The CAT is the toughest exam in India and it’s conducted for induction into India’s top management institutes, and while the question of difficulty might be subjective, to crack the exam, requires unbroken dedication and rigour. The exam paper is designed by one of the top 6 IIMs annually and contains 66 questions to be attempted within two hours. This format itself makes the paper-taking process extremely challenging. The exam is divided into three sections: VARC, QA, and DILR. Each section has a varying number of questions, and an estimation drawn from past year question papers suggests that there could be 22 questions in QA, 24 in VARC, and 20 in the DILR section of CAT Exam 2024.
Besides having a challenging format, the exam is also highly competitive, with approximately 2.5 lakh students toiling for a mere few thousand seats in India’s top colleges. Even a marginal difference of a few points after the decimal can set one apart from the crowd. This makes CAT one of India’s most challenging exams for getting into an MBA course.
A SECTION-WISE REVIEW of Why Cat Exam is Tough
Here, we will talk about the aspects that aspirants usually find difficult while preparing for each section of the CAT.
DATA INTERPRETATION AND LOGICAL REASONING(DILR)
The DILR section consists of the most brief yet tricky topics to cover. The CAT Exam syllabus is vast and requires thorough practice for a fair attempt. Regular practice in this section is the key to keeping these challenging yet quick-to-do questions refreshed in your head. The most important thing to remember here is to manage and optimise your time while doing these questions. Aspirants should practice enough questions to ensure they can attempt a desirable number of questions within the 40-minute timeframe, as it is common to get stuck on a few specific questions from this section, resulting in the exam taker being short of time to solve questions they can surely ace. This section has many topics to cover, so one must approach the syllabus during the preparation phase with tact, ensuring that past year patterns are kept in mind and the aspirants expend not more than the required amount of energy and time on it.
VERBAL ABILITY AND READING COMPREHENSION(VARC)
The VARC section generally has the most questions in the CAT exam. This section contains Reading comprehension, Para jumbles, Parasummary, and odd one-outs. Here, the trick is to develop an efficient reading habit; one should know the art of skimming through hefty texts and developing an understanding of them to answer questions with accurate context. To do all of this within the time limit is usually the main challenge. This section also requires you to work on your vocabulary; for this purpose, you can refer to books like “Word Power Made Easy.” The other part found to be challenging by students in this section is the para jumbles since these are usually TITAs, making it easier to make silly mistakes in a limited time. The golden advice here, again, is consistent practice.
QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE(QA)
This should be the section you might be most familiar with; the questions asked here are majorly based on math concepts covered in primary school education. At first glance, one might think these would be a cakewalk to solve, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. This is popularly one of the most dreaded sections of the exam with an extensive undefined syllabus. This section usually consists of very tricky yet seemingly simple questions. These questions are to be solved in a minimal timeframe of 40 minutes and could be tormenting if one is not in regular practice, refreshing one’s concepts every day. The concepts these are based on might be simple, but the difficulty of questions in the paper cannot be tackled without thorough familiarization with past year paper patterns, attempting several mock tests to ensure success in the main paper through solving them with accuracy and maintaining a good attempt to accuracy ratio.
DO YOU HAVE TO SCORE VERY HIGH TO GET INTO A GOOD MBA INSTITUTE?
Well, to understand this, one must understand how the CAT percentile is the main criterion based on which you receive calls from IIMs and all the other top institutions for the remaining part of the admission process, and a score equating to the 99th percentile is not only considered safe but a sure shot concerning getting into IIMs. So, the keyword here becomes “comparatively high” because while you might think a score is “low,” it can equate to a very high percentile. A score of roughly 92 out of 198 can assure that you stand on the 99th percentile mark.
Here is the general pattern of how scores relate to percentiles (slot 1 of CAT 2023 has been used as a reference).
| TOTAL CAT SCORE | VARC SCORE | QA SCORE | DILR SCORE | PERCENTILE |
100-102 | 42-44 | 30-32 | 29-30 | 100 |
| 80 | 40 | 25-28 | 25-27 | 99 |
| 55 | 28-30 | 20-22 | 18-20 | 95 |
45-48 | 22-24 | 15-17 | 15-17 | 90 |
The CAT exam employs a percentile-based marking system rather than a conventional minimum passing marks criteria. Your percentile is determined by comparing your marks with those of all other candidates in the competition.
