 2023 Exam

CAT 2023 Attempts vs Percentile Analysis

The following CAT attempts vs percentile 2023 analysis provides a rough estimate to the candidates on how many questions they need to attempt to reach their goal. We have considered the previous year's trends and mathematical estimations while creating the analysis. It is also important to note that an error margin of +/- 5 marks must also be included when calculating the CAT 2023 percentile

CAT Score for 99 Percentile & Above

The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 99 percentile range and above in CAT 2023:

CAT 2023 Sections

Accuracy Level

Good Attempts

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2023

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

85

14-16

36-40

45-55

99+

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

85

12-14

32-34

44-50

99+

Quantitative Ability (QA)

85

14-16

36-40

46-54

99+

Overall

85

42-48

104-114

135-159

99-99.5

CAT Score for 95-98 Percentile

The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 95-98 percentile range in CAT 2023:

CAT 2023 Sections

Accuracy Level

Good Attempts

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2023

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

85

13-15

34-38

40-45

95-98

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

3-30

8-10

26-30

32-36

95-98

Quantitative Ability (QA)

85

14-16

35-40

40-44

95-98

Overall

85

35-41

95-100

112-125

95-98

CAT Score for 90-94 Percentile

The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 90-94 percentile range in CAT 2023:

CAT 2023 Sections

Accuracy Level

Good Attempts

Raw Score

Scaled Score

Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2023

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

90

11-13

29-35

36-40

90 - 94

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

90

7-9

17-22

22-28

90 - 94

Quantitative Ability (QA)

85

10-12

26-32

32-48

90 – 94

Overall

85

28-34

72-89

90-116

90 - 94


The following graph depicts the CAT 2022 attempts vs percentile analysis for different levels of accuracy. The analysis for CAT 2023 is expected to be similar.

CAT 2022 Attempts vs Percentile

The perks of increasing accuracy are apparent in the above graph. Following are some of the major inferences which can be drawn.

Inference No. 1

Difference between number of attempts at 70 percentile  vs  Difference between number of attempts at 99+ percentile

The difference between the number of attempts at 70 percentile is much smaller as compared to the difference between the two at 99+ percentile.

Inference No. 2

Difference between 70% and 80% accuracy for 99 percentile  vs  Difference between 80% and 90% accuracy at 99 percentile

For a 99+ percentile score, the difference between 70% and 80% accuracy is much higher as compared to the difference between 80% and 90% accuracy.


Hence, we can make the following deductions from this given information.

Deduction No. 1 - From Inference No. 1, it can be seen that the benefit of increasing accuracy in CAT 2022 is much higher when aiming for a higher percentile. Thus, a candidate aiming for a 90+ percentile score will benefit more from increasing his/her accuracy as compared to a candidate aiming for a 70 percentile score.

Deduction No. 2 - From Inference No. 2, it can be seen that there are limits to the benefits you get from increasing accuracy in CAT 2022. If you increase your accuracy by over 90%, this difference will drop further. Since time is limited, it is better to try and maintain accuracy between 80 - 90% while also maintaining a good speed in CAT 2022.

Note: The CAT attempts vs percentile 2023 is expected to be similar to that of CAT 2022.

CAT 2023 Attempts vs Percentile: Section-Wise Analysis

Based on the information given above, here is a section-wise breakdown of the CAT attempts vs percentile 2023 analysis. The analysis for CAT 2023 will also follow a similar pattern. Candidates can use the information below to adjust their examination strategy.

With 70% Accuracy

Target Percentile

No. of Attempts

VARC

DILR

QA

Total

70 %ile

11

9

9

29

80 %ile

15

12

13

40

90 %ile

22

18

20

60

99+ %ile

30

29

29

88

With 80% Accuracy

Target Percentile

No. of Attempts

VARC

DILR

QA

Total

70 %ile

9

7

8

24

80 %ile

12

10

11

33

90 %ile

18

16

17

51

99+ %ile

25

23

24

72

With 90% Accuracy

Target Percentile

No. of Attempts

VARC

DILR

QA

Total

70 %ile

8

6

6

20

80 %ile

10

9

9

28

90 %ile

16

13

14

43

99+ %ile

22

18

20

60

CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2023 - Role of Accuracy

Accuracy plays a major role in deciding your percentile based on your number of attempts. The number of attempts drops drastically with the increase in accuracy. However, one should also keep in mind that the time taken per question also increases to maintain high accuracy.

Accuracy vs Attempts vs Time
For best results, it is important to establish a balance between Accuracy, Attempts, and Time.

Also Read: What is a Good Score in CAT 2023?

CAT 2023 Score Calculation

Let us now have an in-depth understanding of how the CAT scores are calculated:

What is CAT Score?

