CAT trends and what they mean

The Common Admission Test is the gateway to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management and no wonder it is considered to be one of the most difficult entrance tests anywhere in the world. Consider this little factoid: the world class Harvard, Stanford etc admit roughly 10 per cent of their applicants whereas in 2008 the number of students writing CAT numbered 230,000 of which only the top 1,600-odd made it to the IIMs! This represents less than 1 per cent of the total applicants -- this amply reflects the tough competition that one faces in getting an admission into these elite institutes.

The unpredictability of CAT is a very unique feature -- one that makes this test the 'mother of all tests'. The unpredictable nature of the CAT stems from the fact that the IIMs want to test the students' ability to deal with changing conditions and the surprise situations that one gets to encounter in the world of business in a regular manner.

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The unpredictability is seen in the number of questions, the number of sections, the marking scheme, negative marking, duration of the test and most importantly in the composition of the test. Let us now look at these changes in a more detailed manner.

Number of Questions & Sections
CAT in the early nineties was a very lengthy paper with more than 180 questions in it and having four sections viz. Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation. Thereafter the number of questions was reduced to 165 with students being tested across three sections namely Verbal Ability (which was a combination of the earlier Verbal and Reading Comprehension sections), Logic & Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability.

In CAT 2004, the number of questions reduced to 123 and this came down further to 90 in 2005 and 75 in 2006. The implication of such a reduction was that students could no longer afford to leave any area out of their preparation nor could one find 'easy' questions to answer by searching through the paper. A paper with a lower number of questions obviously reduces choice that students have and would play into the hands of those who prepare really well and have left no stone unturned in their quest for excellence.

Time
Prior to 2006, CAT was always a 120-minute exam and students were free to allocate their time across different sections in any manner they deemed suitable for them. This changed in the mid-nineties when sectional time limits were imposed on individual sections which ensured that students spent a meaningful amount of time across all sections. For the first time ever, CAT gave 150 minutes for students to solve the paper in 2006. This was on account of the fact that there were fewer questions and the difficulty level was quite high as compared to the earlier years.

The implication of this is that if one has a good idea of concepts and the methodology to be adopted to solve all kinds of questions then it would be enough to get a high score -- brute speed is not an essential prerequisite anymore.

Number of choices & Marking Scheme
CAT has generally tended to give papers with 'equal weightage' for all questions. However in 2004 the paper came with 2, 1 and half-mark questions -- this meant that the paper setters had actually identified the easy and tough questions for the students! In 2006 and 2007 the marks per question was four and all questions carried the same marks.

The number of choices in CAT was four prior to 2006 but they were increased to five in 2006 and 2007. The implication of this is that students would find the Verbal Section getting tougher as one has to read an additional choice, evaluate it and then select the right answer. Whereas in Quant, Logic & Data Interpretation where students solve the question first, arrive at an answer and then look at the choices -- the number of choices wouldn't matter at all.

Negative marking
The IIMs have always maintained a closed approach as far as revealing any details of the cut-off scores or the negative marking scheme being used by them. A thorough analysis of the scorecards prior to 2006 revealed that the IIMs had a negative marking scheme of one-third for every wrong answer. With the IIMs embracing transparency in the era of RTI one saw history being made when the IIMs disclosed the negative marking in the year 2005.

In 2006 when the paper had five choices the negative marking was clearly specified as 1 mark ie 25 per cent of the weight of a correct answer. A negative marking in this range is meant to discourage those guessing and students would be well advised to avoid guessing if they have absolutely no clue to the answer.

CAT 2004 -- Shock & Awe
The IIMs lived up to their reputation of springing major surprises in CAT by giving a paper where each section had two sub-sections. Moreover there was a differential marking scheme in place with some question worth 2 marks, some worth 1 mark and some worth just half a mark!

While CAT had never before given different marks to different questions, this pattern worked in favour of the students because the test-setters themselves were identifying the difficult questions. A proper approach for this paper was to select the questions on merit and try and maximise the score in the one-mark questions as they were easier than the two-markers. But one should have certainly gone through the two-mark questions to see if they were familiar and solvable.

The cut-off for this paper was around 9-11 marks for the Quantitative and the Logic & Data Interpretation sections and around 17-18 for the Verbal section. A score of 53-54 would have enabled a student to get at least one call and any score in excess of 60 would have fetched all calls.
The writer is course director at TIME, an institute that imparts training and career guidance to student aspirants for competitive tests like CAT / MBA / MCA / BBA / GRE / TOEFL etc. TIME is run by a group of IIM alumni and has the largest network of 159 centres in 81 cities in India. TIME students achieved 885 selections into IIMs alone in CAT 2007.

