CAT 2016: 2nd slot analysis - 160 marks lead to 99 percentile; tough DILR & Quant result in low attempts

Latest Update: CAT 2017 Slot 1 Analysis by MBAUniverse.com: Easy CAT on predictable lines
The 2nd slot of CAT 2016 exam from 2.30PM to 5.30PM on December 4 was reported more difficult than the 1st slot from 9AM to 12 noon. Candidates could not make high attempts although the 2nd slot also remained glitch free and began on time at 2.30PM across the country in all the 138 test cities. In all 1.95 candidates out of 2.32 lakh registered candidates appeared in CAT 2016 divided in 2 slots on December 4.

The 2nd slot however was marred with the news of CAT 2016 paper leak around 4PM during the currency of the exam as some miscreant was able to take computer screen shots of a few questions and transmitted them on social site. Later on the images of these questions became viral when digital media published the news of paper leak. The news created panic among the students as they now fear some drastic action by IIM Bangalore like cancellation of exam causing inconvenience to thousands of CAT test takers for no fault of theirs.

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IIM Bangalore has however assured the IIM aspirants that the CAT 2016 exam concluded smoothly and there was no compromise on the integrity of the exam. Sharing with MBAUniverse.com Prof Rajendra K Bandi, Convener CAT 2016 and admission chair at IIM Bangalore said 1.95 lakh candidates took the test. While in 2015, 82 per cent of the applicants took the test, this year the number swelled to 83.6 per cent http://www.mbauniverse.com/article/id/9956/CAT-2016
From the feedback received, it appears that the CAT 2016 paper in the 2nd Slot (Afternoon session) was marginally more difficult than the one given in the first slot.

The first reaction from students coming out of the Afternoon Session -Slot 2 of the CAT 2016 exam was that DILR was tough and so was the Quant. Number of questions attempted by the students, in the 2nd slot were uniformly low. In fact, hardly anyone seems to have attempted more than 80 questions in the 2nd slot of CAT 2016 exam.

CAT 2016 slot-2 Exam Pattern
While there was no change in the exam pattern in the 2nd slot of CAT 2016 exam, given that some of the students already knew that the Quant paper was tougher than the last years paper, most students in the 2nd Slot attempted more in Quant section than in DILR section.
No. of Sections
3

Total Number of Questions
100

No. of choices per questions (MCQs)
4

Marks per Question
+3

Negative Marking (for MCQs)
-1

2nd slot Test paper similar to 1st slot
The CAT paper in the second slot was very similar to the one in the first Slot

Section
No. of MCQs
No. of
non-MCQs
Total no
of Qns
Total Marks

Section I Verbal & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
24
10
34
102

Section II Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
24
8
32
96

Section III Quantitative Aptitude (QA)
27
7
34
102

Total
75
25
100
300

*MCQ Multiple Choice Questions
According to Prof Arks Srinivas, CEO VistaMind Education Given that all three sections appear to be more difficult, there would be a significant difference in the cut-offs for the overall marks. The normalization between the two slots would make a lot of difference for the students of the second slot and hence they should not unduly worry about low attempts.
To know how much you would score in CAT 2016 exam visit Indias most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.
2nd slot paper Difficulty Level & Ideal Attempts

Section
Level of Difficulty
Ideal no. of Attempts

Verbal & RC
Easy to Moderate
27+

DI & LR
Moderate to Difficult
13+

QA
Moderate to Difficult
15+

Overall
Moderate to Difficult
60+

Source: VistaMind Education

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
The VARC section was on predicted lines and the 3 question sets of Maintaining Culture and Positive Attitude in Work were straight forward and easy. Even the 6 question sets of RC were not difficult and except for the one on Durand Line the length of the passages were not long and easily answerable.

