Is CAT Exam 2024 Tough?

Aspirants to the CAT often ask questions about how difficult the exam is and what strategies can help them to crack it as this is one of the most important eligibility criteria for admission in the top MBA colleges in Noida. CAT Preparation takes a lot of time and dedication to succeed in the exam. A large number of individuals give up while preparing for the CAT exam. Keep reading to find out about the CAT exam difficulty level, CAT exam pattern, CAT preparation tips, and reasons why CAT 2024 is a tough exam, as well as the minimum score required to get into the best MBA colleges in Noida.

Is CAT exam tough? How can I succeed in the CAT 2024 if it's difficult for average students? How should I approach the CAT preparation? Which of the good MBA colleges in Delhi NCR accept the CAT exam? These are the most frequent questions that linger in the minds of students who believe the CAT exam is extremely difficult and give up on their CAT preparation efforts before learning the truth about the exam's difficulty level and the best ways to prepare to crack it.

How to do CAT preparation?

According to Arun Sharma, CAT Mentor and creator of Mindworkzz, you can pass the CAT 2024 with a 90+ percentile if you prepare carefully and steer clear of the questions that seem challenging to you. The best CAT preparation tip to get good marks is to stay away from making mistakes. Several students who had trouble scoring in the 60–70 percentile on their first attempt eventually gained confidence in the exam and scored 90 percentile on their second attempt. Therefore, the CAT exam is not as difficult as it seems.

Of the more than 50,000 seats available for MBA admission through the CAT exam, 6000 seats are exclusive to IIMs. At least 5000 seats are available for admission to MBA colleges in Greater Noida with fee structure. Without a doubt, there is a lot of competition for the CAT exam—about 2.25 lakh candidates show up—but compared to the UPSC Civil Services exams, which have 3–4 lakh candidates and 700–800 posts, the competition for the CAT exam is moderate—about 10–20% of candidates are accepted into prestigious MBA colleges like IIMs and other top MBA colleges in Greater Noida. CAT is not the hardest exam, even though it is not the easiest.

 

Check out the 5-Step CAT preparation Strategy:

·         Step 1: Memorize the CAT Syllabus 2024 and CAT Exam Pattern.

·         Step 2: Choose if you want to prepare for the CAT Exam on Your Own or with Coaching

·         Step 3: Obtain the best CAT preparation materials and make a section-by-section plan.

·         Step 4: Use mock exams to gauge your level of CAT preparation for the exam.

·         Step 5: CAT 100 Percentiles: Gain Knowledge from Top Performers

Keep reading the article to find out about the difficulty of the CAT exam, CAT Exam Pattern, its toughest sections, and the best way to prepare for it.

 

Is the CAT Exam Difficult for Different Background Students?

You can find varying opinions about how simple or hard the CAT is from those who have passed it with the help of a CAT preparation plan, as well as from others who did not do well on it. We asked several CAT takers from various academic backgrounds if they thought the exam was challenging and what they thought were the most challenging sections:

Engineers who passed the CAT exam:

Most candidates with engineering backgrounds found the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension sections of the exam more challenging than the DILR and Quant sections. By spending more time in VARC, they conquered their weakness and beat the CAT exam. Many of the engineering graduates who cleared the CAT exam choose to join some of the good MBA colleges in Delhi NCR.

 

Art Students who passed the CAT exam

Students in the arts who passed the CAT reported that the Quant and DI sections were harder, but they felt that VARC was their strongest subject. By spending more time refining their understanding and increasing their practice time, Art students performed well in certain CAT exam parts.

 

Graduates in commerce:

DILR presented additional challenges for these VARC students. They read specific articles and editorials in news publications for VARC, were directed to books by Arun Sharma, gained clarity on fundamentals, and practiced answering a wide range of questions for DILR. As a result, commerce students easily gained admission to good MBA colleges in Delhi NCR.

 

Graduates in Science:

VARC was again determined to be more challenging. However, the weakness was overcome with perseverance, practice, and taking thirty to forty mock exams. In addition to meeting the cut-offs, a large number of these CAT participants outperformed the other two sections of the VARC.

 

Thus, how you approach, prepare, and ultimately perform on the CAT exam will determine how simple or difficult it is for you. However, it's impossible to deny the fact that CAT applicants are steadily rising. This year, 2.55 lakh people applied for the CAT 2024, shattering previous records and solidifying the CAT's position as the biggest and most well-liked exam.

CAT exam is important for admission to top MBA colleges in Greater Noida. Experts and toppers believe that the CAT should be somewhat challenging even though it is not extremely challenging.

