CAT 2020 Student Reactions and Reviews

CAT 2020 question paper was of moderate difficulty level. Check out CAT 2020 student reactions and reviews of all the three slots of CAT exam.

CAT 2020 exam was conducted today in three slots with covid-19 safety measures. The first slot was conducted from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, the second slot was conducted from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM and the third slot is being conducted from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. IIM Indore Director Himanshu Rai said that amid COVID-19 pandemic around 83.5 per cent candidates appeared for CAT this year. Shiksha team visited a CAT exam centre in Delhi to know from the candidates about the exam and safety measures. 

The CAT 2020 exam was conducted with COVID-19 guidelines. All the candidates were given different reporting time to avoid overcrowding at the centre. Physical distancing and other safety measures were followed at the time of entry and during the exam. Irregularity in following physical distancing was reported from a few CAT exam centres but over all the COVID-19 protocol was followed. 

The CAT 2020 question paper was of moderate difficulty level and in all the three slots, VARC section was tough and lengthy. There were 76 questions in total (VARC-26, DLIR-24 and QA-26).

CAT 2020 Exam Review by Students

The first impression of CAT 2020 exam is moderate to tough. Many students were relieved that there were 76 questions in total which was quite manageable in 120 minutes. Apart from onw difficult RC passage, students did not face any challenge viz. the CAT question paper of slot 1.  Read below CAT 2020 analysis by students.

Zaid from Delhi told Shiksha that, "Though I haven’t prepared well, the exam was not as difficult as I was expecting. Questions were normal. In each section, there were some similarities and it was a mix of difficult and easy questions. I found the language part easy, the logical part easy but Maths was not that easy. You need to practice to crack that. Overall, it was not a difficult exam."

Rohit, also from Delhi said, "Quant was easier than last year. One RC was difficult and rest were easy. VARC had 26 questions, DILR had 24 and QA had 26 questions so it was fairly manageable to solve the question paper in 120 minutes. Overall the questions were okay and not very difficult. One RC passage was tough, rest all were okay."

Smita, another student who appeared in the first slot of CAT 2020 told Shiksha, "the exam was not difficult. Anybody who would have prepared well, can crack the exam. The VARC section was easy, DILR was moderate and QA section was regular".

Anushka, who had appeared for CAT last year too said, "The difficulty level of the question paper was moderate to tough. I found the QA section to be toughest while DILR was easy. VARC section was alright. RC questions were easy but one passage was tough. There were 24 to 26 questions in each section which was manageable in 120 minutes."

Soham also felt that the question paper was manageable. "I was not very well prepared for CAT, but I still managed to solve a good number of questions. The VARC section as well as DILR section were a bit difficult but I thought Quants was easy. 120 minutes were enought to solve about 75 questions," he told Shiksha on phone.   

Also Read: CAT 2020 paper analysis and expected cut offs

Read below CAT 2020 analysis of slot 1, 2 and 3 by various MBA experts:

Experts	Highlight
CAT 2020 analysis by Career Launcher	The overall level of difficulty for CAT 2020 slot 1 was slightly higher than that of CAT 2019. In terms of section wise difficulty level, VARC was lengthy and slightly tricky. Read more
CAT 2020 analysis by T.I.M.E.	The CAT question paper was more difficult than last year, VARC and DILR sections were difficult and QA was easy. Read more
CAT 2020 analysis by CATKing	Overall, CAT did not bring in any surprises for the students, the difficulty level of the exam overall was Moderate. Read more
CAT 2020 analysis by Endeavor Careers	CAT 2020 took off on a good note with students’ anxieties and anticipations of the expected format and pandemic arrangements addressed positively. Read more
CAT 2020  analysis by IMS	The VARC section was similar to CAT 2019, with no Grammar and Vocabulary questions. The DILR section underwent a change in CAT 2020 with a total five sets. QA was dominated by Arithmetic. Read More

IIM Indore is expected to release the preliminary CAT 2020 answer key within a week following which most of the CAT test takers will be able to analyse their performance better. The CAT 2020 result will be announced by the second week of January 21. 

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