Updated By Abhinav Chamoli on 08 Feb, 2021 11:17
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CAT 2021 Exam Analysis is a detailed look into the CAT 2021 question paper based on student reports and expert opinion. The CAT 2021 Exam Analysis updates the candidates with the difficulty level, topic-wise number of questions, expected cut off and other details about the exam that are essential when trying to estimate your results and plan for admission. The detailed analysis of CAT 2021 question paper must be checked by every candidate that appeared for the exam to gauge their performance in comparison to the other candidates. For candidates who are preparing for CAT 2021, an expected analysis will also be provided to the candidates on this page.
As per the tentative dates available for CAT 2021, the exam will be conducted in the last week of November 2021. Going by the previous year trends, CAT 2021 is expected to be conducted in three slots as per the revised exam pattern given on this page. We will be releasing a detailed analysis of each slot of CAT 2021 after the exam is conducted. Candidates can check the important dates of CAT 2021 analysis as well as a detailed analysis of CAT 2020, 2019, 2018 and 2017 on this page.
Following are the tentative dates as per which CAT 2021 is expected to be conducted.
Event | Date |
CAT 2021 Admit Card Release Date | Last week of October 2021 |
CAT 2021 Exam Date | Last week of November 2021 |
CAT 2021 Analysis Release Date | Soon after CAT 2021 Exam |
CAT 2020 Slot 3 concluded at 6:30 pm. CAT 2020 Slot 2 was conducted between 12:30 - 2:30 pm and CAT 2020 Slot 1 was conducted from 8:30 am to 10:30 am. The biggest news from CAT 2020 exam analysis today is that there were 76 questions in this year's exam. VARC and QA sections had 26 questions each while DILR had 24 questions. The overall difficulty level of the exam was reported to be around Moderate to Difficult. VARC section was the toughest as reported by the candidates but DILR and QA were a bit easier as compared to last year. The detailed slot-wise exam analysis of CAT 2020 Slot 1, 2 and 3 is now live and can be checked below. The detailed slot wise exam & question paper analysis of CAT 2020 can be checked by clicking on the links below.
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CAT 2020 was conducted in 3 slots across 425+ test centres today. The exam was conducted as per the revised pattern and duration. Candidates appearing for the CAT 2020 exam can check the detailed exam & question paper analysis along with answer key/ solutions. Also, the expected cutoff details based on the difficulty level of the CAT 2020 exam will be updated on this page. Meanwhile, check 2019, 2018, 2017 & 2016 exam & question paper analysis of CAT to have an idea of the difficulty level, nature of questions, and topic wise weightage.
The three slots in which CAT 2020 will be conducted are Forenoon (8:30 am to 10:30 am), Afternoon (12:30 pm to 2:30 pm) and Evening (4:30 pm to 6:30 pm). PwD candidates will be provided 40 minutes extra in each shift. The number of slots has been increased due to the COVID-19 guidelines issued by the Health Ministry. Candidates will also have to get their temperature checked at the gate and consent to contactless frisking before they will be allowed to enter the premises.
Some of the top CAT coaching institutes such as T.I.M.E, IMS, CL and Bulls Eye have also released their Exam 2020 analysis. The exam analysis of CAT is prepared after analysing the sectional difficulty as well as the number of questions asked in the exam. The CAT 2020 Exam Analysis by top coaching Institutes is provided here. Candidates can click on the links provided below to know the exam analysis provided by CAT, IMS, TIME and Bulls Eye.
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The revised exam pattern and marking scheme of CAT 2020 is as follows.
| Section | No. of Question | Time | Marking Scheme |
| VARC | 26 | 40 minutes | +3 marks / -1 mark No negative marking for non-MCQs |
| DILR | 24 | 40 minutes | |
| QA | 26 | 40 minutes | |
| TOTAL | 76 | 120 minutes |
The number of questions in CAT 2020 was 76 for each slot. Overall, the VARC section was moderate to easy, DILR was difficult while the Quant section was easy to moderate.