CAT: 'Mock tests are not the answer'

With a little over a month to go for CAT 2008, the pressure on B-school aspirants is mounting. Strategising, mock CATs, time management -- each have their own importance and value when it comes to making your CAT attempt meaningful.
To help test-takers, we asked students who have taken the CAT to share their tips and tricks. Here, Nagendra S, a student at IIM Lucknow (Batch 2008-10), shares his experiences.
When you buy a travel ticket to a certain point, you are 99 per cent sure of reaching your destination. However, there are some journeys wherein the chances of reaching of reaching your destination is less than 1 per cent. The ticket sales for this journey have ended recently and hundreds of thousands of students are anxiously awaiting the magical train. The train is scheduled to arrive at different platforms in different parts of the country on November 16 at 10 AM. A major portion part of the journey will be covered in the ensuing 2.5 hours. Yes, the journey we are talking about is 'CAT'. I have attempted to complete this magical voyage thrice and managed to do so this year, albeit after a lot of struggle.
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For many young Indians, making it to the IITs is always a matter of pride. The JEE leading to an IIT admission has been classified as one of the toughest in the world. Unfazed by this, several students across the country religiously prepare for it. Many of them don't make it and it pretty much is the end of the road. There is too much pressure to take up a bachelor degree when you are 18 so that you can graduate at the "right age". So, apart from a few really focussed souls, the rest give up on this dream after one trial. And so did I.
This is not the case with CAT though. CAT gives you a fair chance to take it up again. CAT tantalises you when you realise that the elusive cut-off was only 1 correct answer away! CAT gives you hope when people around have been appearing for the past several years (like me!). In short, CAT is something that people hope to crack and back themselves.
Not being blessed with extra-ordinary intellect, let's say I was among the hopefuls rather than the achievers. I first gave CAT in 2005, during the last year of engineering. After attending coaching classes and taking up the de-rigueur mock tests, I was brimming with confidence. I got the shock of my life when I saw my results. I had not even touched the 90 percentile mark! It was a major wake-up call and more importantly a 'back on earth" feeling that left me numb and shattered.
Two years later, "after some work-ex", I took up CAT again. This time I acted with much more caution. I concentrated a lot more on the mock tests. Result: virtually unchanged. My percentile refused to move beyond the 90s. Thankfully, the sorrow was drowned by the news of an on-site visit which had me packing bags soon afterwards.
Back from my travel, and friends were already taking CAT 2007. It was then that I told myself (in typical dramatic fashion) "This is it. It's now or never. Give it one last shot. Give it all you got. If you can't do it this time, then just give up". The positive tones of the self-pledge overshadowed the negativity of the last part. I sincerely prepared for CAT 2007.
I sacrificed all my weekend pleasure and long sleeping hours for practising mock tests. Being a working IT professional, I was forced to stay awake late hours to better understand the solutions of the mock tests. I realised that answering more and more mock tests was not the solution. It was how effectively I could analyse the solutions and use them when I spotted a problem of similar nature sometime later on. This was the key difference in preparation in comparison to previous times. And then magically things started to fall in place.
My office work timings thankfully got better. I got more time to prepare. My scores which were nowhere near the 90s now started inching towards the cut-off scores. By the time I was half way through the mock test series, I was consistently clearing the cut-offs. I must say I was feeling good at this point. But the previous failures were always on the back of my mind. The positive frame of mind was better re-enforced when I was called for the "high achievers workshop" conducted by my coaching institute. It really felt like I was getting ready to hit the home run.
I approached D-day with much more confidence than any of my previous attempts. After a slow and cautious start, I gradually picked up momentum and along the way, spotted some crucial mistakes I had committed when I was rushing through the questions. With a "can't say how I performed" look, I returned home and did not look at the solutions that were being put up by the coaching institutes a couple of hours after the exam.
Back to work the next day and the now the agonising wait for the results. After about five weeks, they arrived. After a lot of heart-in-your-mouth moments in front of my PC, I got it. I finally managed to clear that magical barrier! The result sheet read 98.2 percentile with interview calls from IIM-B and IIM-L. Fists pumping in the air, I was literally acting like a man possessed. For a brief moment my family must have thought I had gone crazy. I hadn't. I was just letting out all the pent up energy from the previous year.
The rest of the process was much more methodical. I trusted my speaking skills to a far greater degree. I took up GD and PI classes from the same coaching institute that I chose for my mock tests. The GDs are initially very noisy and only the ones blessed with loud vocals were able to make an impact. Later, after many sessions, the volume levels were toned down and most of us were able to communicate well in about 2-3 weeks.
It is important to note here that it does not matter how many times you speak during the GD, it is about what you are contributing to the GD every time you speak. Keep this in mind and pretty soon you will catch the fancy of the group as well as the moderators'. Try to bring in points which will induce further debate. Do not get into the cliched and oft used methods like "Friends, let's come to a conclusion", when the group is not yet ready. It is not always necessary to conclude the GD. If the moderator wishes so, he / she will explicitly ask for it.
And now, lastly the interviews. After a good GD and a writing session, I was pretty confident in facing the panel. Confidence, or should I say "presence" is the most important part of the interview. In those 10-15 minutes when you have a one-on-one chance of making an impression, don't let go of it. Prepare for the stereotypical questions ("Tell me about yourself" for instance) no matter how confident you are of answering it well.
Putting down your thoughts on paper never does any harm. For as many questions as you can foresee, have answers in mind. I don't mean that you need to know them word-by-word. Just know the content well. Use the context of the question to put your prepared points in place and deliver with clarity. Try to present a pleasant face to the interviewers no matter how long you have been made to wait. A smile always induces a positive effect.
With all this done, keep in mind that the interviews and GD rounds are meant to "select" rather than "reject" people. Do not give the interviewers a reason for rejection. Avoid spelling errors in your forms, dress up well, reach the interview location on time and try to be pleasant to your fellow students. Never get overly emotional or personal either during the GD or interview. Present the truthful side of yourself always.
Well, anymore advice and I am sure you will close the browser and move on. So, I stop here. Here is wishing you all the very best and I hope that each of you finds the institute of your choice. You have the tickets in hand by now. Make the most of the journey. Enjoy the process and the outcome will naturally follow. Like a wise man once said: "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes".

