CAT 2018: Four things to know about the exam that left many flummoxed

Many Indian Institute of Management (IIM) aspirants who attempted the Common Admission Test (CAT) 2018 were left flummoxed by the quantitative section. The admission test has three sections -- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Ability.

Each IIM can mandate its own selection process, and eligibility criteria and cut-offs may vary from institute to institute. The medium of instruction was in English for all candidates. This year, the exam was conducted by IIM Calcutta. The exam lasts for 180 minutes, allotting 60 minutes for each section. The exam was held at 374 test centres across 147 cities on Sunday.

Here are 4 things to know about the CAT 2018:

1. Students were left confused by the CAT’s quantitative section, which was reportedly tougher than it was in the last four years. Experts told the Times of India that the number of lengthy questions had increased and the options had not been simplified. “Though I had attended all the mock tests, the Quantitative section left me puzzled for a while. It was time-consuming,” a candidate told ToI. An expert told the Indian Express that the questions were not theory intensive, but calculation and logic-intensive. Students from engineering backgrounds found the CAT to be easier.
2. However, while the quantitative section was found to be the toughest, other sections did not exactly allow students to breathe easy. “The overall paper was moderate, with LR and Mathematics sections were hard to crack. The easiest was the English section,” Anurag Tripathi, a candidate, told the Indian Express.
3. There are time limits on each section, and candidates cannot switch between sections. Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension and Quantitative Ability saw 34 questions each, and Data Interpretation and Logic Reasoning saw 32 questions. “Similar to the last two years, this year too there was a time limit to each section with candidates unable to switch sections. This offers a level playing field for engineering and non-engineering candidates, who have to spend equal time on sections easier or more difficult to them," Ramnath Kanakadandi, National CAT Course Director at TIME told Business Standard.
4. The first session was held from 9 am to 12 pm and the second from 2.30 pm to 5.30 pm. For those who attempted the CAT this year, their scores will be valid until December 31, 2019.