CAT expected cutoff for IIMs and Top B-Schools of India are provided on this page. Candidates are advised to check the cutoff of each college before applying for admissions.
The CAT 2021 expected cutoff of the top 7 IIMs in India are provided in the table below. The CAT 2021 Cutoff for IIMs Section Wise & Category Wise can be checked here.
IIM Campus | Expected CAT Cut Off |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 99-100 |
| IIM Bangalore | 99-100 |
| IIM Calcutta | 99-100 |
| IIM Lucknow | 98-100 |
| IIM Kozhikode | 98-99 |
| 99-100 | |
| 98-99 |
The table provided below will help you know the expected CAT 2021 cutoff for Top B-Schools in India.
College | Expected CAT Cut Off |
95 | |
96 | |
91 | |
96 | |
98 | |
| 94 |
Apart from the IIMs, there are many other private MBA/ PGDM colleges in India that are well known for their MBA and PGDM programs. The CAT cutoff for Top Private MBA/ PGDM Colleges in India is given below.
College | Expected CAT Cut Off |
75 | |
80 | |
72 | |
73 | |
70 | |
74 | |
| 70 |
Here is the detailed comparison of CAT 2019, 2018 & 2017 -
| Section | CAT 2019 | CAT 2018 | CAT 2017 | |||
| Difficulty | Good Attempt | Difficulty | Good Attempt | Difficulty | Good Attempt | |
| VARC | Moderate | 24-26 | Easy | 28-30 | Moderate | 26-28 |
| DILR | Moderate | 18-20 | Moderate | 16-18 | Difficult | 14-16 |
| QA | Moderate | 20-22 | Difficult | 15-18 | Easy | 24-26 |
CAT 2019 exam was conducted on November 24, 2019 and the detailed exam analysis, question paper review and question paper analysis of the same is available here. Candidates can check the CAT 2019 exam analysis for Slot 1 & Slot 2 given below. A detailed analysis of the level of difficulty and exam structure must be checked by every candidate before appearing for CAT 2020.
As per slot 1 & 2 analysis of CAT 2019, we can figure out that the overall difficulty level of the CAT 2019 was moderate. Based on the analysis of two slots, CAT 2019 question paper can be analyzed as follows -
The slot 2 exam of CAT 2019 concluded and the overall difficulty level of the question paper was moderate. Similar to the first slot of the exam, the VARC section turned out to be the most difficult section in Slot 2. On the other hand, the QA section was moderate.
| Name of the Section | Non-MCQs | Difficulty Level |
| VARC | 07 | Difficult |
| DI & LR | 08 | Moderate |
| QA | 11 | Easy-Moderate |
| Overall Difficulty | 26 | Moderate to Difficulty |
| Name of the Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Reading Comprehension | 24 | Difficult |
| Para Summary | 03 | Easy |
| Odd Sentence | 03 | Easy |
| Para Jumbles | 04 | Moderate |
| Name of the Topic | Total No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Tournaments | 04 | Moderate |
| Mid Term & End Terms | 04 | Moderate |
| 3X3 Matrix - Pouches and Coins | 04 | Moderate |
| Rainfall Average | 04 | Easy |
| Profit Loss Statement | 04 | Easy |
| Venn Diagram | 04 | Moderate |
| 3 Doctors | 04 | Moderate |
| 6 Languages, Five People | 04 | Easy |
| Arithmetic | 14 Questions | Difficult |
| Algebra | 11 Questions | Easy |
| Number System | 03 Questions | Difficult |
| Modern Math | Nil | - |
| Geometry and Mensuration | 06 Questions | Moderate |
| Overall | 34 Questions | Difficult |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate |
| Expected Marks for 99 Percentile |
|
The slot 1 exam of CAT 2019 concluded and the candidates were given 180 minutes. Each section was of 60-minute duration. According to preliminary reports, VARC turned out to be the most difficult section this year while QA was moderate to difficult. According to sources, the overall difficulty level of the question paper is moderate to difficult.