 

CAT Exam Pattern Compared to Other Exams: Verify the Difficulty Level

The CAT exam pattern is divided into three sections, but other MBA exams, such as the XAT, CMAT, and the former IIFT, include four or five sections with various question types. You might not perceive the CAT as being particularly difficult after going through the CAT exam pattern and comparing it with other exams. Make sure to choose the right entrance exam to ensure admission to best MBA colleges in Noida : 

 

Component	IIM- CAT 2023	XLRI – XAT 2024	CMAT 2023	NMAT Exam Pattern 2023
Total Questions	66	101	100	108
Total time allotted to attempt the exam	120 Minutes	3 hours 10 Minutes	3 Hours	2 hours
Type of questions	48 questions are MCQs, rest 18 Non-MCQs	MCQs + Essay Writing Test	MCQs	All MCQs
MCQ number of  options for each answer	4	5	4	5
Marks awarded for each correct answer	3	1	4	1
Negative marking	MCQs with 1/3 negative marking; No negative marking for Non-MCQs	75 MCQs with 1/4 negative marking; No negative marking for 25 MCQs on GK and Essay Writing Test	-1	No negative marking
Exam difficulty level	Moderate to high	High	Moderate to high	Moderate
Number of sections	3	3 (Main sections) 2 (GK & Essay Sections score not counted)	5	3
Total Number of Questions in Section 1	Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension- 24 Questions	English Language & Logical Reasoning- 26 Questions	Language Comprehension-20 Questions	Language Skills-36 Questions
Total Number of Questions in Section 2	Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation- 28 Questions	Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning -20 Questions	Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation-20 Questions	Logical Reasoning-36 Questions
Total Number of Questions in Section 3	Quantitative Ability-22 Questions	Decision Making-21 Questions	Logical Reasoning-20 Questions	Quantitative Skills-36 Questions
Total Number of Questions in Section 4	NA	General Awareness-25 Questions	General Awareness-20 Questions	NA
Total Number of Questions in Section 5	NA	Essay Writing-1 Descriptive	Innovation & Entrepreneurship-20 Questions	NA
Facility to choose the order of sections	No, has to follow pre pre-specified sectional order	Yes	Yes	Yes, but once chosen has to follow
Individual Sectional time limit	Each section with 40 minute time limit	No	No	Yes, varying time limits of 28 minutes to 52 minutes
Best MBA Institutes and Universities Accepting Exam Scores	20 IIMs, SPJIMR, IMI, FMS, MDI, IITs, XIMB	XLRI, IMI, MICA, IMT, TAPMI, FORE, XIMB	BIMTECH, IFMR, JBIMS, SIMSREE,  GSB and 600 others	NMIMS, VIT, XIMB

 

Sectional Analysis

 

Sections	Total No. of questions	MCQs (With negative marking)	Non-MCQs (Without negative marking)	Total Maximum Marks
VARC	34	24 to 27	7 to 10	102
DILR	32	24	8	96
QA	34	23 to 27	7 to 11	102

 

CAT Syllabus: Key Subjects to Consider – Low Difficulty Level

 

CAT Syllabus Sectional Division	Key Topics	Overall Weightage in the CAT exam
Section-1: CAT VARC Syllabus Weightage & Topics	RC Based Questions, Para jumbles, Para summary, Out of Context Sentence	36%
Section-1.1: CAT Verbal Ability (VA) Syllabus- Key Topics & Weightage	Jumbled Paragraphs; Para-summary Picking the Out of context sentence from a jumbled paragraph	10%
Section-1.2: CAT Reading Comprehension (RC) Syllabus- Key Topics & Weightage	Long and short RC Passages followed by questions based on vocabulary, statements, inferences, and elaboration of ideas in the passage	24%
Section-2: CAT DILR Syllabus Weightage & Topics	Tables, Graphs, Data Analysis Charts, seating arrangements, Direction sense	32%
Section-2.1: CAT Data Interpretation Syllabus Weightage & Topics	Set of 3-4 Questions based on Data Charts, Data Tables, Bar Graphs, Venn Diagrams	16%
Section-2.2: CAT Logical Reasoning Syllabus Weightage & Topics	Set of 3-4 Questions based on Seating Arrangement, Team Formation, Clocks and Calendars, Direction Sense, Family Tree	16%
Section-3: CAT Quantitative Aptitude Syllabus Weightage & Key Topics	Individual Questions based on Modern Math, Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Mensuration, Trigonometry and Number system	34%

 

Find Out Why the CAT Exam Is Seen as Hard

When attempting to understand why the CAT exam is difficult, it should be noted that IIMs do not require a professor or a top expert in English, Math, or Reasoning in their classrooms; rather, they naturally require students who can effectively communicate, reason logically, and choose the best course of action when faced with a challenge. This is what determines the CAT exam's difficulty level.

When applying for MBA admission to the best MBA colleges in Greater Noida like KCC Institute of Technology and Management as well as top IIMs like IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Kozhikode, Lucknow, and Indore, a candidate preparing for the CAT exam undoubtedly needs to consider how challenging the exam should be. As such, the complexity of CAT cannot be taken lightly. Experts and CAT alums have discovered that the CAT is not the most challenging exam when compared to other tests like the XAT, the former IIFT entrance exam, which will no longer be offered starting in 2024, and even the GMAT, which gets harder every time a question is answered.

You must read and download the CAT syllabus and CAT exam pattern and use the appropriate CAT preparation tips to crack the exam.