CAT 2015: Mixed reactions to changes in format

'Questions on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning most diffifult'

A number of changes in the Common Admission Test (CAT), 2015, were received with mixed reactions by candidates who attempted the test on Sunday.

R V S Satya Syamala, who gave the test in the afternoon slot, said the fact that each section had a time limit unlike last year, helped her to concentrate on each section better.

“I gave the CAT last year and remember being carried away in the quant section. In the end, I had very little time for the verbal section. 

Even though I got a 98 percentile I was not able to make the cut due to sectional cutoffs. This problem did not arise again this time,” she said.

With regard to the presence of descriptive questions for the first time this year, Syamala said it did not make much of a difference.

“There were lesser multiple choice questions. However, the descriptive ones were more ‘fill-in-the-blank’ type. I had some difficulty with parajumbles,” Syamala said.

Many candidates, like Shankul Vakil, were of the opinion that questions on Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) were the most difficult when compared to the other two parts. DILR was also very lengthy, added Shankul. The test this year was divided into three parts - Quantitative Aptitude (QA), DILR and Verbal and Reading Comprehension (VRC) - as compared to two parts in the previous years.

Srinivas Belvi, CAT Course Director, TIME, also rated the DILR section as “most difficult”. During the course of the test, a few candidates experienced jittery moments due to glitches on account of the test window freezing unexpectedly.

“A majority of our students who had this issue reported that there was no loss of time but a few aspirants reported losing time when the test restarted,” Belvi said.