CAT 2020 Live Updates: ‘Slot 3 is most difficult of all slots’; Exam concludes without any glitches

7.00 PM, November 29, 2020

5.00 PM, November 29, 2020

CAT Slot 1 & 2 Analysis by CAT Mentor & Author Arun Sharma for MBAUniverse.com

Arun Sharma, Author of Bestselling CAT Prep Books & Founder, Mindworkzz, shared an analysis of Slot 1 & 2 of CAT 2020 exam at a Live Sessions on MBAUniverse.com at 3.45 PM today. Here are key highlights:

• Overall Analysis: This year’s paper is slightly tougher than last year’s.
• Difficulty Level: Overall difficulty level of Slot 2 was higher than Slot 1. This will make Normalization Process very important. Read more about CAT score Normalization Process.
• Verbal Section: This year, RC passages has been much lengthier. In last few years, a Para was for ~500 words. This year, it is 700-800 words, which are 40-50% more! This changes the dynamics of test taking.
• DILR Section: Similar to last year.
• Quantitative Ability: This section was easier in Slot 1 and is tougher in Slot 2.
• Marks Vs Percentile: Check table below.

Arun Sharma shares following predictions for getting 97-99% in CAT 2020 Slot 1 & Slot 2

4.15 PM, November 29, 2020

Slot 2 Analysis by Career Launcher for MBAUniverse.com

Arks Srinivas, National Head MBA Prep (India & Abroad), Career Launcher, shared an analysis of Slot 2 of CAT 2020 exam at a Live Sessions on MBAUniverse.com at 3.15 PM today. Here are key highlights:

• Overall difficulty level of Slot 2 was higher than Slot 1
• Verbal section for Slot 2 was similar to Slot 1
• DILR section was slightly tougher
• Quantitative Ability section paper for Slot 1 was significantly tougher than Slot 2
• So, while 105-110 Marks were needed to score 99% in Slot 1, only 95-100 Marks are needed in Slot 2 for 99%

Arks share following predictions for getting 99% in Slot 2

The final CAT Slot 3 exam paper has started at 4.30 PM with about 85,000 students. Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for highlights of Slot 3 paper.

Slot 2 of CAT 2020 exam was held successfully from 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM today on Nov 29, 2020 observing all COVID 19 precautions.  The Slot-2 of CAT 2020 has remained on same pattern as that of Slot-1 with 76 questions divided into MCQs and Non MCQs. According to CAT experts from IMS and Career Launcher, difficulty level in slot-2 has remained similar to Slot-1. IIM Indore conducted CAT 2020 slot-2 at 430 test centres in 159 cities.

Read this MBAUniverse.com report on CAT 2020 Exam Analysis with likely cut off, first information about important changes in exam pattern, number & type of questions, difficulty level overall and section-wise.

2.30 Noon, November 29, 2020

CAT 2020 Slot 2 Exam: Key highlights

• Total Duration: 120 Mins
• Total Number of Questions: 76
• Non MCQs: 22
• Number of Question in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC): 26 
• Number of Question in Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR): 24
• Number of Question in Quantitative Ability (QA): 26
• Overall Difficulty Level: Paper was lengthy but with moderate difficulty.
• Nature of questions was similar to slot-1.

CAT 2020 Slot-2: Major Changes in Exam Pattern  
CAT 2020 Slot-2 had following changes in exam pattern

• CAT 2020 Exam had 76 Questions as against 100 questions earlier
• Difficulty level in CAT 2020 was similar to Slot-1 CAT exam
• CAT 2020 Exam duration was changed to 2 hours from earlier 3 hours
• 40 Minutes were allotted to attempt each section instead of earlier 60 minutes
• MCQs had 1/3 negative marking and Non-MCQs do not carry penalty of negative marking
• 4 answer options for each MCQ type question
• Answer had to be typed in the given space on computer screen for Non-MCQ.
• Score awarded for each correct answer: + 3 marks
• Negative marking (Applicable for wrong answers in MCQs): - 1 mark

1.00 Noon, November 29, 2020

COVID 19 Precautions & Exam Process & Test Interface

• The test’s administrative process was smooth despite the pandemic induced need for masks, gloves and social distance.
• Gloves were allowed to be removed during test
• Mask had to be put on for entire test duration
• No-shoes, no metallic objects including metal jewelry was allowed. Only the admit card and the ID proof were allowed.
• Candidates were given a writing pad with 32 pages for rough work and a pen. This was taken away at the end of the exam.                             
• The test interface was user friendly and same the official CAT Mock Test.
• There were no sub-divisions within each section. The Comprehension and VA questions were NOT interspersed within the section. Similarly the DI and LR sets were also NOT interspersed
• A simple calculator was provided, and not a scientific one.
• At the end of the test, a summary of the number of questions attempted, visited, and not visited was displayed for each section.
• There was a button marked ‘Question Paper’ that opened up a screen containing all the questions of the section. This was used by students for planning their approach for the section.