Also Read:
CAT Exam Books: Preparation Guide for CAT Exam
How to Prepare for CAT Exam: Section-wise CAT preparation
How to Crack CAT in 60 days? Percentilers
Why is the exam considered difficult?
Now, you might be thinking to yourself that a score of 92 or 100 out of 198 isn’t “too high,” so why is the exam considered to be that “difficult”?
There are multiple reasons for CAT to be considered India’s most difficult management exam; here’s why:
Syllabus complexity –
The conducting body of the CAT exam, the IIMs, has not defined a structured syllabus or pattern for the exam. This results in a lot of ambiguity amongst aspirants. It results in the scope of the syllabus being very extensive and all-encompassing, increasing the unpredictability of the test. The lack of a set, pre-decided pattern further confuses any aspirant. There is no prescribed pattern either; both the syllabus and the pattern have to be inferred from past year question papers, and this results in both anxiety and distrust in one’s preparation. The pattern was changed as recently as 2020; in these changes, the number of questions was reduced from 100 to 66, and the time was reduced from 3 to 2 hours.
Time Constraints
The CAT exam has many difficult and time-consuming questions that appear easy to solve, but once you begin to answer them, you realize that these are relatively time-consuming. This is why consistent practice is recommended for all three exam sections. The time to complete each section of at least 20 and a maximum of 24 questions is merely 40 minutes. One barely has time to think. This makes the exam a difficult one to attempt with brief preparation.
Competitive Nature
The CAT is the most difficult exam for management in India. It is taken by 2.5 lakh+ aspirants each year for a few thousand seats in top colleges. The selection process is based on comparative advantage, making it hard to crack.
Key challenges faced by CAT aspirants
| Challenge | Explanation |
| Intense Time Pressure | Time needs to be divided effectively for all sections. |
| High Level of Competition | Aiming for top few thousand seats among lakhs of aspirants. |
| Unpredictable Question Patterns | Strong Conceptual clarity and a tendency to adapt is required. |
| Limited Preparation Time | A balance needs to be achieved between studies and other commitments. |
A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITH OTHER MANAGEMENT EXAMS- GRE, GMAT, JEE AND XAT
GMAT vs CAT-
The GMAT vs CAT dilemma lives in every aspirant’s head; while the CAT is for Indian B-schools, GMAT opens your doors for B-schools abroad. CAT is known for its challenging logical reasoning and quant section, while GMAT thoroughly tests your writing aptitude and verbal ability. Both these exams are highly credible and offer entry into top-notch institutions. There is a wide gap between the fees of top Indian institutes and institutes abroad, with institutes abroad quickly being five times more expensive. There is a higher ROI offered by institutes abroad, which is undeniable.
GRE vs CAT
The GRE is another very popular exam MBA aspirants take to enter universities overseas. Again, the GRE is very heavy on verbal ability and analytical writing. It is said that the GRE has a significantly more difficult English section than the CAT. The DI section is not found in the GRE, but the quantitative aptitude syllabus is nearly the same, though the GRE might have more Type-in questions, unlike the CAT’s general MCQ format.
XAT vs CAT
XLRI Jamshedpur conducts the XAT, which is another highly credible test with considerable acceptance. The XAT exam is much longer and has a writing, general knowledge, and decision-making section, which is not found in the CAT. Though the verbal ability section of both exams is very similar, the XAT is a 190-minute exam compared to the 120-minute CAT.
CAT vs JEE
The IIT JEE and CAT exams serve distinct purposes, each tailored to evaluate different skill sets for specific academic paths. IIT JEE, designed for undergraduate engineering admissions, rigorously tests candidates’ subject expertise in subjects like Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. In contrast, CAT is a general aptitude test for admission to postgraduate management programs (MBA), assessing candidates’ abilities in Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning. Both exams are renowned for their difficulty and fierce competition, yet comparing them directly is challenging and unfair. Each represents a significant milestone within its respective field, demanding dedicated preparation and showcasing different facets of academic aptitude.
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