CAT: Overcoming barriers in Logical Reasoning

Logical Reasoning (LR) probably is the closest to the real life problems students would face as managers. In CAT, the emphasis on logical reasoning has increased over the past few years, which makes it an important topic from a test preparation point of view.

Here are some guidelines which you would find useful in the countdown to CAT.

~ Interpreting given information correctly, and precisely

A common mistake students make is interpreting the given information incorrectly. The precise meaning of a statement should be understood for it to be used in conjunction with other statements correctly. For example, when referring to averages, "the average of the group reduces to" is not the same as "the average of the group reduces by".

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Consider the following question from CAT 07 where quite a few students interpreted the question incorrectly.

This was the first question in a caselet on 'Low cost airline company connecting ten Indian cities A to J'. The question read as follows:

Q. What is the lowest price, in rupees, a passenger has to pay for travelling by the shortest route from A to J?
(1) 2275
(2) 2850
(3) 2890
(4) 2930
(5) 3340

Note that the question requires you to find the shortest route first and then the lowest cost route. It is not the same as the lowest cost route between A to J.

The correct answer for this question is option (4) 2930. Whereas the answer by the lowest cost route approach is option (1) 2275.

Those who are interested to know the complete solution can download the complete solution key for CAT 2007 here

~ Develop your own ways of representing the data by practice

Often the data given needs to be written in a summarised form so that you can refer to it or remember it while solving questions. Develop your own methods of summarising the data. For example, let us try to represent the condition 'if P and Q are in the team then R cannot be there in the team'.

You may represent this as 'P and Q => x R'. This is a one way condition. There can be a two way condition such as 'if M is in the team then Q has to be there in the team and vice versa'. This may be represented as 'M<=>Q'.

~ Practice to intuitively solve problems

LR questions need to be solved with a particular line of thinking. You might know all the conditions necessary to solve the problems, but it is important to know which condition to use when and arrive at the solution in the minimum time possible. This is what we mean by intuitive thinking or the sixth sense that you need to develop to solve the questions. This comes only by practice. You can still develop it with fewer days in hand.

~ Tackle LR differently

LR is quite different in nature compared to other sections. Hence one needs to highlight some general strategies specifically applicable to LR.

1. Accuracy is far more important in LR. There is no bigger mistake than getting the complete set wrong. Avoid making guesses or reading in a hurry as it would lead to decreased accuracy.

2. As far as possible do not attempt LR in the beginning. If you get the set wrong or if it is tough and takes more time, that would affect your performance subsequently.

3. Use the option substitution method judiciously. LR questions are typically not meant to be solved using substitution of options. The most effective way is to understand the logic behind the question and solve it. There are exceptions to this rule though and you should use them wisely.