12.00 Noon, November 29, 2020

First Analysis by IMS Coaching for MBAUniverse.com

Hemang Panchmatia, Program Director, PG-India, IMS Learningshared this first analysis at a Live Sessions on MBAUniverse.com at 11.30 AM today.

Overall
CAT 2020 Slot 1 is a slightly more difficult paper that CAT 2019.

Verbal & RC

• Total 26 Questions
• Slightly more difficult – similar to CAT 2019
• 4 RC Passages making time management became very important
• 8 VA Questions
  • No Grammar, No Vocab!
  • 3 Parajumble Questions
  • 2 Odd man out
  • 3 Summary Questions

DILR Verbal & RC

• Total 24 Questions
• Equal or slightly more difficult than CAT 2019
• 5 Sets of questions makes it difficult
• Element of section is key

Quant

• Total 26 Questions
• A lot of easy questions
• Arithmetic 10 Qs, Algebra & Log Question made this section easier
• Positive Surprise

IMS Learning CAT 2020 Cut off Predictions based on Slot 1 Exam
Hemang shared following predictions for getting 99%.

Message for Slot 3 test takers

• Take Mocks mentally
• Easy quant, so plan accordingly
• Don’t change too much at this last minute

11.30 AM, November 29, 2020

First Analysis by Career Launcher for MBAUniverse.com

Mr Arks Srinivas, National Head MBA Prep (India & Abroad), Career Launcher, shared this first analysis at a Live Sessions on MBAUniverse.com at 11.15 AM today.

Overall, CAT 2020 was a more difficult paper that CAT 2019.

Verbal & RC

• Total 26 Questions, lengthy paper with 4 RC Passages
• Not straight forward questions, Inference based questions

DILR Verbal & RC

• Total 24 Questions
• 5 Sets of questions makes it difficult
• 1 set on Set Theory was difficult
• 1 Set was easy
• 12-14 Qs is a good attempt
• Tougher than CAT 2019 Paper

Quant

• A lot of easy questions like CAT 2017
• Arithmetic, Algebra & Log Question made this section easier

Career Launched CAT 2020 Cut off Predictions based on Slot 1 Exam
Arks share following predictions for getting 99%.

10.45 AM, November 29, 2020

CAT 2020 Exam Analysis for Slot 1

CAT Exam Slot 1 Analysis 2020 by MBAUniverse.com is the first CAT analysis released immediately after the CAT exam. This year CAT exam has gone with multiple changes and the CAT 2020 slot wise analysis from MBAUniverse.com consists of changes in exam pattern, difficulty level, expected cut offs, good attempts etc.

Key highlights of CAT 2020 Slot 1 Exam Analysis:

• Total Duration: 120 Mins
• Total Number of Questions: 76
• Non MCQs: 22
• Number of Question in Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC): 26 
• Number of Question in Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR): 24
• Number of Question in Quantitative Ability (QA): 26
• Overall Difficulty Level: Paper was lengthy but with moderate difficulty

CAT 2020: Major Changes in Exam Pattern  
CAT 2020 Centre has substantially changed the CAT 2020 exam pattern

• CAT 2020 Exam had 76 Questions as against 100 questions earlier
• Difficulty level in CAT 2020 was higher than CAT 2019 exam
• CAT 2020 Exam duration was changed to 2 hours from earlier 3 hours
• 40 Minutes were allotted to attempt each section instead of earlier 60 minutes

CAT 2020 Slot 1 Question Paper Pattern & Changes

The CAT 2020 question paper of 2 hours duration with key changes had the following pattern and sectional composition. CAT exam sectional order from Section-1 to Section-3, number and type of questions in each section, questions with and without negative marking and total maximum marks available for each section are as below:

Source: MBAUniverse.com analysis

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more live updates on CAT 2020 exam from India’s Top Cat experts.