CMAT 2023 was conducted in two shifts – morning and afternoon on Thursday, May 4, 2023. The exam has brought a few surprises for the test takers with a bit difficult 5th section on Innovation and Entrepreneurship but moderate Quant, easy LR and a bit lengthy RC. This is the second CMAT exam with 5 mandatory sections and reduced number of questions. Deviating from its earlier question pattern and difficulty level, although the total number of questions in CMAT 2023 have remained 100, but the sectional composition and number of questions in each section have changed.
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CMAT 2023: Key Changes in Exam Pattern
National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted CMAT 2023 exam with following key changes:
- 2 Shift Exam instead of Single Shift: CMAT 2023 was 2 Slot Exam instead of Single slot exam last year
- 5 Section Exam: Number of Sections in CMAT 2023 Question paper were Five
- Sectional Number of Questions: Each Section in CMAT 2023 had 20 questions of MCQ type
- No Change in Total Questions: Total questions remained 100 in CMAT 2023 like previous years
- Optional Section: All the 5 sections were compulsory to attempt. In 2021 the 5th section was optional
- Marking Scheme: + 4 Mark for each correct answer and -1 Mark for each wrong answer
CMAT 2023 Slot Duration and Exam Time
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CMAT 2023 Exam Shift
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Shift-1: May 4, 2023
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Shift-2: May 4, 2023
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Exam Time
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9 AM to 12 Noon (3 Hours)
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2.30 PM to 5.30 PM (3 Hours)
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Reporting Time at Test Centre
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7.30 AM
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1.00 PM
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MBAUniverse.com CMAT 2023 Slot-2 Analysis is shared below. It consists of complete CMAT exam details, type of questions, difficulty level, expected percentile, cut offs for top MBA colleges accepting CMAT among other details.
Key highlights of CMAT 2023 exam are:
- Overall Moderate Exam: Students and experts have rated CMAT 2023 Slot-2 as a moderate difficulty level exam overall as was slot-1
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship: The Section was a bit difficult with more questions on GK. The section needed diverse preparation. Those who had spent some time to understand the details and syllabus on the new 5th section at MBAUniverse.com, they could prepare well on Innovation and Entrepreneurship section and could attempt a good number of questions with most of them marked with right answers. This will help them to have good improvement in their score and percentile.
- Other Sections – Easy to Moderate: Other 4 sections in CMAT 2023 question paper had more focus on static GK, and placed much easier LR in the question paper while RC passages were lengthy although the questions based on it were not so difficult.
The CMAT 2023 Slot-2 exam analysis below contains the following:
- CMAT Analysis highlighting the key changes in CMAT 2023 exam, scoring pattern, Number of questions, sectional division among others
- CMAT 2023 expected cut offs for different percentile range
- CMAT 2023 expected cut offs for top MBA colleges like JBIMS, SIMSREE, PUMBA, K J Somaiya, GIM Goa, Great Lakes, IFMR-GSB, BIMTECH among others
- CMAT 2023 Analysis by MBAUniverse.com and also by top coaching institutes like IMS Learning among others
CMAT 2023 Analysis: 10 Important Changes from Last Year
CMAT 2023 exam has following important changes as from last year:
| Sl | CMAT 2023 Exam | CMAT 2022 Exam |
| 1 | 2 Slot Exam | Single Slot Exam |
| 2 | 5 Section Exam | 5 Section Exam |
| 3 | Compulsory 5th Section on Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Compulsory 5th Section on Innovation & Entrepreneurship, was optional in 2021 |
| 4 | 3 Hrs exam | 3 hrs exam in 2022 and in 2021 Option ws given to attempt CMAT in Time duration of 3 hours or 3½ Hours |
| 5 | Total Questions 100 | Total Questions 100 in 2022 and were 125 in 2021 with Option to attempt 100 or 125 questions |
| 6 | No additional time for 5th Section | No additional time in 2022 but 30 Minutes additional time for 5th section in 2021 |
| 7 | 5th section Score counted for Percentile calculation to prepare merit list | Counted in 2022 but Not counted for Percentile calculation to prepare merit list in 2021 |
| 8 | 20 Questions in Each of the five Sections | 20 Qs in 2022 but 25 Questions in Each of the five Sections in 2021 |
| 9 | No sectional time limit and candidates can attempt any question in any section within time limit of 3 hours | No sectional time limit and candidates can attempt any question in any section within time limit of 3 hrs in 2022 and 3 or 3½ hours in 2021 |
| 10 | Candidates need not apply for the new course of Innovation & Entrepreneurship | Candidates did not need to apply for new course in 2022 also, but had to apply for the new course of Innovation & Entrepreneurship in 2021 |
| 11 | Number of CMAT Test cities increased to 110 | Number of CMAT exam cities were 109 |
NTA conducts CMAT exam on behalf of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). CMAT exam 2023 is conducted in a revised test pattern as AICTE has revamped the CMAT exam pattern.
