CMAT 2020 Analysis by CL, TIME, IMS, Bullseye: Overall & Sectional Analysis with Difficulty Level, Expected Cut Offs

CMAT 2020 was conducted in a single slot from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM on January 28, 2020. The exam witnessed more than 65000 candidates taking CMAT exam out of 74486 registered candidates. The exam was conducted in 104 cities across the country at 245 test centres from 30 States and UTs.

CMAT 2020 overall analysis reveals that the test has remained on predictable lines with no substantial surprises. MBAUniverse.com shares below the CMAT 2020 Analysis with expected cut offs as shared by top CMAT preparation institutes – Career Launcher, T.I.M.E., IMS.

Important Changes in CMAT 2020

• CMAT 2020 was conducted in a single slot as against two slots exam last year
• More Test cities for CMAT 2020 – Number increased to 104 with 245 test centres
• Cut offs Not to go high as compared to last year

Exam Pattern
CMAT exam pattern has remained like that of last year with minor changes. There was no major surprise.

Exam Highlights

• Total Questions: 100 (All MCQs)
• Total Sections: 4 (VARC, LR, QADI, GA)
• Time to attempt CMAT 2020 exam: 3 Hours (9.30 AM to 12.30 PM)
• Sectional Time Limit: No Sectional time limit, free to attempt any question from any section
• Maximum Score: 400 Marks
• Marks for Each Correct Answer: +4
• Negative Marks: -1 for each wrong answer
• Overall CMAT Difficulty Level: Moderate

CMAT 2020 Pattern
The CMAT 2020 was conducted in 3 hours duration in single slot.

No Surprise element
CMAT 2020 was on expected pattern with no surprise element.

CMAT 2020 Analysis by Career Launcher (CL)
CMAT 2020 Paper Pattern

Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation
There are a total of 25 questions in this section and the dominating areas keep rotating. In CMAT 2018, the dominating areas were Arithmetic and Number system. While in CMAT 2019, the dominating areas were Arithmetic and Geometry. Therefore in order to score well in this section you need to be proficient in the following areas: Arithmetic, Algebra, Number System, and Geometry.

DI plays a trivial role in the section. The number of DI questions that have been appearing in the last few years is significantly low. Last year, only 2 questions were from DI out of the given 25 questions. Overall, by focusing on Quantitative alone you can perform well in this section.

Logical Reasoning
This section consists of 25 questions combining Analytical Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning. Most of the questions in this section appear from Analytical Reasoning. The usual break up of questions is 21 questions from Analytical Reasoning and 4 questions from Verbal Reasoning respectively. The Analytical questions appear from an array of topics viz. grouping, distribution, arrangement, comparison, coding/decoding, blood relations, directions, clock and calendar, cube, sequence etc. The verbal reasoning portion covers: statement conclusion, statement argument, reasoning & assertion, and word relationships. The overall level of difficulty of this section is easy to moderate.

Language Comprehension
This section covers Reading Comprehension passages and Verbal Ability questions. There are around 4-5 RC passages out of which one of the passages is usually lengthy. The lengthy passage contains 6 questions and the short passages contain 3 questions each. In total, roughly 15 questions are from Reading Comprehension.

For Verbal Ability, the areas that are covered in the paper include: para jumble, idiom/phrase, FIJ (fact, inference and judgment), antonym and synonym, identify part with error, identify correct sentence, FIBs (Fill in the Blanks), word analogy, vocabulary, and cloze test. Overall, the difficulty level of this section is moderate to difficult.

General Awareness
It is considered the most difficult section of this exam. It comprises questions both from current affairs and static GK. The section is dominated by static GK with questions appearing from a variety of topics like Indian Constitution, Politics, Famous Personalities etc. As per previous years’ 6-7 questions appear from Current Affairs and the remaining appear from Static GK.

CMAT Colleges and Expected Cut-offs

CMAT 2020 Analysis & Expected Cut offs by IMS Learning
CMAT 2020 was conducted on January 28. The test is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The test structure was the same as earlier years’ and the pattern largely remained unchanged. The structure and rough estimates of good attempts are as follows:

• No Sectional Timings
• Negative marks (-)1 for each incorrect response

VERDICT
Overall, the test was easier than CMAT 2019.

As is the case generally with CMAT, this time too, time was not a constraining factor. Majority of the questions in all the four sections were easy. However, a few questions in General Awareness on Static GK posed some challenges and could become the decisive questions and impact the overall percentile. Based on the feedback received from IMS candidates and experts, we expect the following cut-offs in CMAT 2020:

We estimate that an overall attempt of around 86 - 88 attempts with around 90% accuracy ( net score of around 310) would fetch around 99 percentile. Attempts of around 80-82 questions with around 90% accuracy (net score of around 285) should fetch around 95 percentile. Attempts of around 74-76 questions with around 90% accuracy (net score of around 265 ) should fetch around 90 percentile.

SECTIONAL ANALYSIS

Quantitative Technique and Data Interpretation:
Like the previous CMATs, it had all single questions and no set-based ones. The Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation section had 5 moderate questions, 4 difficult questions while the rest were easy. Students reported that the section had 16 easy questions (sitters) which required implementation of simple basic concepts.

As normally is the case, this section was dominated by Arithmetic based questions. The rest of the questions were distributed in the areas of Modern Math, Geometry and Numbers. This time, there was a set 4 questions in Data Interpretation (instead of singular questions). Many students reported that they could easily solve almost the entire QA section.

Around 22-24 attempts in this section with 90% accuracy would be good.

Logical Reasoning:
The Logical Reasoning section was quite doable and easier compared to the LR section of CMAT 2019. There were 25 logical reasoning questions out of which 7 were verbal. All the questions were sitters. According to students, the section had questions on Coding-decoding, Relations, Series. The other topics covered in this section included Visual Reasoning, Analogy, Directions, Symbol based logic, Number grid, Venn Diagram, Syllogisms, etc. There was a set of 4 questions on ‘Blood Relations’. All others were single questions. The questions were not lengthy and many questions were straight forward and very easy to solve.

Around 21-23 attempts in this section, with 90% accuracy, would be a good attempt.

Language Comprehension:
The Language Comprehension Section consisted of 6 Reading Comprehension questions and 19 Non-RC questions. Unlike the previous years when there used to be 3 or 4 passages and 15 Comprehension questions, this year there was only one passage with 6 questions. The passage (approx. 350 words) was an easy read. The questions were also direct and easy. The non-RC questions were easy to medium.

Around 21-23 attempts in this section, with 85-90% accuracy would be good.

General Awareness:
Out of the 25 General Awareness questions, 24 were based on Static GK. Only one question was on Current Affairs. Around 11 questions were based on Indian events, 9 were on international ones and the remaining 5 were miscellaneous ones. About 14 questions were easy, 4 medium and 7 difficult.

13 to 15 attempts in this section with 80 % accuracy would be a good attempt.

**Note:

Approximate CutOffs for CMAT Based colleges
The following B-School admissions (based on CMAT score) generally close at these percentiles:

MMS Programs - (All India Seats)

JBIMS - 99.99 percentile
Sydenham – 99.95+ percentile
KJ Somaiya - 99.94
Welingkar Institute Of Management- 99.9

PGDM Programs

Great Lakes, Chennai – 90 + percentile + profile based
GOA Institute of Management - 95+ percentile
KJ Somaiya - 95 + percentile
IFRMR - 85 + percentile
NIBM - 90 + percentile
Welingkar Institute Of Management - 70 + percentile(eligibilty) + profile based