CAT:  Toughest MBA exam in India? Is it really the case?

All students think about cracking any MBA entrance exam, the first thing which comes to their mind is cracking the CAT exam. Everyone dreams of cracking CAT, the most popular and attractive exam. It is only through CAT that people will be able to get into IIM’s which are the top B schools in India. Just like JEE is for engineers to get into the IIT’s, CAT is for any MBA aspirant to get into the IIM’s.

Click here to take the 1^st step towards your dream college

Also Read: Cracking CAT is Smart Work or Hard Work?

Now, the question is which MBA entrance exam is the toughest in India? Is CAT the toughest or it is just the hype. To understand the difficulty level of any exam, must consider the following factors

1. Competition
2. Marking Criteria
3. Time Duration
4. Complexity
5. Reservation

1) Competition: The difficulty of an exam is always subjective. It all depends on the quantity and quality of students who participate in these exams. There were about 2.3 lakh students who appeared for CAT 2019 and this number is increasing each year. Talking about exams like SNAP, NMAT, and XAT this number is relatively less.

Strategically prepare yourself for CAT and get 99.99%ile

2) Marking Criteria: Accuracy plays a key role in cracking CAT Exam. There is a difference of around 4 marks in a right and a wrong answer. Minus 1 is for those questions where the answer is wrong and 3 marks are for the one who gets it right. Exam like NMAT has zero negative marking which make it more attractive.

Also Read: Is IIM the only option through CAT? Let’s find out

3) Time Duration: CAT is an exam that provides you enough time to get your answer. There are in total of 100 questions for which you have 180 minutes to solve. Therefore, you have approximately 2 minutes of time for a question. A student whose concepts are clear will have a high chance to solve the maximum number of questions and score higher marks. NMAT has 120 questions to solve for which you have 120 minutes. SNAP asks about 150 questions to solve and gives you 150 minutes to solve. Compared to these CAT provides enough time for students to solve.

4) Complexity: CAT is not complex, but it is more logical. It’s is just like JEE which tests your understanding of the concepts. Questions are designed such that getting an answer is not impossible but is more tricky. People generally find the VARC and Quants part to be easier than the DI-LR section.

Also Read: How much time is required to prepare for CAT?

5) Reservation: As CAT is mostly for students to get into the IIM’s, it becomes very hard for a student belonging to the general category to get into one of the IIM’s. There is no reservation of seats in exams like NMAT, XAT, and MICAT, therefore the chances of cracking these exams become higher for those belonging to the general background. Sectional and overall cut off’s vary from student to student with SC, ST, OBC, and other categories.

Also Read: How to manage work along with CAT preparation?

When we consider all these factors, the ranking in terms of difficulty is as follows.

CAT>IIFT>XAT>NMAT>CMAT

Leaving all this aside, if you have a strong foundation, where your concepts are clear, cracking CAT will be a cakewalk for you. CAT is logical and requires smart work rather than hard work. You have enough time to solve the questions.

Interesting Reads: CATking Quora