CAT 2020 Slot 3 Analysis: Difficulty level goes up further; Check Pattern, Probable Cut off - Glitch free CAT over on Nov 29

With Slot-3 of CAT 2020 getting over glitch free at 6.30PM on November 29, curtains for CAT exam are down now. MBAUniverse.com shares the CAT exam 2020 slot-3 analysis with the key details on exam pattern, difficulty level, likely cut offs and more.

For the first time in the history of CAT exam, IIMs conducted CAT Exam in three slots – morning, afternoon and evening. This year CAT exam has gone with multiple changes and the CAT 2020 slot wise analysis from MBAUniverse.com consists of changes in exam pattern, difficulty level, expected cut offs, good attempts among others. With the reduction in number of questions in CAT 2020, the 99 percentile cut off is expected to remain between 100 and 120 raw score than 165-170 last year. 

This year CAT exam is scheduled in three slots of two hours each in morning, afternoon and evening, instead of two slots of three hours each as under:

• CAT 2020 Morning Slot: 8.30 AM to 10.30 AM
• CAT 2020 Afternoon Slot: 12.30 PM to 2.30 PM
• CAT 2020 Evening Slot: 4.30PM to 6.30 PM

MBAUniverse.com ha also separately published the CAT Analysis 2020 from top CAT coaching institutes like TIME, IMS, CL for all the slots of CAT exam with their take on exam difficulty level, sectional and overall changes and expected cut offs. 

CAT 2020 Slot-3 Analysis: Key Highlights

• CAT 2020 Slot-3 was conducted in 2 hours duration from earlier 3 hours
• CAT exam 2020 was conducted in three separate sessions on same day instead of two sessions
• Exam was Divided into three sections: VARC; DILR; Quant
• 40 Minutes were allotted to attempt each section instead of earlier 60 minutes
• You were not lowed to move to other section till the time limit for the present section you are attempting was over.  
• CAT 2020 Exam has reduced number of Questions to 76 divided into MCQs and Non-MCQ type questions
• MCQs have negative marking for wrong answer and Non-MCQs do not carry penalty of negative marking
• Questions with negative marking (MCQs) were 54
• 4 answer options are given for all the MCQ type questions
• Questions without negative marking (Non-MCQs) were 22
• Answer must be typed in the given space on computer screen for Non-MCQ.
• Score awarded for each correct answer: 3 marks
• Negative marking (Applicable for  wrong answers in MCQs): -1 mark
• Fixed order of sections to move beginning with VARC

CAT 2020 Slot 3 Question Paper Pattern & Changes
The CAT 2020 Slot-3 question paper of 2 hours duration with key changes had the following pattern and sectional composition. CAT exam sectional order from Section-1 to Section-3, number and type of questions in each section, questions with and without negative marking and total maximum marks available for each section are as below:

Source: MBAUniverse.com analysis

Difficulty level in CAT 2020 Slot-3
Overall and sectional difficulty level in CAT 2020 slot-3 was higher than Slot-1 and slot-2. According to Arks Srinivas from Career Launcher (CL) the 99 percentile for slot-3 would not be more than 95 while for slot-2 it would be 100 and for slot-1 it would be 105.

CAT 2020 Slot-3: Section-wise Analysis
Below is shared the sectional analysis for CAT 2020 slot-3 exam

Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension was the first section in CAT 2020 slot-3 question paper. Key highlights of the section are:

• VARC section had 26 Questions as against 34 last year
• Total Maximum marks allotted for the section were 78 as against 102 last year
• Number of MCQs were 18
• Number of Non-MCQs were 8
• Number of RC Passages: 4
• Number of RC Based questions: 18
• Type of RC Based Questions: MCQs asking to explain the phrases, vocabulary as used in RC Passage, inferences, Main Idea 
• Number of VA questions: 8
• Type of VA questions: Non-MCQs
• Verbal Question Topics: Para Summary, Jumbled paragraphs, Out of context sentence in Jumbled paragraph
• Difficulty Level: Higher than earlier Slots
• Cut off Expected for 99 Percentile: 35-40 marks

Section-2: DILR Analysis for CAT 2020
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning was the second section in CAT 2020 Slot-3 question paper. The section was more difficult than in slot-2 and slot-1and was more time consuming. Only those test takers who practiced variety of problems of different difficulty level could make required number of good attempts as the time limit was less.  Key highlights, difficulty level and likely cut off for DILR section in CAT 2020 Slot-3 are as under.

• DILR section had 24 Questions
• Total Maximum Marks assigned for the section were 72 as against 96 last year
• Number of MCQs were 18
• Number of TITA questions (Non-MCQs) were 6
• Number of DI Questions: 14 in CAT 2020 as against 16 earlier
• Type of DI Based Questions: All questions were based on sets.  
• Type of DI Problem Sets: Each followed by 6 or 4 questions. DI Sets were based on Comparison Tables, data analysis
• Number of LR Questions were 10 in CAT 2020 as against 16 last year
• Type of LR Based Questions: All questions were based on sets.
• Type of LR Problem Sets: Each followed by 6 and 4 four questions.
• Difficulty Level: DILR Difficulty in Slot-3 was higher than slot-2 and slot-1
• Cut off Expected for 99 Percentile: 24-26 marks

Section-3: QA Analysis in CAT 2020 Slot-2
Quantitative Ability (QA) in CAT 2020 slot-3 question paper. This section had more number of questions based on Arithmetic. Many candidates, especially from Non-Mathematics and Non-Engineering background, who are not well versed with Trigonometry, Solid Geometry, Algebra had an opportunity to crack the QA section by solving Arithmetic questions with 90% accuracy level to cross the IIM cut offs. Key highlights of the QA section in CAT 2020 slot-3 were: 

• QA section had 26 Questions as against 34 last year
• Total Maximum marks allotted for the section were 78 as against 102 last year
• Number of MCQs were 18
• Number of TITA questions (Non-MCQs) were 8
• More Questions based on Arithmetic
• Type of Arithmetic Based Questions: Percentage, Ratio, Interest, Number System, Time, Speed
• Other QA Question topics: Algebra, Geometry, Modern Math, Trigonometry
• Difficulty Level: Higher than slot-2 and slot-1
• Cut off Expected for 99 Percentile: 38-42 marks

Overall & Sectional Cut off for Slot-3

Read CAT 2020 Slot-2 cut offs 

Read CAT 2020 Slot-1 Cut offs

MBAUniverse.com has also separately published the CAT Analysis 2020 from top CAT coaching institutes like IMS, CL, Hitbullseye for slot-1, slot-2 and slot-3 exam sessions with their take on exam difficulty level, sectional and overall changes and expected cut offs.  Read below the CAT 2020 Analysis by experts from top CAT coaching Institutes

• CAT 2020 Analysis by IMS  
• CAT 2020 Analysis by Career Launcher
• CAT 2020 Analysis by Hitbulls Eye
• CAT 2020 Analysis by T.I.M.E

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT Exam 2020