5. Read and understand the common data and questions thoroughly:

LR questions appear lengthy as compared to DI sets as they typically offer more information in text. While reading them, one might feel a lot of time is wasted. Yet, it helps to understand every condition thoroughly before attempting the questions. You may need to revisit the conditions while solving questions. Consider it time utilised not wasted. To illustrate these points, let's look at an LR caselet from CAT 2006, which is one of the more difficult caselets to have appeared in CAT. You could try the caselet on your own, before proceeding to the suggested solution method:

Erdos Number
Mathematicians are assigned a number called Erdos number (named after the famous mathematician, Paul Erdos). Only Paul Erdos himself has an Erdos number of zero. Any mathematician who has written a research paper with Erdos has an Erdos number of 1. For other mathematicians, the calculation of his/her Erdos number is illustrated below:

Suppose a mathematician X has co-authored papers with several other mathematicians. From among them, mathematician Y has the smallest Erdos number. Let the Erdos number of Y be y. Then X has an Erdos number of y+1. Hence any mathematician with no co-authorship chain connected to Erdos has an Erdos number of infinity.

In a seven day long mini conference organized in memory of Paul Erdos, a close group of eight mathematicians, call them A, B, C, D, E, F, G and H, discussed some research problems. At the beginning of the conference, A was the only participant who had an infinite Erdos number. Nobody had an Erdos number less than that of F.

• On the third day of the conference F co-authored a paper jointly with A and C. This reduced the average Erdos number of the group of eight mathematicians to 3. The Erdos numbers of B, D, E, G and H remained unchanged with the writing of this paper. Further, no other co-authorship among any three members would have reduced the average Erdos number of the group of eight to as low as 3.

• At the end of the third day, five members of this group had identical Erdos numbers while the other three had Erdos numbers distinct from each other.

• On the fifth day, E co-authored a paper with F which reduced the group's average Erdos number by 0.5. The Erdos numbers of the remaining six were unchanged with the writing of this paper.

• No other paper was written during the conference.

Q1. The person having the largest Erdos number at the end of the conference must have had Erdos number (at that time):

(1) 5
(2) 7
(3) 9
(4) 14
(5) 15

Q2. How many participants in the conference did not change their Erdos number during the conference?

(1) 2
(2) 3
(3) 4
(4) 5
(5) cannot be determined

Q3. The Erdos number of C at the end of the conference was:

(1) 1
(2) 2
(3) 3
(4) 4
(5) 5

Q4. The Erdos number of E at the beginning of the conference was:

(1) 2
(2) 5
(3) 6
(4) 7
(5) 8

Q5. How many participants had the same Erdos number at the beginning of the conference?

(1) 2
(2) 3
(3) 4
(4) 5
(5) cannot be determined

Methodology

This LR caselet is full of data and information. One must take care to go through the questions and understand them thoroughly. Let us summarize the important points of this caselet. For the sake of simplicity let's use the notation EN for Erdos Number.

General Information

• Only Paul Erdos has an EN of zero....1

• Any mathematician who has written a paper with Erdos has an EN of 1....2

• When a group of mathematicians co-author a paper, every mathematician except the one with the lowest EN gets an EN equal to the lowest EN in the group + 1....3

Specific Information

• Initially A had infinite EN and F has the lowest EN....4

• F co-authored a paper with A and C which reduced the average EN of the group to 3. No other combination of three members would have brought down the average to 3....5

• After this five members had the same EN and the remaining three ENs were distinct....6

• E co-authored a paper with F which reduced the group's average by 0.5....7

• No other paper was authored....8

We need to solve the caselet completely in order to answer the questions.

For the sake of simplicity let us refer to the ENs of the members by their names in small letters. For example, let us denote the EN of A as a.

a = Infinity

Since F has the lowest EN, after coauthoring the paper with F, the ENs of A and C would become f + 1 each.

Since this brings the average of the group to 3 it means that the total of all the ENs now is 24.

=> a + b + c + d + e + f + g + h = 24 ....9

From condition 6 we know that five of the ENs are same and the remaining ENs are distinct. Since A and C have the same EN, they cannot be the ones with distinct ENs and they are two of the five members with the same EN which is f + 1.

Therefore 5 members have the same EN as (f + 1) ....10

From condition 7, we know that E has co-authored a paper with F and that would make the EN of E as f + 1. Since it reduces the average EN of the group by 0.5 we can conclude

e - (f + 1) = 8 x 0.5 = 4

=> e = f + 5....11

So now we have five members with EN (f + 1) and three other members with distinct ENs. One of them is E with EN as (f + 5) and the other being F. Let the remaining distinct EN be x.

Therefore from condition 9 we can conclude,

5(f + 1) + f + 5 + f + x = 24

7f + 10 + x = 24

7f + x = 14 ....12

Since f cannot be zero, the only possible value for f is 1. From this we can see that x = 7.

Since we know the value of f, we can go on to solve the complete caselet. Keeping the length of the article in mind, it is unfeasible to give the complete solution here. Users interested to know the same can download the complete solution key for CAT 2006 here.

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