Check out CAT 2022 student reactions and reviews to know the difficulty level of the exam being held today.
CAT 2022 is being held today in three slots. Shiksha visited a CAT test centre in Noida to speak with the test takers and find out their experience of the exam. According to the candidates who appeared for the first slot of CAT exam from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, the paper was moderate in terms of difficulty level.
Since the CAT exam is usually moderate to tough, test takers were not surprised by the difficulty level. Read below for detailed CAT 2022 student reactions and watch the video of exam review.
CAT 2022 Student Reactions and Reviews
Nakshit
"There were three sections and VARC was the easiest and Quant was the difficult one. DILR section was moderate. Few sets were easy and few were difficult. The first set was quite easy and the exam was easier than the previous year."
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Aanchal
"Basically the VARC section was easy but the Quant and DILR sections were quite difficult. In terms of the difficulty level, on a scale of 1-10, VARC was 8 and DILR and Quant sections were 8.5 each. I was able to complete the question paper in the given sectional time limit."
Commonly asked questions
In CAT 2025, the following changes were seen:
- The fee amount increased from INR 2,500 to INR 2,600 for General category candidates and from INR 1,250 to INR 1300 for Reserved category candidates.
- In DILR section, number of questions increased from 20 to 22.
- Total marks of CAT DILR section increased from 60 to 66.
- Total marks of CAT exam increased from 198 to 204.
- Candidates can select five cities instead of six.
In CAT exam, each candidate gets 120 minutes to solve the paper. There are three sections in CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. For each section 40 minutes are allotted as sectional time limit. For PwD candidates, the sectional time limit is 53.20 minutes per section. Candidates have to complete each section within the given time limit. Since the CAT is an online mode exam, the test screen will move from first section to the next section automatically as soon as the time limit gets over. Thus candidates have to be mindful of the on-screen timer and pre-decide the number of questions to solve in each section. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT has 24 questions, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section has 22 questions and Quantitative Aptitude section has 22 questions. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in CAT so candidates can devise a strategy to use 40 minutes per section as per their strength and weakness.
CAT has 68 questions. Each question carries three marks. There is negative marking of minus one for incorrect attempts. There is no deduction of marks for unanswered questions. Total marks in 204.
In CAT exam, there are 20 questions in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning section and the total sectional marks is 60 out of 198. In CAT 2020, there were 24 question on DILR and the sectional marks were 72. In CAT 2021 and CAT 2022, there were 20 questions and the sectional marks were 60. The 20 questions are equally divided into both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning. That means, Both Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning have 10 questions each. The questions are mostly in sets. There’s rarely any standalone question in DILR.
Some of the top MBA entrance exams carrying a high weightage of Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning questions are MAH CET, ATMA, CAT, CMAT, XAT IIFT, to name a few.
Rishabh
"The exam was of moderate level. VARC was fine. There was a surprise, that instead for Odd One Out there were questions based on Complete the Passages. DILR was tough and Quant was moderate. Time management was more or less easy. There was a change in DILR. There are now five sets with five questions each, instead of two of four questions or two of six questions."
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Also Read:
- CAT 2022 Live Updates; Answer Key Solutions, Question Paper, Expected Cutoff
- CAT exam analysis 2022 for session 1, 2 and 3.
- CAT 2022 student reactions and reviews
- CAT 2022 Slot 1 answer key and question paper analysis
- CAT 2022 Slot 2 answer key and question paper analysis
- CAT 2022 Slot 3 answer key and question paper analysis
Ratik Mishra
"DILR was moderate and Quant was really easy. The VARC section was doable. Time management was easy. In the LRDI section, there were a few sets which were time taking otherwise everything was fine."
Sanya
"The exam was fine. VARC was easy and DILR also. Maths was a bit tough. VARC was the easiest section. In the VARC section, sentence completion was one of the new topics."
Shivangi
"The exam went well, and it was easier compared to CAT 2021 which I appeared to. The Verbal section was the easiest and the Quant section was at a mediocre level. DILR was fine and some of the questions were changed as compared to the previous years. There were a few difficult questions in the Quant section but it was easier than the previous exams. Time management was easy."
Commonly asked questions
Dev Pratap Singh
"The level of Verbal Ability is quite tough in comparison to the other slots. Since the questions are set by IIM Bangalore, so the level of difficulty is slightly higher but the Quant section was moderate and LRDI has a few easy sets and a few difficult ones. I was able to solve all the questions within the sectional time limit. The overall difficulty of the CAT 2022 exam was moderate to difficult. It was my first attempt and I am also preparing for NMAT and SNAP.