| Name of the Section | Non-MCQs | Difficulty Level |
| VARC | 08 | Moderate to Difficult |
| DI & LR | 4-5 | Moderate |
| QA | 11 | Easy-Moderate |
| Overall Difficulty | 26 | Moderate to Difficulty |
| Name of the Topic | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| Reading Comprehension | 24 | Difficult |
| Para Summary | 03 | Moderate |
| Odd Sentence | 03 | Moderate |
| Para Jumbles | 04 | Difficult |
| Name of the Topic | Total No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| 1-20 Petrol Pumps | 04 | Difficult |
| Matrix- Adjacent Cells | 04 | Moderate |
| Set Theory - 1600 Rockets were Launched | 04 | Moderate |
| ATM Denominations | 04 | Moderate |
| Pie Charts | 04 | Moderate |
| Ten Friends - Scores in DI/ WE/ GK | 04 | Difficult |
| Four Females, Four Males | 04 | Easy |
Analysis: A candidate with 15 to 17 good attempts in this section have chances of securing a good score.
| Arithmetic | 14 Questions | Very Difficult |
| Algebra | 08 Questions | Difficult |
| Number System | 02 Questions | Moderate |
| Modern Math | 03 Questions | Moderate |
| Geometry and Mensuration | 07 Questions | Difficult |
| Overall | 34 Questions | Difficult |
Analysis: A candidate with 18-20 attempts with almost 85% accuracy have chances of securing a good score in the exam.
| Expected Percentile | Number of Good Attempts |
| 90-80% | 15+10+10 |
| 95-90% | 20+12+15 |
| 99-95% | 25+16+20 |
| 99% | 27+20+25 |
You need to enter the exam hall with an open mind. You can expect the unexpected when it comes to CAT 2019 question paper. There have been surprises every year. The candidates are being surprised every year in at least one section of the CAT exam. One thing we can suggest you is to stop worrying about the difficulty level of the CAT question paper and attempt the exam with an open mind. Whatever exam preparation you've done on your part is more than enough, and that preparation will help you in achieving a better score in CAT 2019.
All the Best!!!
IIM Calcutta conducted the Common Admission Test (CAT) on 25th November 2018 in online mode. The CAT 2018 paper was conducted in two slots, and CollegeDekho provided a detailed analysis for both.
As per experts at Career Launcher, the CAT 2018 exam analysis of the first slot suggested that the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section was not very tough. As compared to CAT 2017, CAT 2018 examination DILR section had shorter questions and they were easier as well. Out of the three sections, the Quantitative Ability section surprisingly had tougher questions and most of the questions were based on Arithmetic.
In Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section, 99 percentile was expected at a score of 48-50 whereas 99 percentile was estimated at a score of 45-50 in the Quant section. In Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension section, a 99 percentile was expected at a score of 75. The overall difficulty level of CAT 2018 was a bit more in comparison to CAT 2017. Experts at CL have, therefore, estimated 99 percentile at a score of 155-160.
As far as reactions from test takers of the first slot are concerned, they found the Quantitative Ability section to be the most difficult one while Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension turned out to be the most scoring section like always.
CAT 2018 Slot 2 was a little on the difficult side in comparison to the previous year's examination. Like Slot 1, Quant was difficult in Slot 2 as well. In this section, 99 percentile was expected at a score of 50. DILR was on the same lines as that of CAT 2017. In DILR, 99 percentile was estimated at a score of 43-45. In VARC, 99 percentile was expected at a score of 75. The Verbal Ability section was easier in CAT 2018. Overall, 99 percentile was expected at a score of 150-155 in CAT 2018 paper.
