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Exams

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a prestigious national entrance exam conducted annually by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for admission into their MBA programs. Held on the last Sunday of November, the exam is administered in three time slots across more than 170 cities. There are 21 IIMs in total, comprising 7 established IIMs and 14 newer or "baby" IIMs. While the older IIMs use the CAT application form as both an exam and admission application, the newer and baby IIMs follow the Common Admission Process (CAP) to shortlist candidates for admission.

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CMAT 2022 Analysis

Key Highlights:

  • The GK section was easy as static GK was asked more but fewer questions about Current Affairs were there. So, GK rules the roost.

  • The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Section was doable and anyone who is well-read and knows basic GK, start-up Culture, or work-ex could easily sail through the questions.

  • The CMAT exam in 2022 was likely to be somewhat difficult.

  • CMAT is a simple exam when compared to other MBA entrance examinations.

  • Each segment of the CMAT question paper contains 20 questions worth four points each. Because there is a negative marking in the CMAT, candidates must choose questions wisely.

  • The CMAT's Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation section is moderately tough.

 

Sections

Number of questions

Difficulty Level

Quantitative Techniques & Data Interpretation

20

Moderate to High

Logical Reasoning

20

Easy to Moderate

Language Comprehension

20

Easy to Moderate

General Awareness

20

Easy

Innovation & Entrepreneurship

20

Moderate

 

CMAT Section-wise Analysis 2022

 

QUANTITATIVE ABILITY – In this section, questions were mostly on Arithmetic (10+), and questions from Probability were tricky. Other questions from SI/CI, Profit & Loss, Time Speed Distance, and Algebra were there. It had 2-4 tricky questions. Trigonometry was very easy. An ideal attempt of 17-18 and a normal attempt of 15 questions would be good.

 

LOGICAL REASONING – In this section, questions were extremely easy. Many of them were in proximity to CATKing mocks so students found them very relevant. Questions on Blood Relations, direction sense, series, alphabets, missing letters, etc. were there. Pie chart and Tables in Data Interpretation were of Moderate Level. An ideal attempt of 17-18 attempts would be good.

 

VERBAL ABILITY – CMAT loves Norman Lewis's Word Power Made Easy and students were able to recognize many words asked from the amazing book. This section was Easy. RC from Urbanization was asked.  The ideal attempt of 18-19 questions for JBIMS would be good.

 

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE – The question in this section were Moderate. Many students found it difficult to answer. One must be well-read to ace the level but except for certain 2-4 tricky questions rest were able to sail through. Questions from Static GK were asked more than Current Affairs.

 

INNOVATION & ENTREPRENEURSHIP – This section was newly introduced in CMAT this year. Anyone who is well read, knows the corporate culture well would be able to answer the questions. Questions from Economics, Shark Tank, CEOs, Intrapreneurship, what is Sequoia Capital (1st ever venture capital), dollar rupee determining factor, etc. were asked. Match the following was there too.

CMAT 2021 Analysis

CMAT 2021 Exam got over at 12.30 PM on March 31, 2021. as a computer-based test. The exam was conducted in a single slot from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM by NTA as a computer-based test. 

A new component called Innovation and Entrepreneurship was added to the CMAT 2021 exam. It is an optional exam for students who wish to pursue the topic further.

 

Data Interpretation and Quantitative Techniques

The portion was slightly more difficult than the previous year's exam. CMAT 2021 Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation was dominated by Arithmetic, Algebra, and Number System. There were also problems from Permutation and Combination, Probability, Data Interpretation, and Geometry in this part. However, the segment was assessed to be of moderate to high difficulty.

 

Logical Reasoning
The component on the Shift 1 exam was reported to be the easiest of all. The part was manageable, and candidates may have attempted 20 to 21 questions. The section's major topics were Series, Rank and Order, and Blood Relations. A good attempt in this portion would be to answer 20-21 questions in order to ace the section with a high score.
When compared to the previous year's exam, the quantity of Reading Comprehensions was higher. There were four Reading Comprehensions, each with 14 questions. Aside from R.C.s, the section also addressed Vocabulary, Error Spotting, Active-Passive Voice, Fill in the Blanks, and Word Meanings. To receive a high score, the candidate must have attempted at least 20 questions.


General Knowledge

It was a challenging segment in comparison to others. Static G.K questions such as awards, history, athletics, science, books, and civics dominated the part. Questions on current events were also addressed. Candidates who have attempted 19+ questions with 100% accuracy, on the other hand, will ace the section.


Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The section was added later and was optional for students to undertake. Candidates who selected Innovation and Entrepreneurship had to take the section. The part had a medium level of difficulty. A decent attempt for this part could consist of 18-19 questions answered correctly.

CMAT 2020 Analysis

CMAT 2020 Exam got over at 12.30 PM on January 28, 2020. as a computer-based test. The exam was conducted in a single slot from 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM by NTA as a computer-based test. More than 65000 candidates appeared in CMAT out of 74486 registered candidates. The exam was conducted in 104 cities across the country at 245 test centers from 30 States and Union Territories.

Crack CMAT with Mentors from top B-Schools

CMAT 2020 overall analysis reveals that the test has remained on predictable lines with moderate difficulty level but more difficult Verbal, Tricky Logical Reasoning, and time taking Data Interpretation. GK has focused on current affairs along with static facts. The cut-offs are not expected to go high.

 

 

 

 

This article by experts shares detailed CMAT 2020 analysis, expected cut-offs for JBIMS, SIMSREE, K J Somaiya, GIM Goa, Great Lakes among other top MBA colleges

CMAT 2020 has been reported as a successful and glitch-free exam. The test began on time and did not face technical issues although few stray cases of technical glitch were reported.

Key Changes in CMAT 2020 Exam

  • CMAT 2020 was a single shift exam as against two shifts exam last year
  • CMAT 2020 Test cities have increased to 104 with 245 test centers
  • 74486 candidates have applied for CMAT 2020
  • More girl candidates have appeared in CMAT 2020
  • 2nd CMAT conducted by NTA instead of AICTE
  • CMAT 2020 Reporting time was 7.30 AM at the test center
  • Exam remains moderate but VA, DI, GK little difficult
  • Cut-offs Not to go high as compared to last year

Key Changes in Question Pattern

  • Only one RC Passage followed by 6 questions instead of 4-5 passages last year
  • 19 questions on Verbal instead of 10 last year
  • 4 DI questions were in the set instead of individual one as last year
  • 4 LR questions on Blood relations were in the set
  • Quant again dominated by Arithmetic

CMAT 2020 Analysis: Exam Highlights

  • Total Questions: 100 (All MCQs)
  • Total Sections: 4 (VARC, LR, QADI, GA)
  • Time to attempt the CMAT 2020 exam: 3 Hours (9.30 AM to 12.30 PM)
  • Sectional Time Limit: No Sectional time limit, free to attempt any question from any section
  • Maximum Score: 400 Marks
  • Marks for Each Correct Answer: +4
  • Negative Marks: -1 for each wrong answer
  • Overall CMAT Difficulty Level: Moderate

CMAT 2020 Overall Analysis: Exam Pattern

The single-slot CMAT 2020 exam had 100 questions in MCQ format. There were 4 sections with 25 MCQs in each section. The CMAT 2020 was conducted in 3 hours duration in a single slot.

 

Section
Number of questions
Total marks
Difficulty level
Language Comprehension
25
100
Moderate to difficult
Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation
25
100
Quant Moderate, DI difficult
Logical Reasoning
25
100
Moderate
General Awareness
25
100
Moderate to difficult

 

No Surprise element

CMAT 2020 was on expected pattern with no surprise element. Although there were questions in twisted form but they remained within the topic framework

CMAT 2020 Sectional Analysis

The four sections in CMAT had MCQs with varying difficulty levels. Here is Section-wise CMAT 2020 Exam Analysis:

  1. Language Comprehension
  • Total Questions: 25
  • 1 RC Passage followed by a total of 6 Questions
  • 19 Verbal Ability questions included Antonyms, Odd one Out, Grammar-based questions, Jumbled paragraphs
  • Few questions were based on one-word substitution.
  • Section difficulty was moderate to tough
  • 20-22 attempts in this section, with 85-90% accuracy would get you a good percentile of 94-95

 

Language Comprehension Question Topics
Questions in CMAT 2020
Reading Comprehension – 1 Passage
6
Synonyms/Antonyms
1
Vocabulary based Fill in the Blank- 2 Blanks in the question
2
Grammar Based Fill in the blank
1
Idiom-based
2
Word definition
3
Paragraph Jumbles
2
Meaning of phrase
1
Antonym/ synonym of the underlined word
5
Spelling
1
Error Correction in Sentences
1
  1. Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation
  • Total Questions: 25
  • Quant part in CMAT 2020 remained moderate
  • Number of Difficult Questions: 6
  • Number of Moderate Questions: 5
  • Number of Easy Questions: 14
  • More questions were on Arithmetic
  • Few questions were based on Ratio, Percentage, Interest, Time and work
  • Data Interpretation had one set of 4 questions instead of individual questions
  • Overall section has remained moderate
  • 21-23 attempts with 90% accuracy would award 95-96 percentile