Saurabh Singh
"The exam was moderately difficult. VARC was easy. The LR section was the easiest and DI was not there. Time management was easy."
Raju
"The exam was easy. VARC was difficult but Quant was moderate. I was able to attempt a good number of questions within the time limit. VARC required more time because it was very difficult. Since IIM Bangalore had set the question paper hence the VARC was difficult. LRDI was moderate. I was able to attempt 12-16 questions within the time limit. The overall difficulty level was moderate to high. I am also preparing for SNAP, IIFT, and IRMASAT."
Nikita
"The exam was fine. LR was difficult for me. VARC and Quant were moderate. I was able to attempt 14 questions at max. Overall difficult level of the CAT 2022 exam was difficult."
Shruti
"The exam was a little difficult. Quant and DILR were a lot tougher than I expected. The reading section was interesting and easier than usual. The overall difficult level for me was very tough." I am preparing for GRE and GMAT."
Watch Video:
Also Read:
- CAT exam analysis 2022
- CAT 2022 answer key and response sheet
- CAT 2022 result download
- CAT 2022 cut offs for top colleges
- CAT score vs CAT percentile
- CAT normalisation process 2022
Read More:
- MBA colleges accepting CAT scores: 60 to 70 percentile
- MBA colleges accepting CAT scores: 80 to 90 percentile
- Top MBA colleges accepting CAT apart from IIMs
- What After CAT Result?
- Got a Low Score in CAT, Don't Fret You Can Still Get a Good MBA College
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 9 hours ago
IIM Calcutta has only mentioned accepting GMAT score for admission into EMBA courses.
However, CAT is commonly accepted by other similar institutes for both MBA and MBAEx courses. Thus, candidates are advised to ask admission desk for confirmation on this question.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 12 hours ago
It is not possible to determine a candidate's admission in IIM Calcutta MBA course through CAT score alone. In Stage 1, a score 85% in CAT will be enough for a general category candidate to be selected for PI+WAT admission stage.
Final admission cutoffs are based on many factors other than CAT score.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 14 hours ago
No, IIM Calcutta cannot get into MBA courses without appearing CAT first. CAT is a mandatory entrance exam and it is conducted every year for admissions into all MBA courses offered by this institute.
However, candidates who are applying for MBAEx course will be required to appear in GMAT for admissi
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
To get a seat at IFMR Chennai, students have to first appear for any one of the entrance exams accepted by the institute for the MBA/PGDM course admission. CAT, XAT, NMAT, CMAT, Andhra Pradesh ICET, IPAMT and SAT India are the entrance exams accepted by this institute for admission to the management
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
No, you cannot use the CAT score for direct admission to the MBA/PGDM course at this university.
You would need to first appear for the CAT entrance exam, and then get shortlisted for the PI and or GD rounds to be considered for a seat. Since the CAT cutoff is not released publicly, the closest esti
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
The Vishwakarma University CAT cutoff 2025 was released for admission to the MBA/PGDM course for the All India quota.
For the General AI category, the estimated Vishwakarma University MBA cutoff 2025 was 50. Students who gained this percentile are then eligible to enter the second round of admission
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
The National Institute of Bank Management Cutoff 2026 for General AI category in CAT exam is 80.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
No, you cannot use the CAT exam result for direct admission to the MBA/PGDM course at AIMS Institutes, Bangalore.
The college accepts the CAT, XAT and MAT exam results for admission to the management programme. Students have to first attain the qualifying cutoff percentiles and then sit in the select
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Candidates applying for admission in MBA at IIM Raipur should have qualified the CAT exam. Check below the application fee of CAT:
- INR 2,300 for general category students
- INR 1,150 for SC/ST/PwD students
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
To get a seat in the FLAME University of the MBA/PGDM course, you have to appear for any one of the accepted exams, like CAT, XAT, CMAT, etc. After clearing the exam, you have to get shortlisted for further admission round, which involves PI or GD.
The FLAME University CAT cutoff 2025 was 75 for the
N
Contributor-Level 10
Saumya Jain is an English Literature graduate from the University of Delhi. She has over 8 years of editorial and content writing experience. At Shiksha.com, she has spent more than six years creating research, stud
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