| Section | Total No. of Questions | No. of MCQs | No. of Non-MCQs | Level of Difficulty | Good Attempts |
| VARC | 34 | 27 | 7 | Easy | 28+ |
| DILR | 32 | 24 | 8 | Medium | 16+ |
| Quant | 34 | 22 | 12 | Tough | 15+ |
| 100 | 60+ |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension - This section comprised of 5 passages and every passage was followed by 5 questions except one passage on Genetics that had 4 questions. The Parajumble questions surprisingly turned out to be easier as compared to previous years. The sentences were really short. The paper pattern was not very similar to the sample paper provided by the CAT team. This section had 34 questions, out of which 27 were multiple-choice questions whereas the number of Non-MCQs was 7. VARC had quite a few inference-based questions, which were not difficult to attempt. Overall, VA could be the saviour this year for all those who were dependent on the Quant section.
Topic | No. of Questions | Description | |
Reading Comprehension | 24 | RC comprised of 5 passages and each had around 500-550 words. The passage with 4 questions was on Genetics while the other four passages were based on India’s view on its legacy of World War II, Elephant society, Plastic Pollution, and Consumer behaviour studies. | |
Verbal Ability | Para-jumble | 4 | All the four questions were followed by four sentences, which were quite easy and concise. Candidates should've easily attempted all of these as these questions had no negative marking. |
Summary | 3 | The paragraphs were around 80 words each and were tough to read. Therefore, the options turned out to be confusing due to the paragraphs' genres. Negative marking was applicable on these questions. | |
Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) | 3 | The bumblebee question had a sentence, which wasn't complete. This along with the PJ on erosion would have been tough to attempt. The other question was a sitter. | |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning - This section was similar to that of previous years. The DI-LR section in 2015, 2016 and 2017 was on the same lines. DILR had a total of 32 questions, out of which 24 were multiple-choice whereas 8 were Non-MCQs. However, the themes of the sets were more conventional which was highly unlikely considering the last year's CAT exam. Candidates could have easily attempted around 4 sets in this section with good accuracy. In some sets, there was 1 ‘difficult to crack’ question, which students should've ideally kept aside. In the Data Interpretation sets, calculation wasn’t required at all whereas the Logical Reasoning sets had an easy-moderate difficulty level.
Section | Topics | No. of Questions |
DI | Pie Chart-Annual/half yearly/Quarter Sales | 4 |
ATM -Denominations of 100,200 and 500 | 4 | |
Set Theory-1600 rockets were launched | 4 | |
LR | Matrix-Adjacent cells | 4 |
10 friends -scores in DI/WE/GK | 4 | |
4 Females, 4 Males-Minor and major | 4 | |
3 Committees-research/teaching/economist | 4 | |
1-20 petrol pumps | 4 |
Quantitative Ability - Candidates could not attempt all the questions in the Quant section and it, therefore, turned out to be the toughest in the last four years. Most of the questions in this section were based on Algebra and Geometry, which dominated other topics. The questions asked in the Quant section were not theory intensive. They were calculation and logic-intensive. A total of 34 questions with 22 MCQs and 12 Non-MCQ were asked in this section. Candidates' basic fundamentals and clarity of concepts were tested and they found some of the multiple-choice questions extremely confusing.
Topics | No. of Questions |
Number System | 2 |
Algebra | 8 |
Arithmetic | 14 |
Modern Math | 3 |
Geometry and Mensuration | 7 |
| Section | Estimated Score Required for 99 Percentile |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 75 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 48-50 |
| Quantitative Ability | 45-50 |
| Total | 155-160 |
| Section | Total No. of Questions | No. of MCQs | No. of Non-MCQs | Level of Difficulty | Good Attempts |
| VARC | 34 | 27 | 7 | Easy | 28+ |
| DILR | 32 | 24 | 8 | Medium | 16+ |
| Quant | 34 | 22 | 12 | Tough | 15+ |
| 100 | 60+ |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension - The exam pattern remained on the same lines as that of the first slot. The section comprised of 5 passages and every passage was followed by 5 questions except one passage on Grover snails that had 4 questions. The remaining passages in RC were based on familiar topics. The passages were easy to read and there were some inference-based questions, which candidates found easy to attempt.
