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Vipra Shrivastava
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Updated on Nov 28, 2021 16:55 IST
Read in-depth CAT 2021 exam analysis by IMS India for slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3. Also know the total number of good attempts, slot wise difficulty levels and expected cut offs in CAT analysis 2021.

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 analysis by IMS India

CAT 2021 exam was held on November 28 in three slot. Difficulty level was moderate to high

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.

Table of contents
  • 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

Also Read:

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.

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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.

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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 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

CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT 2021 percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT 2021 score by clicking the link below:

CAT Percentile Predictor

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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content

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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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

...Read more

P

Pallavi Gupta

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

Sreetama Tyagi

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

Nitesh Vimal

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

Aarushi Hazarika

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

Jasleen Dixit

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

...Read more

P

Prasadsai

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

Jaya Sharma

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

Syed Aquib Ur Rahman

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 IndiaCAT percentile
TAPMI CAT Cutoffs85
GIM Goa CAT Cutoff85 to 88
FORE School of Management CAT Cutoff75 to 85

 Note: All info. is from official sites and can change. 

S

Syed Aquib Ur Rahman

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

Pallavi Karan

Contributor-Level 10