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 question papers for all three slots are moderately difficult, know more
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:
- CAT score vs percentile and marks vs percentile
- Understanding CAT normalization process
- CAT 2021 - How Scaled CAT Score will be Calculated for Three Slots?
- Colleges Accepting CAT percentile above 90
- Colleges Accepting CAT percentile from 80-90 percentile
- Colleges Accepting CAT percentile from 70-80
- 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
The minimum marks or CAT cut off to appear for IIM selection round is different for every institute. Tier 1 colleges select candidates with CAT score above 95 percentile, Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score between 80-90 percentile and Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score lower than
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no CAT PI shortlist for IIMs. Candidates have to simply login with their CAT credentials and fill the PI shortlist form.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no minimum qualifying marks for CAT. Anybody scoring above 0 in the exam is eligible for admission, however the B-Schools select candidates on the basis of cut offs which are 60 and above percentile.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
The final CAT cutoff are not released publically. However, candidates can check qualifying cut offs in the admission criteria document released by IIMs and other institute before the exam.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
CAT cut off is prepared by all accepting colleges individually. There is no one authorized body to do so. Even the IIMs determine their admission cut offs separately.
J
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
If we're talking about GIBS Business School Bangalore, they don't have some super high CAT cutoff. In simple words, you don't need to be in the 99+ percentile to get considered.
- They look for a decent CAT score, usually around 70–80 percentile as a safe benchmark
- Scores are important, but they also ca
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Not CAT necessarily, but still, you need to take a national-level entrance exam required for MBA admissions.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Most IIMs require a CAT percentile of 90 to 99 for MBA in Business Analytics. Private colleges like Great Lakes and NMIMS accept scores between the 70th and 85th percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, it is possible to get admissions at some of the top private MBA colleges in India with a low CAT score, between the 80th and 85th percentiles. These are some.
| Top Private MBA Colleges in India | CAT percentile |
|---|---|
| TAPMI CAT Cutoffs | 85 |
| GIM Goa CAT Cutoff | 85 to 88 |
| FORE School of Management CAT Cutoff | 75 to 85 |
Note: All info. is from official sites and can change.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, students can get admission in Sandip University, Nashik without CAT. The university also accepts other national/ state CETs. These are MAT/ XAT/ State CETs. Students can also appear for the Sandip University Management Aptitude Test - SUMAT.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Registration - To be notified
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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