 

Question Topics
Total Questions.
Important topics
Easy
Medium
Difficult
Total
Arithmetic
4
4
2
10
Percentages, Time-speed-distance, Time-work, Ratio-Proportion, Profit & Loss, Compound Interest, Averages
Geometry
2
0
0
2
Mensuration, Triangles
Modern Math
3
1
1
5
Probability, Permutation – Combination, Venn Diagram
Numbers
3
0
0
1
HCF, LCM
Data Interpretation
4
0
0
4
Table
  1. Logical Reasoning
  • Total questions: 25
  •  7 Questions were on Verbal reasoning
  • 4 question on Blood Relations was in a set
  • The section was of moderate difficulty level
  • Many Questions were individual ones instead of in the sets
  • Topics on which questions were formed are Coding-decoding, Relations, Series, Visual Reasoning, Analogy, Directions, Symbol based logic, Number grid, Venn Diagram, Syllogisms
  • 20-22 attempts in this section with 90% accuracy could award 95-96 percentile

 

Topics
Total Questions
Coding -decoding
2
Blood Relations
4
Series completion
2
Logic based
3
Symbol Based
1
Venn Diagram
1
Number Grid
1
Directions
1
Miscellaneous
1
Visual reasoning
2
Verbal Reasoning
Strong/Weak Argument
2
Analogy
2
Odd one out
1
Syllogism
2
  1. General Awareness
  • Total Questions 25
  •  24 questions based on Static GK
  •  A few GK questions were twisted
  • 11 questions on Indian Events, 9 on International and 5 on Miscellaneous events
  • 14 GK questions were easy, 4 Moderate and 7 difficult
  • A few questions were on Constitution of India, Recent Acts of Parliament, Appointments
  • Overall GK section was moderate
  • 14-16 attempts with 80-85% accuracy could award 95 percentile

 

CMAT 2019 Analysis

Common Management Admission Test, usually known as CMAT, is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year. It is a three-hour computer-based online test to check the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, and General Awareness.

Crack CMAT with Mentors from top B-Schools

Time Allocated: 180 Minutes
Maximum Marks per right answer: 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer: -1

 

 

 

Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation

This section had questions based on conventional areas. There were 3 to 4 questions from Geometry and Mensuration, and the rest Quantitative Technique questions were from Arithmetic. There was two Data Interpretation question. Three questions were from Time, Speed and distance, and two from algebra. This year there were 4 questions from Permutation and Combination and Probability. The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions in this section can expect a good score.

 

Language Comprehension

Verbal ability questions were again of easy to moderate level and were from areas such as Vocabulary 4 questions (antonym, synonym and contextual), Sentence Correction 1 question (Although/but the concept), Grammar Part error 1 question, Idioms 2 questions, Para Jumble 1 question and Sentence Completion 1 question. This section had four passages. Three were short passages with 3 questions each which talked about Endangered Languages . World Trade Organization and who decides the status of developing countries; Parenting and culture related value system. They consisted of factual questions except for one inference question and were of easy difficulty level. The fourth passage was of moderate length and consisted of 6 questions and talked about Steve Jobs and some little known facts about him and his views on life. It consisted of a question on the main idea and one on narrative style but again was dominated by factual questions and was of easy to moderate difficulty level. A candidate who attempted around 22 questions would be expected to score well.

 

Logical Reasoning

There were three questions from Verbal Reasoning and two from Analogy. There was only one question from Analytical Reasoning. Also the questions were from topics like coding/decoding, sequence, blood relation etc. This year 2 questions were also from visual reasoning but they were easy. A candidate who attempted around 20-22 questions in this section would expect to score well.

 

General Awareness

Questions were from current affairs and if one reads the newspaper or has a good knowledge of what’s going on in the world could have attempted around 6 questions quite easily. Static GK questions dominated the paper and questions were from Awards, Science, Politics, etc. A candidate who attempted around 18-20 questions could expect to score well.

Also check: Here is the list of top colleges accepting CMAT scores

CMAT 2018 Analysis

Common Management Admission Test, usually known as CMAT, is a national-level entrance examination conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year. It is a three-hour computer-based online test to check the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, and General Awareness.

