CAT Remains Unpredictable

The one thing that is certain about CAT is its uncertainty. The one thing predictable about CAT is its unpredictability. It is an acknowledged fact that the CAT exam is the toughest management exams in India. Given that lakhs of aspirants from all over the country fight for a few thousand seats every year, CAT keeps the aspirants guessing with its twists and turns, to ensure that only the very best make it to the top business schools of the country. 

CAT is an extremely unpredictable exam. It is very difficult to ascertain the pattern of the exam, as not only are there sectional changes in the structure but also the type and difficulty level of questions may vary year to year. The pattern of the CAT exam has been changed frequently. For instance, in previous years, the number of questions increased from 60 to 100 and time duration went up to 2 hour 50 minutes from 2 hours 20 minutes the previous year. CAT 2023 will be a 3 hour exam with 100 questions. Not just this, there may be sectional variations too, in terms of the length and difficulty level. For instance, one year, Quantitative Aptitude may be lengthy, the next year it might be easy and RC might be tough. The next year all questions might be easy. Due to its unpredictability, CAT aspirants are unable to devise a strategy and have to be ready for anything and everything. 

The management reviews CAT every year and makes certain changes to enhance operational efficiency and quality of the test content. This adds to the pressure on the aspirants because they cannot forecast and devise a strategy for the CAT exam. They have to cover all bases equally well and be mentally prepared to handle all the twists that CAT springs up every year.

CAT keeps modifying the exam, so as to prevent any skewness in favour of particular set of candidates. The management tries to provide a level playing field to everyone and ensure academic diversity in the MBA programmes. This is done by removing any advantage that a set of candidates may get due to their academic background. For instance, Quantitative Aptitude carried a lot of weight earlier, which gave aspirants with Mathematical and Statistics background an edge. So, the management made necessary changes to neutralize this and ensure a level playing field.

Though the aspirants cannot predict the pattern and kind of questions, they can work hard to get a good grip on their fundamentals and concepts. No matter how many changes CAT makes, the fundamentals of solving the questions would remain the same.  Hence, aspirants should brush up their concepts and prepare their minds to accept anything. 

For all its unpredictability, CAT, indeed, foxes out aspirants who are unable to keep up with its pressing demands. 

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