Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Learning answered questions from MBA-aspirants on MBAUniverse.com expert chat on CAT day itself. Here are highlights from the analysis and expert chat.
Highlights from Career Launcher Analysis of CAT 2008
Data Interpretation
This section had six Data Interpretation sets and one Logical Reasoning set, each set comprising 3 - 4 questions. The section was a good mixture of calculation and reasoning based questions. A good selection of questions would have led to the attempt of 12 - 14 questions in around 40 minutes. The very first selection should have been the set based on "different coloured houses". The second selection - the set based on "Stage-I, Stage-II matches" - involved very basic reasoning and was easier compare to other reasoning based sets. Then the set based on the scatter diagram, though involved some calculation, should have been solved. Then the sets based on "five departments" and "bar graph" both involved calculation, but solvable with some calculation shortcuts. The two sets on "shares" and "cut-offs" were time consuming as well as required more reasoning.
Problem Solving
The Problem Solving section was much simpler than last year. It was closer to CAT 2006 than CAT 2007 in terms of level of difficulty. Although the number of questions remained 25 as last year, the questions were relatively much simpler and it was quite possible to solve around 15 questions with a high accuracy level in 50 minutes. There were only two Data Sufficiency questions but they were more tricky and confusing as compared to the rest. The question on 'five horses' resembled an LR question and was a bit complex as it involved three possibilities, and test-takers might have missed out one or two. There were more problems involving counting principles and Modern Math came to the forefront constituting almost 25% of the section. However the questions were quite easy and tested only reasoning from basic concepts. Geometry took a back seat, while Algebra and Arithmetic remained at the forefront just like last year. The question on finding the circumradius was quite tough to conceptualize.
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
This time the Verbal section of the CAT held a major surprise: an increase in the number of questions to 40 (and consequently a greater weightage to Verbal in the entire test). The focus on reasoning seen in the past 2 years has diminished, and the VA questions this time were more based on grammar, usage and vocabulary concepts. There were no new types of constructs in VA, while old constructs like Fill in the Blanks and
Inappropriate Usage made a comeback this year after several years of absence. The only twist in the VA questions was that the grammar-based questions also involved identifying punctuation, spelling and logical errors. VA and RC had an equal number of questions: 20 each. There were four RC passages: on Sociology, Language, History and Art respectively, all with 5 questions each. The passages were, for the most part, of medium length and fairly easy to understand. The questions were a mix of inferential and direct questions, with a handful of vocab-based questions thrown in. On the whole, it was a fairly easy section, with plenty of chances of maximizing one's score.
The preliminary cut offs of IMS Learning are as below:
|
Sections |
Cut offs |
|
Quant |
32-35 |
|
Data Interpretation |
32-35 |
|
Verbal |
46-49 |
|
Total |
120+ of 1-2 IIMs calls |
Excerpts from MBAUniverse.com chat with Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Learning
Tara: Sir I have attempted only 12 questions in Quant and 15 in reasoning. But 30 in verbal. I am about 90% accurate in my responses. What are the chances….
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: Why don’t you put up your scores on the score calculator and you would be getting your score. It is available on IMS homepage.
Ashish: Hello sir, according to you how did you find CAT 2008 paper overall?
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: CAT 2008 paper was very deceptive paper. DI looked easy but it was time consuming and stressful. Maths other than 4-5 sitters, for many questions, there was high probability of making mistakes. English again with more questions made life tough.
Anant: What is the overall cutoff and section wise cutoff that IMS expects
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: Following are the IMS predicted cut-offs:
Maths 32-36
DI/LR 32-36
English 46-50
Overall 1-2 IIM calls 120+ 3-4 130+ 4-6 140+
Diwaker: Hi Sir, the instructions on the CAT paper said that all sections will be evaluated. What does it mean? Will it mean that all sections will carry same cut offs. Please let me know. Thank u.
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: Each section should be given equal weightage. The IIM's are very clear about the cut offs. Only if you clear each of the 3 sectional cut off, you will be given the call.
Sindhu: Sir, my test form number is 222. Question 55. Am unable to understand the difference between ‘Advice’ and ‘Advise’. Which is correct?
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: Advice is the noun form and advise is the verb form. therefore in the given question, the sentence "I would like your - " would require noun form.
Gauri: Sir, it looks to me that this CAT was really tough and am dejected with my performance...what should I do now. Should I plan for next year? Do guide in detail
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: Don’t be dejected. There are other exams still on the anvil. Take XAT, SNAP, NMAT and CET. After taking CAT, you will be become immune. You will find other tests relatively easier and there r lesser chances of messing it up after CAT experience.
Ashish: Sir, I took the test this year but am focusing on next year. How will this cat change planning for next year. What do you advice to students focusing on next year...
Mr Gejo Srinivasan, General Manager, IMS Test Prep: CAT will be online from next year. Other details are not clear as of yet. Find the area of concerns this year and work on it accordingly. CAT is reasoning intensive and so you need to prepare.
