The different CAT: Analysis

Finally, CAT 2006 is over and done with. This coveted exam has proved its attribute of uncertainty once again, in terms of number of questions, pattern and marking system.

The IIMs have succeeded once again in their task of ensuring that only the most deserving candidates, with a clear focus on analytical skills and intelligence, make it to the premier management institutes of the country. Enough time was given to the students to scan, evaluate and strategise their attempt.

Cat 2006 had three sections:

Quantitative ability
Verbal ability
Reasoning

Each section had 25 questions and each question carried four marks. The cumulative marks were 300.

Quantitative section

The quantitative section was much easier than last year's CAT, as most of these questions were direct and formula-based. Our experts predict cut-offs for quantitative section will range between 44 and 48 .

DI/reasoning section

The focus on logical ability was quite obvious in DI section, as all the questions were based on analytical skills. Students had to dig deep into the questions to get marks. But, if you noticed, putting together all the information in a systematic manner would certainly have solved these questions with ease. In all, DI was trickier than last year. Our experts predict cut-off to be 38-42.

Verbal section

In the verbal section, it was perhaps for the first time ever in the history of CAT that students had a fair chance of attempting all the questions in around 50 minutes. Doing away totally with vocabulary and grammar-based questions in this section made sure that this section put to test a candidate's analytical skills.

Most of the RC questions were inference-based. Rather than being a disadvantage, this was an advantage. If the examinees got the focus of the passage right, they could easily answer all the questions without referring back to the passage. Our experts predict cut-off of 36-40 in this section.

Overall, the CAT 2006 was rated "moderate" by our experts.

To get a call from all IIMs, one requires an aggregate score of at least 120-130 marks, with proper sectional cut-offs.

IIMs
MDI, NITIE, SP Jain
IMT, MICA
UBS, TAPMI
KJ Somaiya, IMI, FORE
NIRMA, Welingkar
124+
104+
92+
84+
80+
72+

Answer Key

Series � 111 s111
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
1 | 1
2 | 3
3 | 4
4 | 5
5 | 5
6 | 3
7 | 1
8 | 1
9 | 4
10 | 5
11 | 4
12 | 2
13 | 2
14 | 2
15 | 3
16 | 3
17 | 2
18 | 1
19 | 5
20 | 4
21 | 5
22 | 3
23 | 4
24 | 4
25 | 2
26 | 5
27 | 1
28 | 4
29 | 3
30 | 1
31 | 3
32 | 1
33 | 3
34 | 1
35 | 3
36 | 1
37 | 1
38 | 2
39 | 4
40 | 2
41 | 3
42 | 5
43 | 2
44 | 4
45 | 3
46 | 1
47 | 3
48 | 4
49 | 2
50 | 1
51 | 1
52 | 2
53 | 1
54 | 2
55 | 5
56 | 2
57 | 2
58 | 4
59 | 5
60 | 4
61 | 2
62 | 4
63 | 1
64 | 4
65 | 2
66 | 3
67 | 2
68 | 5
69 | 1
70 | 5
71 | 5
72 | 5
73 | 2
74 | 5
75 | 3

Series � s222
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
1 | 3
2 | 4
3 | 1
4 | 5
5 | 1
6 | 2
7 | 4
8 | 2
9 | 3
10 | 2
11 | 3
12 | 5
13 | 2
14 | 4
15 | 1
16 | 3
17 | 5
18 | 4
19 | 4
20 | 2
21 | 5
22 | 5
23 | 4
24 | 3
25 | 1
26 | 4
27 | 1
28 | 1
29 | 3
30 | 2
31 | 3
32 | 5
33 | 4
34 | 1
35 | 1
36 | 1
37 | 1
38 | 2
39 | 4
40 | 2
41 | 3
42 | 5
43 | 2
44 | 4
45 | 3
46 | 3
47 | 1
48 | 3
49 | 1
50 | 3
51 | 2
52 | 2
53 | 1
54 | 5
55 | 1
56 | 4
57 | 5
58 | 2
59 | 2
60 | 3
61 | 2
62 | 4
63 | 2
64 | 4
65 | 1
66 | 5
67 | 4
68 | 5
69 | 3
70 | 2
71 | 2
72 | 1
73 | 5
74 | 5
75 | 5

Series � s333
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
1 | 3
2 | 1
3 | 4
4 | 2
5 | 5
6 | 4
7 | 5
8 | 3
9 | 4
10 | 2
11 | 2
12 | 3
13 | 2
14 | 2
15 | 4
16 | 3
17 | 1
18 | 5
19 | 5
20 | 4
21 | 3
22 | 1
23 | 5
24 | 1
25 | 4
26 | 3
27 | 1
28 | 1
29 | 2
30 | 4
31 | 3
32 | 1
33 | 3
34 | 1
35 | 3
36 | 1
37 | 1
38 | 2
39 | 4
40 | 2
41 | 3
42 | 5
43 | 2
44 | 4
45 | 3
46 | 1
47 | 3
48 | 1
49 | 4
50 | 5
51 | 1
52 | 5
53 | 2
54 | 2
55 | 4
56 | 5
57 | 5
58 | 5
59 | 2
60 | 2
61 | 3
62 | 1
63 | 2
64 | 4
65 | 4
66 | 1
67 | 4
68 | 5
69 | 2
70 | 5
71 | 2
72 | 2
73 | 1
74 | 3
75 | 5

Series � s444
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
No | Key
1 | 3
2 | 4
3 | 5
4 | 4
5 | 2
6 | 4
7 | 5
8 | 5
9 | 1
10 | 3
11 | 3
12 | 4
13 | 5
14 | 1
15 | 1
16 | 2
17 | 2
18 | 3
19 | 4
20 | 2
21 | 3
22 | 4
23 | 1
24 | 5
25 | 2
26 | 1
27 | 1
28 | 2
29 | 4
30 | 2
31 | 3
32 | 5
33 | 2
34 | 4
35 | 3
36 | 3
37 | 1
38 | 3
39 | 1
40 | 3
41 | 5
42 | 1
43 | 4
44 | 3
45 | 1
46 | 1
47 | 2
48 | 3
49 | 4
50 | 1
51 | 2
52 | 1
53 | 5
54 | 1
55 | 2
56 | 3
57 | 2
58 | 3
59 | 5
60 | 2
61 | 4
62 | 1
63 | 2
64 | 2
65 | 4
66 | 2
67 | 5
68 | 5
69 | 4
70 | 5
71 | 4
72 | 5
73 | 2
74 | 5
75 | 1

-- Top Careers & You is one of the leading educational organisations in India, preparing students for competitive exams like CAT, GRE, GMAT. www.tcyonline.com is one of the most popular portals among the student fraternity,
DON'T MISS!
'VA/RC was tough, Quant was easy'
Answer key
Printing errors in CAT 2006
Estimated cut-offs
How did you fare in CAT 2006?

IIMs	MDI, NITIE, SP Jain	IMT, MICA	UBS, TAPMI	KJ Somaiya, IMI, FORE	NIRMA, Welingkar
124+	104+	92+	84+	80+	72+