As usual, it is difficult to predict if the Para Jumble questions were easy or NOT. However, the ones on Para Summary were pretty easy as per the students.
The breakup of the VARC section in 2nd slot was as under

Area
No of MCQs


No of
Non-MCQs
Total

RC Maintaining Culture through encyclopedic museums
3
3

RC Positive Attitude in work environment
3
3

RC Business & Companies
6
6

RC Britain and Corruption
6
6

RC Durand Line
6
6

Odd Para Jumbles
3
3

Para Jumbles
4
4

Para Summary/Essence of Passage
3
3
24
10
34

Source: VistaMind Education
25 questions: Good attempt
A good attempt in this section would be around 25+ questions with around 75% accuracy. To know how much you would score in CAT 2016 exam visit Indias most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.

Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)
The DILR in the 2nd slot of CAT 2016 exam was far tougher than the one in the first slot OR So it appears when one analyses the responses from the students.
Except for the Venn Diagram set and a set on 5 hotels and the rating criteria, others were either lengthy or difficult.

Area
No of MCQs
No of Non-MCQs
Total

LR Coding Decoding Set
4
1
4

LR Venn Diagrams and Average Sal
2
2
4

LR Conference Room Scheduling
4
4

LR Comprehension: Banks and Loans
3
1
4

DI 5 Hotels and 6 Criteria Rating
3
1
4

DI Frequency of Water to 5 Cities
3
1
4

DI Tech and Non-Tech Managers
3
1
4

DI Inspectors/Products/Ratings
4
1
4
24
8
32

5 sets Good Attempt
Attempting about 5 to 6 sets while leaving a few questions in each of the sets would be the right way to do this kind of a section. To know how much you would score in CAT 2016 exam visit Indias most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.

Quantitative Ability
The Quant Section in 2nd slot was almost a replica of the first slot paper except for the P&C questions. While in the first slot there was only one single question in P&C, there were close to 3 questions of P&C and more Pure Math questions in the bargain.
The paper was full of Arithmetic and Geometry Again. The Break-up of the questions in Quantitative Ability remained -

Area
No of MCQs
No of
Non-MCQs
Total

Arithmetic
9
3
12

Numbers
4
1
5

Algebra
4
2
6
Geometry/Mensuration
6
1
7
Pure Math/CG
4
2

Venn Diagram
1
1

27
7
34
Overall Analysis
Slot 2 (Afternoon Slot) paper was definitely more tougher than the first slot paper. Hence, it is expected that the cutoffs would be lesser than the first slot marks. However, there would be normalization between slots and the same will be taken care of.

MBAUniverse.com & VistaMind Teams have put together this preliminary analysis with a prediction for the cutoffs at various percentile points.
For a CAT 2016 1st or 2nd slot student to get to know where he stands and what possible percentile he can get, he should visit Indias most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.

2nd slot cut offs
Expected Cut-off Predictions for the CAT 2016 2nd slot students and the Marks and Percentile Analysis shared below is based upon your attempts with accuracy. The sectional and overall scores as mentioned against the required percentile may lead to your desired cut-off scores in the 1st stage shortlisting process at IIMs and other top B-schools.

With an overall score of 160 marks you may get 99 percentile in 2nd slot as against the score of more than 165 to get same percentile in 1st slot exam of CAT 2016.

Percentile
VARC
DILR
QA
Overall
99%
68
54
57
160
95%
55
41
44
129

90%
48
34
35
109
85%
43
29
29
99
80%
38
25
24
85
70%
31
20
19
67

Source: VistaMind Education
Error in marking scheme continued in 2nd slot
The error and anomaly is displaying the marking scheme for CAT 2016 scores which existed in the 1st slot continued in 2nd slot also. The Marking scheme given in the instructions and inside the paper differed.
The Instructions talked about +3/-1 marking scheme, whereas the individual questions in the paper were given for +1/-0.33. Now the CAT 2016 test takers might be awarded marks out of 100 instead of 300. Although the negative marking scheme of 1/3 marks remains the same but it is not clear whether the marks would be awarded out of 300 or 100.

IIM Bangalore when contacted in this regard has refrained from responding to the query even after the lapse of more than 24 hours.
To know how much you would score in CAT 2016 exam visit Indias most accurate CAT 2016 Percentile Predictor is live now. Check your CAT 2016 percentile now.