Time Allocated: 180 Minutes
Maximum Marks per right answer: 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer: -1

 

 

 

Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation

This section had questions based on conventional areas. There were 3 to 4 questions from Geometry and Mensuration, and the rest Quantitative Technique questions were from Arithmetic. There was one Data Interpretation question. The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions in this section can expect a good score.

 

Language Comprehension

This section had four passages – one passage had six questions, and the rest had three to four questions each. These were easy to read and comprehend, except for one or two questions. Most of the questions were factual and could be answered easily. Verbal ability questions were from areas such as, FIJ, antonym and synonym, and cloze and sentence completion. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions would be expected to score well.

 

Logical Reasoning

The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. Analytical Reasoning dominated the section along with only one or two questions from Verbal Reasoning. Analytical questions were from topics like grouping, distribution, arrangement, comparison, coding/decoding, sequence, blood relation, etc. A candidate who attempted around 20-22 questions in this section would expect to score well.

 

General Awareness

Around 4-5 questions were from current affairs and if one reads the newspaper or has a good knowledge of what’s going on in the world could have attempted 3-4 questions quite easily. Static GK questions dominated the paper and questions were from Science, Awards, Politics, etc. A candidate who attempted around 18-20 questions could expect to score well.

Also check: Here is the list of top colleges accepting CMAT scores

CMAT 2017 Analysis

Common Management Admission Test, usually known as CMAT, is a national-level entrance examination conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year. It is a three-hour computer-based online test to check the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, and General Awareness.

Crack CMAT with Mentors from top B-Schools

Time Allocated: 180 Minutes
Maximum Marks per right answer: 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer: -1

 

 

Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation

There were 3 to 4 questions from Geometry and Mensuration, and the rest Quantitative Technique questions were from Algebra. There was one Data Interpretation question based on Pie Chart. The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions in this section can expect a good score.

 

Language Comprehension

This section had four passages - one passage had six questions, and the rest had three-three questions each. These were easy to read and comprehend, except for one or two questions. Most of the questions were straightforward and could be answered easily. Verbal ability questions were from areas such as para jumble, idiom/phrase, antonym, and synonym. A candidate who attempted around 21-23 questions would be expected to score well.

 

Logical Reasoning

The level of difficulty of this section was easy to moderate with questions from Verbal as well as Analytical Reasoning. Analytical Reasoning dominated the section along with four questions from Verbal Reasoning. Analytical questions were from topics like grouping, distribution, arrangement, comparison, coding/decoding, clock, calendar, cube, sequence, etc. A candidate who attempted around 20-22 questions in this section would expect to score well.

 

General Awareness

Static GK questions were from Science, Awards, Politics, etc. Around  6-7 questions were from current affairs and if one reads the newspaper or has a good knowledge of what’s going on in the world could have attempted 3-4 questions quite easily.  A candidate who attempted around 18-20 questions could expect to score well.

Also check: Here is the list of top colleges accepting CMAT scores

CMAT 2016 Analysis

Common Management Admission Test, usually known as CMAT, is a national level entrance examination conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) every year. It is a three-hour computer-based online test to check the candidate’s ability across various segments like Quantitative Techniques and Data Interpretation, Logical Reasoning, Language Comprehension, and General Awareness.

Crack CMAT with Mentors from top B-Schools

Time Allocated: 180 Minutes
Maximum Marks per right answer: 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer: -1

 

Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation

Data interpretation questions are a little time-consuming and require a better understanding to answer the questions based on data. This section is not very tough but the questions may be a little lengthy; hence, speed needs to be maintained. An attempt to 17-19 questions with high accuracy is good to score well in this section.

In CMAT usually contains moderate to difficult-level questions. It has seen a mix of questions based on Algebra, Permutation and Combination, Mensuration, Geometry, Profit& loss, Number systems, Linear equations, Averages, Alligations & Mixtures, Mensuration, Probability, and Logarithms. Questions on Data Interpretation and Modern Mathematics have also appeared in the paper.

