Candidates find CAT 2024 question paper ‘easy to moderate’ this year

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta conducted the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2024 on Sunday, November 24.

The exam was held in three slots across the day with the first slot between 8.30 am and 10.30 am, 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm, and the last slot between 4.30 pm and 6.30 pm.

According to student feedback, this year’s CAT paper was comparatively easier than last year. Coaching expert Manish Shah also said that the paper was comparatively easier than papers of the past three years.

The exam pattern was slightly changed this year. The number of questions in  Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning increased from 20 to 22, while the number of questions in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, and Quantitative Aptitude sections remained the same at 24 and 22, respectively.

With this, the number of questions in the CAT exam has increased. Ditching the earlier format of 66 questions this year, 68 questions were asked.

Instead of 198 marks, the paper was 204 marks this year. This year’s CAT questions paper did not have ‘parajumbles’  in the verbal section. While in the data interpretation section, had five questions instead of the usual three.

Overall, the paper was ‘easy to moderate’ this year. However, the increase in the number of questions and the difficulty level of certain sections might lead to a higher cut-off score for top business schools and IIMs.

The CAT examination is conducted every year by different IIMs. This year, IIM Calcutta organised the exam. Around 3.29 lakh candidates registered for the exam, and approximately 2.90 lakh candidates appeared for it. 

An estimated 8,000-10,000 MBA aspirants appeared for the CAT.

The number of exam centres increased from 167 to 170 in cities of Gujarat including Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot.

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