CMAT Analysis 2023: Sectional Composition of Question Paper
CMAT 2023 Slot-2 had 5 Sections and all the sections were compulsory. Number of questions and maximum scoring chances in CMAT 2023 were as under:
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CMAT 2023 Exam Sections
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Number of Questions
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Maximum Marks Section-wise
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Difficulty Level
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Good Attempts for 99 Percentile
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Language Comprehension
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20
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80
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Bit Difficult
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16-18
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Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation
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20
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80
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Moderate
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17-18
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Logical Reasoning
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20
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80
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Easy
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16-18
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General Awareness
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20
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80
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Moderate to Difficult
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12-14
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Innovation & Entrepreneurship
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20
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80
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Bit Difficult
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12-14
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Total: Sections-5
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100
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400
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Overall Moderate
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73-82
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CMAT 2023 Slot-2 Question Paper & Scoring Pattern
- Language Comprehension Section had RC passages with a length between 80 and 500 words
- Quant section was moderate and had more questions on Arithmetic. Few questions were also found on Algebra, P&C, Probability, Geometry and Mensuration.
- Data Interpretation (DI) part in Quant section had PI chart and Table based questions of moderate difficulty level
- Logical Reasoning was easier but had very close answer options
- Questions in Innovation and Entrepreneur section were asked on recent innovations, initiatives taken by Govt to boost Entrepreneurship
- There was no sectional time limit and candidates could attempt any question in any section within time limit of 3 hours
- Each Correct answer is awarded + 4 Marks and Each wrong answer is penalized with -1 negative marking
- Percentile cut off Merit will be prepared out of 400 marks
CMAT 2023 Slot-2 Exam: Score Vs Percentile
Based on the feedback received from the candidates and experts, we expect the following percentiles against scores for CMAT 2023
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CMAT Score
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Percentile
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315-350
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100
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286-310
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99.1-99.99
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261-285
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90-99
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201-260
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81-89
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171-200
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71-80
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Check complete range of CMAT score Vs Percentile
CMAT 2023 Expected Cut Offs for Top MBA Colleges
The CMAT 2023 percentile range required for MBA admission 2023 may not go up in top MBA colleges. NTA awards higher percentile at low scores to the test takers. Out of 400 maximum marks, now the 95 to 99.99 percentile is awarded to a wide score range of 251 - 340 marks. Some of the top MBA colleges with expected CMAT percentile cut off for admission 2023 are as below:
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Management Institute
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Expected CMAT Cut off Percentile
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JBIMS Mumbai (Admission through DTE CAP Round)
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99+
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K J Somaiya Institute of Management Mumbai
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92+
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SIMSREE Mumbai (Admission through DTE CAP)
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95+
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PUMBA Pune (Admission through DTE CAP)
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94+
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Great Lakes Chennai: Great Lakes Institute of Management - GLIM
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90+
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GIM Goa: Goa Institute of Management
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90+
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BIMTECH Greater Noida
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80+
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Prin L N Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research
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80+
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Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow
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75+
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XIME Bangalore: Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship
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75+
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SDMIMD Mysore: SDM Institute For Management Development
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75+
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IFMR Graduate School of Business at KREA University
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75+
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VIT Business School (VIT) Vellore
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70+
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Check Complete List of Top MBA colleges with CMAT cut offs
CMAT Slot-2 Sectional Analysis 2023: Key Highlights & Questions
- The CMAT exam overall difficulty level was moderate
- General Awareness (GK) section was found tough with more questions on Static GK
- Many GK questions were based on Education system, New Education policy, History and other topics
Section-1: Language Comprehension – Key Highlights
- Total Questions: 20
- Reading Comprehension (RC) Based Questions: 5
- Non-RC Based Questions: 15
- Difficulty level: Slightly Difficult
- 3 RC Passages were of 75-100+ words
- Passages were easy to read
- Few questions were indirect
- RC passages were based on Literature, Opinion based
- Overall difficulty level was moderate
| Language Comprehension Topics | No. of Qs. |
| Reading Comprehension | 5 |
| Vocabulary - Synonym, antonym, FIBs, idioms, match the following | 7 |
| Grammar - FIB, Identify the correct statement, direct/indirect speech, classify the sentence, question tag, etc. | 7 |
| Verbal Reasoning – Parajumbles with 4 statements | 1 |
A good attempt of 16-18 questions with 80-85% accuracy can get you around 99%ile
Section-2: Quantitative Technique and Data Interpretation - Key Highlights
- Total Questions: 20
- Difficulty Level: Easy to Moderate
- Question Split: 5 on Data Interpretation; 15 on Quantitative Aptitude
- Data Interpretation Questions: Set of 5 questions on DI problem had Table based questions. Most of the DI questions needed simple calculations.