Area | Topic | No. of Questions | Description |
Reading Comprehension | 24 | There were 5 passages of around 450-500 words each. While the passage with four questions was on Grover Snails. the other four passages that had five question each were based on Meritocracy and diversified teams, use of technology in essential services, rings of Saturn and their age, and a passage on human resource and learning. | |
Verbal Ability | Para-jumble | 4 | All had four sentences each and the sentences were pretty easy and concise. Negative marking was not applicable. The key to performing well in this topic was prior practice and awareness of deductive paragraphs. |
Summary | 3 | As compared to the summary paragraphs in the first slot, the summary paragraphs were easier in this second slot. The paragraphs were short and candidates found them slightly difficult to read. | |
Para-jumble (Odd sentence out) | 3 | In this topic, the questions were quite tricky. Hence, it would've been a bit difficult for students to attempt the questions in this area. | |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning - The DILR section in the second slot continued to be a pleasant surprise for candidates. The theme of the sets in CAT 2018 was more conventional unlike CAT 2017. Candidates had to face one very direct DI set with basic calculations. Ideally, the focus of test takers was supposed to be the quality of the selected sets rather than the quantity of the attempted questions. Some sets had a question each that was supposed to be ignored. The LR sets were easy to moderate as far as the difficulty level was concerned.
Section | Topic | No. of Questions |
DI | Currency Exchange and rate changes | 4 |
Smartphones and market share | 4 | |
Box Diagram of 3 companies/products | 4 | |
LR | Interview Arrivals (Arrangement) | 4 |
Coding (Alphabet/digits) | 4 | |
Set theory (3 games, Ludo, Kho-kho, Gilli Danda) | 4 | |
Institute Accreditation | 4 | |
Tickets to a show, old, young & middle-aged people | 4 |
Quantitative Ability - The QA section was tough in the second slot as well. The questions asked in this section were not theory intensive. In fact, they were more calculation and logic-intensive. The aptitude questions were framed to test candidates' fundamental knowledge and concept clarity. In the second slot, Arithmetic and Geometry questions once again dominated the Quant section. This section was a bit easier to attempt for candidates from the engineering background.
Topic | No. of Questions |
Number System | 2 |
Algebra | 8-9 |
Arithmetic | 13-14 |
Modern Math | 3 |
Geometry and Mensuration | 7 |
Source: Career Launcher
Important Note: The information provided above was based on research done from various sources. CollegeDekho will not be responsible for any decision taken by students based on the provided data.
To all the candidates who have taken the exam, join us to get a comprehensive analysis and insights into CAT 2018. Apart from CAT expert paper analysis, you can check the CAT 2018 Result. Stay tuned to know More on CAT 2018!
CAT 2017, which was conducted in two sessions, did not throw any surprises compared to the paper format. The level of difficulty of the paper too was almost the same as that of CAT 2016. The scoring pattern was as follows:
The paper had 74 questions with negative marking and 26 questions without negative marking. All the 74 MCQs had 1/3 negative marking while there was no negative marking for wrong answers for the 26 Non-MCQs.
Slot 1: Here our experts could deduce that DILR was a tough nut to crack. VARC was moderately difficult while QA was easy focusing more on arithmetic questions which would benefit Non-Engineers. Cut off levels, compared to last year may go up
The overall structure of the CAT paper was as follows:
| Section Name | No. of Questions | No. of MCQ | No. of Non-MCQ | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 34 | 27 | 7 | Moderate | 26-28 |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 32 | 24 | 8 | High | 14-16 |
| Quantitative Ability | 34 | 23 | 11 | Easy | 24-26 |
| Total | 100 | 74 | 26 |
Section wise the number of questions allotted to a particular area and its difficulty level as assessed by our team of experienced faculties is as below.