The CAT score is the overall grade a student receives based on the exam's marking scheme. Simply said, a candidate's CAT score is the sum of his or her marks in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability portions. Here's the CAT 2023 score calculator formula:

CAT Score = (No. of Correct Answers) * 3 - No. of Incorrect Answers

What are CAT Scaled Scores/Marks?

The CAT exam is administered across many sessions (two or three). To ensure fairness and justice in performance comparison, the question papers for each session are slightly different from one another, and a scaled score is produced through the normalization process. This scaled score could vary in both ways from the raw score.

What Is CAT Percentile?

The CAT percentile, along with a few other factors, shows a student's position in the exam compared to the other students who took it simultaneously. The position of a candidate among all CAT applications, which is used to determine the candidate's ranking, is indicated by the CAT percentile, to put it simply. It is a unit used to determine or assess the proportion of students on the merit list that are above or below you.

How to Calculate CAT Percentile?

The CAT exam's percentiles are the same as those on other tests. The percentiles just serve as a visual depiction of how many test takers fall short of you. The following is a general formula to compute the percentile:

CAT Percentile = [1 - All India Rank (Total Candidates in the Exam)] * 100%

What Is CAT Composite Score?

The final score determined by IIMs for admission to their programs is called the composite score. The composite score for a candidate is determined by taking into account a variety of factors in addition to their CAT score.

Two applicants with identical on-paper scores may have different composite scores depending on several factors. The following additional factors are taken into account when calculating a composite score:

  • Class 10th Marks

  • Class 12th Marks

  • Graduation Percentage/ Grade

  • Work Experience

  • Academic Background

  • Gender Diversity

The formula for calculating the CAT Composite Score used by the IIMs is as follows:

The calculation of the CAT 2023 scores of a candidate takes place in 3 steps.

CAT 2021 Vs

Step 1: Raw Scores of a candidate are calculated based on the number of correct and incorrect attempts by using the marking scheme.

Step 2: Since CAT 2023 is conducted in multiple shifts, the scaled scores of a candidate are calculated after normalizing for any difference in difficulty level across shifts.

Step 3: Finally, the CAT 2023 percentile of a candidate can be calculated. Scaled Scores are used when calculating the percentile of a candidate.

We have explained both the scaled score calculation and normalization process of CAT 2023 in more detail in the following articles.

How CAT Scaled Score is Calculated for Three Shifts?

CAT Normalization Process 2023

CAT 2023 Score vs Percentile (Expected)

Here are the expert-estimated CAT overall and section-wise scores for the 99th percentile. Candidates can clearly understand the sectional and total CAT scores by glancing at this table.

Percentile

VARC Score

DILR Score

QA Score

Overall Score

99.5 %ile

44

35

40

101

99%ile

34

26

36

96

98%ile

32

28

30

90

95%ile

32

20

29

81

90%ile

29

17

26

72

85%ile

24

15

20

59

80%ile

20

12

15

47

CAT 2023 Exam Pattern & Marking Scheme

Candidates can check out the CAT exam pattern 2023 in the table below:

CAT 2023 Sections

Total MCQs (Negative Marking)

Total Non-MCQs (No Negative Marking)

Total Questions

Maximum Marks

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

21

3

24

72

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)

14

6

20

60

Quantitative Ability (QA)

14

8

22

66

Total

48

18

66

198

CAT 2023 Marking Scheme

You get 3 marks for every correct answer in CAT 2023 and 1 mark is deducted for every incorrectly answered MCQ. There is no negative marking for non-MCQs or TITA questions. Hence, your accuracy has a major role to play in deciding your CAT 2023 percentile.

Also Read:Important Topics for CAT

Colleges Accepting CAT 2023

The following articles can be checked for a list of colleges accepting CAT 2023 for admission to their MBA/PGDM courses.

MBA Colleges Accepting 95-99 Percentile in CAT

List of MBA Colleges Accepting 90-95 Percentile in CAT

List of MBA Colleges Accepting 50-60 Percentile in CAT

List of MBA Colleges Accepting 60-70 Percentile in CAT

List of MBA Colleges Accepting 70-80 Percentile in CAT

List of MBA Colleges Accepting 80-90 Percentile in CAT

After understanding the CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2023, let us find out which is the best college for you based on the CAT 2023 Cut Off by using the following tools.

CAT College Predictor 2023

CAT 2023 Percentile Predictor


Also Read:

What is a Good Percentile in CAT 2023?

What after the CAT exam? Here are Important Things To Do


If you need help with admissions, fill out the Common Application Form (CAF) or call our helpline number 1800-572-9877.

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