CAT 2024: Road to IIMs gets tough as candidates, experts rate management exam ‘easy’

In the reading comprehension (RC) sections, there were five long comprehensions. According to Sumit Singh Gandhi, CEO and Founder of CATKing, two RCs were the ‘odd ones out’ while the rest three were not very tough or easy. The quantitative ability had 14-15 questions, which were direct formula application questions and the exam consisted of various questions from speed distance and time, ratio, profit and loss, probability, arithmetic, algebra, series questions and geometry.

READ | CAT 2024 Live Updates: Exam ends; check analysis here

The first session was also rated as ‘tricky’ by some experts and test takers. The verbal ability and reading comprehension were rated easy to difficult; data interpretation and logical reasoning were rated easy to moderate and quantitative ability was rated moderate to difficult level by a few experts. “There were a total of 68 questions, which were to be attempted in 120 minutes. The overall difficulty level of this year’s exam was higher than that of the first slot of CAT 2024,” said Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD of Career Launcher.

“The VARC section was moderate, DILR was manageable, and QA was also moderate. Overall, the difficulty was moderate, and higher cutoffs are to be expected this year,” said Bhushan Bapat, Head of Academics, CAT Division at Supergrads, Toprankers.

Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E claims that the VARC questions were on the similar lines as was seen in the last 3 CATs. He also added that overall slot 1 can be classified as a tad bit easier than last year’s examination.

Exam 2 Analysis:

Meanwhile, second session maintained a moderate overall difficult, with unique section-wise challenges that tested aspirants’ adaptability and precision. ” Three of the RCs were deemed manageable, while the Odd-One-Out (OOC) set proved time-consuming. The section demanded strategic time allocation but rewarded clarity in comprehension and reasoning,” said Gandhi.

Check analysis of sections:

RC Themes: Secondary effects of industrial innovations – Doable. Carnivores and humans – Moderate difficulty. Scientists and anonymous peer reviews – Doable. VA Performance: Parasummary – Doable. Paracompletion – Doable. Odd-One-Out – Time-intensive.

The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section balanced complexity and approachability, leaning towards moderate difficulty. The section featured two Data Interpretation (DI) sets and a few Logical Reasoning (LR) puzzles. While it posed challenges, test-takers could achieve good scores by solving three sets accurately.

Details for DILR Section: Set 1: Product ratings across different days. 3 TITA questions – Tough. MCQs – Doable. Set 2: Distance-based gated area problem (Points A to P). – Doable. Routes and network puzzle – Doable. Set 3: Grid Based Set with numbers 1 to 10 to be arranged.

In the Quantitative Ability (QA) section, aspirants encountered a mix of lengthier questions and familiar topics. Arithmetic remained dominant, contributing a significant share of questions. Specific topics such as Time, Speed & Distance (TSD), Profit & Loss (P&L), and Averages featured prominently. Additionally, a compound interest versus simple interest problem tested conceptual clarity, while Geometry and Logarithms made a minimal appearance.

Some insights for QA: Arithmetic: Profit & Loss – 1 question. Time, Speed & Distance – 1 question. Averages – 1 question. Simple Interest – Compound interest and simple interest comparison – Doable. Geometry: Trapezium question – Doable. Other Topics: Logarithm – 1 question. Number system (remainder and divisibility) – 1 question. CAT 2023 TITA question on mangoes and bananas also reappeared this year.

As per experts and students, CAT 2024’s VARC required nuanced comprehension, DILR balanced problem-solving and calculation skills, and QA demanded time management and analytical prowess.