Read in-depth CAT 2021 exam analysis by IMS India. Also know the total number of good attempts, slot wise difficulty levels and expected cut offs in CAT analysis 2021.
CAT 2021 exam was held today in three slots at various exam centres. Shiksha brings to you in-depth CAT 2021 analysis by MBA experts and coaching institutes. In this blog, you will read detailed CAT 2021 analysis by IMS India. Read below in-depth CAT 2021 analysis, which includes section-wise distribution of topics, difficulty levels, number of good attempts, sectional cut off and expected scoring pattern.
- CAT 2021 Exam Analysis Highlights
- CAT 2021 Analysis: VARC
- CAT 2021 Analysis: DILR
- CAT 2021 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude
- CAT 2021 Score vs Percentile
CAT 2021 Exam Analysis Highlights
According to CAT 2021 analysis by IMS India, the difficulty level of exam was moderate to high. Given below is the section-wise break up of the CAT 2021 question paper:
| Section Name |
Duration |
MCQs |
TITA |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VARC |
40 min |
19 |
5 |
24 |
| DILR |
40 min |
14 |
6 |
20 |
| Quantitative Aptitude |
40 min |
14 |
8 |
22 |
| Total |
120 min |
47 |
19 |
66 |
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CAT 2021 Analysis: VARC
The VARC section of CAT 2021 was toughest of the three. There were four Reading Comprehension passages with four questions each. The passages were inference based and of 470-500 words. The passage ‘The Thirst Empire – Chinese tea’ was easy but rest of them were moderate to tough. In VA, there were three Para Jumbles, two Odd Sentence Out and three Para Summary questions. VA was easier than RC as always. Check below, topic-wse distribution of questions in VARC section according to According to CAT 2021 analysis by IMS India:
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| VARC Topics |
No. of Questions |
Question Type |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading Comprehension |
16 |
MCQ |
Overall: Difficult |
| RC-1: On Utopia and Dystopia |
4 |
MCQ |
Difficult |
| RC-2: On Mayan Civilization – personhood |
4 |
MCQ |
Medium |
| RC-3: Marshmallow Theory |
4 |
MCQ |
Medium |
| RC-4: The Thirst Empire – Chinese Tea |
4 |
MCQ |
Easy |
| Verbal Ability |
08 |
MCQ & TITA |
Overall: Medium |
| Parajumbles (4 sentences) |
3 |
TITA |
Medium |
| Out of Context sentence |
2 |
TITA |
Easy |
| Summary |
3 |
MCQ |
Medium |
Also Read:
CAT 2021 Analysis: DILR
The DILR section of CAT 2021 had a total of 20 questions. There were four sets, out of which two sets of LR had six questions each and the other two sets of DI had four questions each. According to CAT 2021 analysis by IMS India, this section was easier compared to last year’s DILR section of Slot 1 and slightly tougher compared to Slot 2 and Slot 3. Overall, an attempt of 10 to 12 questions with high accuracy of 85-90 per cent can be considered a good performance.
| DILR Area |
Set Description |
No. of Questions |
Question Type |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Interpretation |
Bar graph (year wise) with different items grouped in furniture, tech and office stationery. |
4 |
3 MCQ, 1 TITA |
Easy |
| Logical Reasoning |
Friends, Acquaintances, Stranger among 7 friends |
6 |
4 MCQ, 2 TITA |
Medium-Difficult |
| Data Interpretation |
Cost price of various fruits getting mixed in various smoothies. |
4 |
3 MCQ, 1 TITA |
Medium |
| Logical Reasoning |
8 people, 3 countries, 4 issues and 18 papers |
6 |
4 MCQ, 2 TITA |
Easy-Medium |
CAT 2021 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude
This section of CAT 2021 was of moderate difficulty level and was dominated by Arithmetic (10 questions), followed by Algebra (five questions). There were four questions on Modern Maths and three questions on Geometry. In Arithmetic, the questions were asked from topics such as Time-Speed-Distance, Time and Work, Averages and Mixtures & Alligations.
Out of 22 questions, six were TITA and 14 were MCQ-type. According to CAT 2021 analysis by IMS India, students should have been able to attempt about 14 questions in the given time with 85-90 per cent accuracy.
| QA Topics |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
10 |
Moderate |
| Algebra |
5 |
Moderate |
| Geometry |
3 |
Moderate |
| Modern Maths |
4 |
Moderate |
Also Read:
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- Colleges Accepting CAT percentile from 60-70
CAT 2021 Score vs Percentile
Check below, CAT 2021 scores and percentiles as estimated by IMS India experts
| CAT Percentile |
VARC Score |
DILR Score |
QA Score |
Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99.5 %ile |
45 |
33 |
48 |
104 |
| 99 %ile |
41 |
29 |
42 |
97 |
| 98 %ile |
37 |
26 |
37 |
86 |
| 95%ile |
32 |
21 |
28 |
72 |
| 90%ile |
27 |
17 |
23 |
59 |
| 85%ile |
23 |
15 |
19 |
52 |
| 80%ile |
21 |
13 |
16 |
44 |
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Student Forum
Answered Yesterday
CAT coaching institutes in Vadodara that offer weekend batches IMS Vadodara, Career Launcher (CL) Baroda and Endeavor Vadodara.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Vadodara, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
The average fee in Vadodara ranges from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹25,000 to ₹35,000 for online courses.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
CAT coaching institute in Cuttack that offers weekend batches is Career Launcher Cuttack. TIME and Samantaray Academy also offer weekend batches, but candidates need to contact them for more information.
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
To choose the best CAT Coaching institute in Cuttack, candidates must consider the following points:
- Compare classroom vs. online/hybrid formats
- Success Rate of the centre
- Ask about batch size, number of full-length mocks, recorded sessions/notes
- Final fee structure and refund/installment policy
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
The average fee ranges in Cuttack from ₹50,000 to ₹85,000 for offline classroom courses and ₹25,000 to ₹45,000 for online courses.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
CAT sectional cutoff is the minimum percentile score required in each individual section (VARC, DILR, and QA) to qualify for an institute's selection process. All IIMs have a distinct admission policy, including the sectional cutoffs and overall cutoff scores.
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
IIM exam score remains valid a period of one year for admissions. However, IIM Ahmedabad has a deferred admission policy for its flagship PGP course, allowing selected candidates to postpone joining by up to two years to gain work experience.
Some other IIMs like IIM Trichy and IIM Sirmaur have known
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 4 days ago
The CAT exam pattern and difficulty levels do not change drastically. The core syllabus of Quant, VARC, and DILR typically remains the same.
CAT exam pattern saw a major change in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic demanded a reduction in the exam duration. The exam sections remained the same, while the q
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 5 days ago
Career Launcher (Rajkot) and TIME are CAT coaching Institutes in Rajkot that offer weekend batches.
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Contributor-Level 10

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