5 major changes to expect in CAT 2015

CAT 2015 is almost upon us. And this time, with several major changes.

How do we know this?

Professor Tathagata Bandyopadhyay, CAT 2015 Convenor, confirmed to Shiksha.com that authorities are considering making some crucial changes. “Every year we review CAT and make certain changes- both operational and content. For CAT 2015, at an operational level, we are planning to have it on a single-day in two-sessions rather than on two-days in four sessions like last year. This will help in enhancing operational efficiency and quality of the test content,” said Professor Bandyopadhyay to Shiksha.com.

Currently, CAT exam is skewed towards engineers. And authorities plan to change that!

“Regarding the content part, one of our concerns is, score in Quant dominates the percentile rank in CAT. As a consequence it brings in skewness to the selection process towards a particular set of candidates from a particular background. This year we intend to address it by making some changes in the test content and also by rationalising weights assigned to different components of the test. This we hope will create a level-playing field for all candidates, no matter what educational background they come from, and will remove skewness to a large extent that we referred to above. We believe such a move will help us identify candidates from varied backgrounds who will become future leaders in their chosen profession. Such a move will also help IIMs bring in greater diversity in the classrooms and will go a long way in enriching the learning experience," said CAT 2015 convenor.

CAT notification will be released on Sunday, July 26, 2015. The notification will reveal all major changes that will be incorporated in CAT 2015.

For now Professor Bandyopadhyay has given enough hints as to what to expect. Based on his statements and comments of various MBA experts, we have drawn a list of possibilities.

Here are five major changes to expect in CAT 2015 test pattern:

 

1. Introducing more sections

In its current format, CAT has two main sections:

• Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation
• Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning

We strongly feel that CAT 2015 will consist of three or more sections. Most experts feel it’ll have three sections:  

(i) Quantitative Ability

(ii) Verbal Ability

(iii) Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning

In other words, there’s a strong possibility that CAT 2015 may return to CAT 2009 paper pattern. There’s also a faint possibility that Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning will be two separate sections (making it in four sections).

 

2. Verbal: The game changer

Verbal Ability is going to be the game changer this year. In India, engineers dominate MBA classes. Such students have a natural affinity towards mathematics, Quant and DI. It’s no big secret that many engineers struggle with verbal sections. If CAT exam introduces a separate Verbal section (as opposed to the current VA + LR section), candidates have to score a minimum marks in VA. Also, CAT has the history of introducing at least one new question pattern in verbal section. So get ready for VA section this year.

 

3. Time limits

Many experts we spoke to feel that there’ll be no change in time. CAT 2015 may very well continue to be a 170 minute affair, with no sectional limitations. However, CAT 2009 was of 150 minutes.

 

4. Change in sectional cut-offs

CAT 2015 convener has stated that the exam not be skewed towards quant anymore. Which means, focus on VA and LR. We have already discussed the possibility of verbal being introduced as a separate section. Therefore, section cut-offs will play an important role this year. While overall cut-offs may not change much, sectional cut-offs will play an important role. Candidates need to make sure that they score well in all the sections.

 

5. Can GK make an entry?

We’re also wondering if CAT will introduce General Knowledge section this time. Though history says it will do no such thing. But other top national-level exams such as XAT and CMAT have a GK section. CAT exam is known to test a candidate’s aptitude for potential managers and GK generally has no role in it.