| Area | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| RC-Topic 1 | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| RC-Topic 2 | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| RC-Topic 3 | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
| RC-Topic 4 | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
| RC-Topic 5 | 6 | Easy to Moderate |
| Odd Sentence Out | 3 | Easy to Moderate |
| Paragraph Jumbles | 4 | Moderate to Difficult |
| Paragraph Summary | 3 | Easy |
| Total | 34 |
Here our experts opined that many students would have attempted close to 28+ in VARC section and quite a few would have attempted all the 34 questions in the section.
| Area | No. of Questions | Difficulty Level |
| LR- Projects | 4 | Difficult |
| LR-Burgers / Fries | 4 | Easy |
| LR-Children Survey | 4 | Easy |
| LR-PCM | 4 | Difficult |
| DI-Happiness Index | 4 | Difficult |
| DI-Matrix | 4 | Moderate |
| DI-Routes | 4 | Moderate |
| DI-Flight Operation | 4 | Moderate |
| Total | 32 |
The DILR section was the toughest section, with difficulty level moderate to difficult. The number of attempts in this section would more likely be in the 12 to 14 range.
According to our experts, a good student could have attempted around 16-18 questions in this set. Very few students would have touched the attempt of 25 in this section. The cut-off in this section would be low and can be between 30-31 marks for an 85 percentile.
| Area | No.of Questions | Doable |
| Number System | 4 | 4 |
| Algebra | 10 | 8-10 |
| Arithmetic | 11 | 8-9 |
| Modern Maths | 2 | 2 |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 7 | 5-6 |
| Total | 34 |
Quant section was the easiest. Arithmetic dominated the section. Most of the questions were from arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.
| Percentile | VARC | DILR | QA | Overall |
| 99 | 68 | 38 | 65 | 158 |
| 95 | 52 | 32 | 48 | 141 |
| 90 | 48 | 28 | 35 | 110 |
| 85 | 45 | 20 | 30 | 100 |
| 80 | 40 | 21 | 25 | 90 |
| 75 | 36 | 18 | 23 | 85 |
| 70 | 30 | 15 | 18 | 68 |
| 65 | 26 | 10 | 15 | 50 |
| 60 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 40 |
Imp: Scores for CAT 2017 are calculated as +1 for a correct answer and -1/3 for an incorrect answer.
Want to know more about CAT
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We recommend that you go through our CAT 2021 Preparation Strategy & Study Plan Exam Page for CAT preparation. Other resources that may be useful in preparing for the CAT 2021 Entrance Exam are listed below:
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READ MORE...Dear Student,
CAT 2020 does not have any seat reservations for Socially and Economically Backward Students (SEBC). You can find more information about the same in our article on the CAT 2020 seat reservation policy.
Please feel free to write back to us if you require any other information. For help with admission to MBA colleges in India, please fill our Common Application Form (CAF) or call our helpline number 18005729877.
Thank you.
READ MORE...Dear Student,
You have to submit any available certificates with the CAT 2020 undertaking. However, CAT 2020 exam dates have now been revised and the deadline to submit the CAT 2020 application form has been extended to 23rd September to help candidates get sufficient time to arrange any certificates.
Please feel free to write back if you have any other queries,
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Yes, the difficulty level of CAT 2021 is considered as one of the major factors while calculating the CAT cutoff. The cutoff of CAT also depends on the number of candidates who appeared for the examination and the past year cutoff.
The paper analysis of CAT 2021 will be updated here once the exam is over. You can check the exam analysis of CAT from here.
If we were to go by the past trends, CAT 2021 is going to be moderate in terms of the difficulty level.
73-74 correct answers out of 100 will be considered to be a good attempt in CAT. Candidates should aim to answer at least 73 questions correctly to have a chance of getting 90 to 100 percentile.
Yes, there is a separate question paper for slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3. No questions from any slot will be repeated in the other slot of CAT examination.
Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT examination is considered as the most difficult section because this section involves calculations. Candidates need to work on learning shortcut techniques to crack this section.
The overall difficulty legal of CAT 2019 examination was moderate. The Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension was more difficult than the rest of the sections.
