CAT is Continuing to be Den for Engineers

CAT and Engineers – are like two peas in a pod. Every year lakhs of students aspire to crack CAT – mother of all management entrance exams. And the numbers clearly sway in favour of engineers. According to a report by aicte-india.org, nearly 76 percent of MBA aspirants come from the Engineering background followed by Commerce (10–12 %), Arts (5%) and other disciplines.

If we look at the previous year trends the toppers have always been from engineering background:

It is interesting to note that 19 out of 21 students with 99.99 percentile in CAT 2019 and CAT 2018 were also from engineering background. Every year nearly 50 to 65 percent of the students appearing for CAT exam are engineers. During CAT 2018, 1.15 lakh out of 2 lakh students i.e. 55 percent were from engineering background. Of these nearly 82 percent secured more than 90 percentile score, who also happened to be engineers. In the last three years, the total percentage of engineering students cracking the CAT exam are –

So why is it that Engineering students are able to perform better in an exam like CAT. According to experts and students who appear for CAT:

1. Students from an engineering (or science) background are habitual of giving different types of mock tests and competitive exams such as JEE, NEET etc. well before they think to write CAT.
2. 66 percent (2 out of 3 sections) of the CAT exam is based on quant, DI and logical reasoning. Engineering students are constantly in touch with subjects that keep them adept with mathematics, decision making and logical reasoning.
3. Mathematics is a bone of contention for non-engineering students. Most non-engineers are out of touch and thus find DI and Quant sections challenging.
4. Proficiency in the verbal and reading comprehension section is subjective. Usually the academic background – engineering or non-engineering – does not make a difference.

CAT exam is designed to test 3 As of a candidate in addition to knowledge:

1. Accuracy
2. Attitude
3. Aptitude.

Applicants are judged and evaluated on six types of skills:

1. Quantitative Skills
2. Language Skills
3. Comprehension Skills
4. Logical & Analytical Skills
5. Data Interpretation Skills
6. Decision Making Skills

In addition to the above, CAT also aims to test their time management and ability to work under pressure.

According to the IIMs, CAT exam aims to evaluate the competency of students in managerial level decision-making. The questions are designed such that they do not favour any particular stream. Still, to break the existing trend IIMs and other colleges are giving:

1. Extra diversity points to non-engineering students.
2. More weightage to PI round and past academic scores.
3. Preference to profile-based selection.

The b-schools look to balance between creativity, innovation and analytical thinking while choosing candidates who can be leaders of tomorrow. However, one cannot deny that the engineering students are easily able to bell the CAT.