Unlike international tests like the GMAT or the GRE, the CAT is not a standardized test, there can be — new question types, fluctuation in difficulty levels, more questions than expected from a particular area. Given this, it is imperative that you go into the test with a few pointers both to manage the uncertainty as well as to ensure that you optimise your performance during 180 minutes.
I have rarely done posts on CAT Verbal, the last one was this one on FIJs somewhere in 2013, and not entirely without reason. The VA-RC section has always been a peculiar section on the CAT. It is quite to tough to precisely answer the question — what do they actually test? In all honesty even they might not always be in the know! Be that as it may, your first objective is to ensure that you at least clear the cut-offs, which will be around 35-40, and the second to maximise your score.
We have just finished SimCAT 9 and if the scores & percentile charts are any indication, test-takers are beginning to find their footing. But here is the catch — for every set of people hitting the 100s for the first time, there will be a set hitting 120s, a set hitting 135s and a set hitting 150s as well for the first time. So some of you while feeling happy to see high scores will also be feeling a bit of a bother when you see your percentiles. Well firstly, the happiness is warranted so don’t let the percentiles bog you down. What you need to now do is to see your scores, percentiles and the task ahead in the next 60 days in the right perspective.
CAT 2015 results were out yesterday and once they were released the anxiety about how you performed has been replaced by the anxiety about what calls you will get. So we decided to compile the percentiles at which you can expect a cut-off from the premier b-schools in the country.
It’s finally done and I am sure many of you would agree that it was pretty much smooth sailing for the better part of the test. In fact compared to the workout you would have had in the SimCATs, CAT 2015 like CAT 2014 would have been a jog in the park. I know, I know, DI-LR was tough but if even that was easy then we should not call it CAT!
This is possibly the most frequently asked question among CAT FAQs. Whether the year be 2005, 2009 or 2015 this question has always been THE ONE question to answer and perhaps rightly so. The simplest answer to this question, as I have always told my students, is — as many as you can. It might seem deceptively simple and quick-witted but at the core of it, is that not the task? But since test-takers are at different abilities you might ask – what is a good “as many as I can” that will fetch me a 99 percentile on CAT 2015? [title text=”What a 99 percentile meant on the past CATs”] CAT 2014 was possibly the easiest CAT ever — getting a 99 meant correctly answering more than 30 questions in each of the two sections. The extent to which the test was easy is reflected in the fact that there were sixteen 100 percentilers last time! In contrast, CAT 2013 was the toughest of the computer-based CATs so far — answering approximately 16 …
The CAT Writer 