CAT 2015 Analysis

CAT 2015 was conducted in two slots on 29^th November. Slot 1 was from 9 AM to 12 noon and slot 2 was from 2 PM to 5 PM. On the basis of our analysis, we have created a Percentile Predictor. Click here to find out your expected percentile!

Slot 1 Analysis:

The paper consisted of 3 sections – Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability. There were 34 questions in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), 32 questions in Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and 34 questions in Quantitative Ability (QA). Each of three sections had a time limit of 60 minutes with no gap between sections.

Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability:

This section consisted of 24 RC and 10 VA questions. There were a total of 5 RC sets with 6 questions in three of them and 3 questions in the other two. The passages were of moderate difficulty level and did not pose too many problems with reading or comprehension. However, a few questions were tricky with some close options. The Verbal Ability section had 10 questions, all of which were non-MCQs. Questions were from Para Jumbles, Odd one out and Para Summary. For the summary questions, each question had 4 options and the correct answer had to be keyed in to the box provided. So, practically, these questions were almost like MCQs. On the other hand, students had to key in the correct sequence of sentences for Para Jumbles.

Overall, a raw score of about 55-57 would fetch 95+ percentile in this section.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:

According to almost all the students who participated in our survey, this section was the toughest of the three. Out of a total of 32 questions, 8 were non-MCQ type. There were 4 DI sets of 4 questions each and 4 LR sets of 4 questions each. A couple of sets were straight-forward but most of the others required considerable time and effort. Two DI sets were calculation based while the other two were based more on logic. The LR section did not have any questions on Positioning, which is a surprise because generally there is a set based on Positioning in every CAT paper.

Overall, a raw score of about 45 would give a 95+ percentile in this section.

Quantitative Ability:

Quant section can be termed “moderate”. Compared to CAT 2014, it was tougher. There were about 15 non-MCQ questions. There was almost an equal distribution of questions from all the Quant topics. The questions mostly tested the fundamentals without involving too many lengthy calculations. A student with a good grip of the basic concepts would have been able to attempt 28+ questions. Nonetheless, since there were many non-MCQ questions, there is a chance that accuracy would be slightly on the lower side compared to CAT papers from previous years.

A raw score of about 58-60 would give 95+ percentile in this section.

On the whole, about 65-67 attempts with an accuracy of about 80% would give a 95+ percentile and about 75-78 attempts with 80% accuracy would fetch a 99+ percentile.

Slot 2 Analysis:

The second slot question paper was similar to that of the morning slot. The number of questions were the same as in slot 1.

Reading Comprehension and Verbal Ability:

This section consisted of 24 RC questions and 10 VA questions. There were 3 RC passages with six questions each and 2 RC passages with 3 questions each. The passages were easily understandable. But, the options for a few questions were close which made those questions tricky. The Verbal Ability section of the second slot was quite similar to the first slot in difficulty and distribution of questions.

Overall, the difficulty level of the paper is easy to moderate. A raw score of 54 – 57 would fetch a 95%ile.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning:

Like slot 1, this section was the toughest of the three. It consisted of 4 DI sets and 4 LR sets. Each set had exactly 4 questions. There were 2 sets that had non – MCQs. 1 DI set and 2 LR sets were solvable. Attempting the other sets was too time-taking and required a lot of effort.

Overall, answering more than 20 questions is a very good attempt and a raw score of 42 – 45 would fetch a 95%ile.

Quantitative Ability:

As expected, this section was of easy to moderate difficulty level and similar to that of CAT 2014. But the tricky part was the presence of 15 non-MCQs. Of the 34 questions in this section, only 19 were MCQs. It was important to start afresh after the tough DILR section and not keep thinking about your performance in that section. All the questions were based on the fundamentals and any aspirant with a good grip on the basics would have high number of attempts. Most of the questions were based on Algebra, Arithmetic and Geometry. As this section was easy, students need to attempt more questions with a good accuracy to score a high percentile.

Overall, answering more than 27 questions was a good attempt and a raw score of 57- 59 should fetch a 95%ile.

Overall, the question paper was of a moderate difficulty level. A raw score of 175 – 180 should fetch a 99%ile and a raw score of 153 – 157 should fetch a 95%ile.