 

Language Comprehension

The section can be considered as well balanced as it had questions covering all the conventional areas of Verbal Ability. This section generally has questions from Reading Comprehension, Idioms, Vocabulary, Critical Reasoning, Para jumbles, Fill in the blanks, Sentence Correction, Analogy, Sentence Rearrangement, Verbal Reasoning, Fact, Inference, and Judgment. Previous years' CMAT had 3 to 4 Reading Comprehension passages. Each passage was a little tricky but was doable. A few questions on RC passages were based on verbal reasoning i.e. inference and facts. An attempt of about 18-20 questions would be considered good

 

Logical Reasoning

The reasoning section of CMAT has been of easy to moderate level. The majority of the questions have been based on Analytical Reasoning, Blood Relations, Input/output, Alpha-Numeric Series, Visual Reasoning, True/False Statements, Deductive Logic, Data arrangement, Family relations, Linear arrangement, Coding-Decoding, Direction based questions, Syllogisms, and Data Sufficiency. This section could be considered as the scoring section of this paper. The section, though easy, is touted to be slightly time-consuming. However, one good strategy to do well in this section is by solving questions through the elimination of options.

 

General Awareness

This section has always been considered a little tough by the students. In this section, there have been plenty of questions on the Constitution of India, Fiscal Policy, World affairs, Sports, Taxation and General Science, etc. The overall break-up of the questions has been quite alike over the past years. Though the majority of the questions have been on static general knowledge, there were 8-10 current GK questions as well. Besides the above-mentioned areas, static GK questions were from Awards, Politics, and Art and Culture. An attempt of 16-19 questions with 80% accuracy would be considered good.

Also check: Here is the list of top colleges accepting CMAT scores

CMAT 2015 Analysis

Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) is a national level test conducted by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for admission in all management programs in AICTE approved institutions. The test was first introduced in 2012. In 2015, CMAT was conducted from 19th February 2015 to 22th February 2015.

Crack CMAT with Mentors from top B-Schools

Time Allocated: 180 Minutes
Maximum Marks per right answer: 4
Negative marks for each wrong answer: -1

 

 

Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation

This section in CMAT was of moderate to difficult level. A few questions were lengthy and time-consuming. It was a mix of questions based on Algebra, Permutation and Combination, Mensuration & Geometry, Profit & loss, and Numbers. There were 2 questions on calculation of remainders, one on averages (of 2 groups of persons), one on cubic equation & one on functions (Simple functions), one difficult question was on Profit & Loss, one on Mensuration, one on trigonometry, two on Co-ordinate geometry, and two on Heights & distances (with angles 75 and 15 degrees, values were given). Further, the higher maths section had one question on P&C and one on logs. The two questions from DI were individual questions, one on the pie chart and another with a combination of pie chart and a bar graph. A good attempt would be around 16-20 questions.

 

Language Comprehension

The section can be considered as well-balanced as it had questions covering all the conventional areas of verbal ability. There were four RC passages - the first three passages contained three questions each and the last passage contained six questions. The passages were moderate to difficult in terms of understanding and the questions based on them were tricky. So a test taker should have tried his level best, to understand Reading comprehension completely, in order to score well in this section. All the passages were present at the end of the verbal section. There were ten Non-RC based questions. Non-RC questions contained two Fill in the blanks, one FIJ (Fact, Inference, and Judgment), and one Para - completion, one synonym, one antonym, one on identifying the wrong part of a given sentence, and one on arranging the given lines to form a paragraph. The sentence completion had moderate to difficult choices. Even vocabulary and analogy-based questions were of a good level. The sentence correction questions were based on punctuation marks and their usage. A good attempt should have been thirteen - sixteen questions.

 

Logical Reasoning

The reasoning section of CMAT was of an easy to moderate level. The majority of the questions were based on Analytical reasoning, Blood Relations, Input/ output, Alpha-Numeric Series, Visual Reasoning, and True/ False Statements. This section was dominated by analytical reasoning questions. Two to three questions were from Deductive Logic and two on Data Sufficiency (one based on Syllogisms and one on Blood Relations). It was the most scoring section of this paper, although there were three or four time-consuming questions as well. However, the questions could have been solved by the elimination of options and that could have been a good strategy. A good attempt should have been sixteen-nineteen questions.

 

General Awareness

This section, as always, was one weak area for most of the students. In this section, there were plenty of questions on Constitution, Fiscal Policy, World affairs, Sports, Taxation and General Science, etc. The overall break- up of the questions has been quite like the previous year's CMAT papers. Though the majority of the questions were from static general knowledge, there were eight-ten current GK questions as well. As far as the current GK questions are concerned, one could have attempted four-five of those questions, if one had read newspapers regularly. Besides the above-mentioned areas, the static GK questions were from Awards, Politics, and Art & Culture. Students who could attempt fifteen-seventeen questions of this section stand a pretty good chance of scoring well in this section.

Also check: Here is the list of top colleges accepting CMAT scores