- QA Questions: Arithmetic had maximum number of questions in the Quantitative Techniques section.
- Out of 15 questions, 6 were on Arithmetic that consisted of questions on Time-speed-distance, Ratio-Proportion, Profit & Loss, Average and other topics. One question was on Geometry and one was on Modern Maths, 5 questions were on Numbers and 2 questions were on Algebra. Most of the questions were easy.
- Question with Incorrect Answer: Some of the test takers reported that one question on Probability did not have the correct answer option
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Quant
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No of Questions
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Key Topics
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|||
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-
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Easy
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Little Difficult
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Very Difficult
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Total
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-
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Arithmetic
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5
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1
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0
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6
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Time-speed-distance, Ratio-Proportion, Profit & Loss, SICI, Average, Partnership
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Geometry
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0
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1
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0
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1
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Triangles
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Modern Math
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0
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1
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0
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1
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Probability
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Numbers
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2
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3
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0
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5
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Surds, HCF LCM
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Algebra
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0
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2
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0
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2
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Quad equations, Quad inequality
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Data Interpretation
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5
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0
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0
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5
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Table (Set of 5 questions)
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A good attempt of 16-18 in Quant section with 80 to 85% accuracy can get you a high percentile of 98-99%ile
Section-3: Logical Reasoning – Key Highlights
- Total Questions: 20
- Verbal Reasoning Questions: 8
- Non-Verbal Reasoning Questions: 12
- All Standalone questions
- No Set based questions
- Type of Non Verbal Reasoning Questions: The questions on Non-Verbal Reasoning were based on Logical Reasoning topics like Directions, Series Completion, Counting the number of triangles and squares, Linear Arrangements, Family Tree, Coding among others
- Type of Verbal Reasoning Questions: The questions on Verbal Reasoning were based on topics like Syllogisms, strong/weak arguments, assertion-reason, analogy, odd one out
- Difficulty Level: The questions were not lengthy and most of them were easy to answer
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Logical Reasoning Topics
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No. of Questions
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Directions
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1
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Series Completion
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1
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Counting the number of triangles and squares
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2
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Linear Arrangement
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2
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Family Tree
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3
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Coding
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1
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Miscellaneous
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2
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Verbal Reasoning: Syllogisms, strong/weak arguments, assertion
reason, analogy, odd one out
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8
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A good attempt of 16-18 questions in this section, with 80 to 85% accuracy can fetch around 99%ile
Section-4: General Awareness Key Highlights
- Total Questions: 20
- Conventional & Static GK Questions: 16
- Current Affairs based Questions: 4
- National & International Coverage: Major part was based on events in India with a few questions on international events
- Key Topics: Sports, constitution, history, books and authors, physics, geography among others
- Difficulty level: More difficult as compared to other sections
- Good Attempts: 12 to 14 attempts with 85 % accuracy could fetch 98-99 %ile
Section-5: Innovation and Entrepreneurship – Key Highlights
- Total Questions: 20
- Question Split: 16 were based on Business and Entrepreneurship concepts (Nascent Entrepreneur; Phases of funding; Reasons for failure); 4 questions were on Business GK.
- Difficulty Level: Higher Difficulty Level
- Good Attempts: 12-13 attempts in this section with 85 % accuracy could get you around 99 %ile
Percentile Cut off Calculation in CMAT 2023
NTA will determine CMAT percentile out of 400 marks based on the score obtained by the test taker in all the five sections.
Although CMAT 2023 Cut Offs & Scores will be released alongwith the CMAT result declaration by NTA on its official NTA CMAT website, you can check your expected CMAT percentile with the CMAT Percentile Predictor.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on MBA admission 2023 with CMAT 2023 exam score
