CAT 2013 – First Day First Show
Ipsita Sarkar Gupta | shiksha.com
As many as 1.94 lakh candidates registered for CAT 2013. And the race to bell the CAT begins with about 4,066 candidates appearing for the test across the country on day 1. Our Shiksha correspondent caught up with various candidates taking the test in Noida to get first hand reactions on the pattern of CAT 2013.
DAY 1 Slot 1
Around 45 candidates - a mix of freshers and those with work experience - lined up at one of the CAT test centres, the Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, at 8:30 am sharp. However, the number dropped to nearly half for the second slot. The candidate turnout in Greater Noida centres was poor on Day 1, with just five test takers at one of the two locations. Some test centres conducted only slot 1.
According to second time CAT aspirant (previous attempt in 2012) Raghav Bansal, “Verbal section section was good but DI was tricky. Quant seemed easy but were lenghty and difficult.” Currently working with Deloitte, Bansal aims to get into IRMA. “Last year, I took CAT in the middle of the test window and LR turned out to be difficult. As a result I had a pre-conceived notion to avoid the middle day slots,” said Bansal upon enquiring why he chose day 1 slot 1.
For working executive Quaseem, his third attempt this year turned out better. “However, I feel the first year questions (2011) were better,” he said. Anupriya Sharma, a current MBA student at BIT Mesra, who re-appeared for CAT aiming for PhD admission, shared a similar opinion, “If compared with CAT 2012, this paper was much easier. The Quant section was tricky as usual and lenghty too. The verbal section was comparatively easier. But I could complete it on time.”
However, some first timers had a different opinion. According to Pallavi Agarwal, BCom student at Amity, “Maths was extremely tough. VA section, though better than DI & Quant, had more than 4 reading comprehensions. There was a lot of pressure, especially with the fear of negative marking. I had different expectations in mind.”
Delhi University BCom student Akansha Sethi had taken coaching classes for preparation. “My QA is weak. Hence, there I am worried,” she said.
Shiksha.com contacted CAT Convenor Rohit Kapoor who confirmed the first slot was conducted smoothly across all centres in India. “'Today is Day 1 and the beginning of CAT 2013. Our morning session has concluded successfully in all testing locations and all of our sites have reported smooth operations, consistent with our preparation leading up to today. Testing will continue through this afternoon,” informed a statement from Prometric.
Explore More:
- Check out CAT 2013 - Section-wise Expert Analysis (First Cut)
- Know more: Did start of CAT 2013 see any glitches?
- Connect with other CAT takers in this live discussion and Share your CAT 2013 experience here
