CAT 2020 Answer Key release, which – until a while ago – was as much a suspense as CAT 2020 itself, is going to be released on 8 December, 2020 (Tuesday).
The IIMCAT website states, “The Objection Management tab for CAT 2020 will be active from 10.00 AM on December 8, 2020 till 5.00 PM on December 11, 2020. Candidates will be able to see the Answer Key as well as their Individual Responses to Questions during this duration.”
That clears up a lot of uncertainties, speculations and conspiracy theories the umpteen sources of verified/unverified information have been peddling ever since 29 November, 2020.
What exactly is the CAT 2020 Answer Key?
The CAT 2020 Answer Key is the officially released source by IIMCAT that gives away the correct answers to all the questions of a particular candidate’s slot.
Check out our first thoughts on CAT 2020, analysis of Slot 1 and 2, and an overall roundup of all the three slots, along with our percentile predictions. If you want a flavour of CAT 2020 was in a nutshell, here is Rajesh’s take on the same.
What is the use of me getting to know the right answers?
You are absolutely right. If it was the pre-CAT phase, we would jump at an opportunity to learn more and more questions, knowing the right answers in the process.
But, the reality is different post-CAT. Each one of us wants to know how we have fared. Enter the CAT 2020 Response Sheet!
What is the CAT 2020 Response Sheet?
Well, if you were thinking the CAT 2020 Response Sheet is a second different document of sorts, NO. Essentially, CAT 2020 Answer Key and the Response Sheet are one and the same (as per how it was during CAT 2019). The candidate’s responses are shown separately with the correct answers being indicated by a green tick mark.
Disclaimer: This format may or may not be the same this year, given the suspenses CAT 2020 has thrown towards the aspirants.
Just a brief relook at the time window when an aspirant gets to view the response sheet and the answer key.
| Event | Start Date and Time | End Date and Time |
| CAT 2020 Answer Key, Response Sheet & Objection Management | 8 December, 2020 (Tuesday) at 10.00 AM | 11 December, 2020 (Friday) at 5.00 PM |
Now, on to the actual deal…
The calculation of scores is the actual deal in the process. Going by the last year’s trend, since the final percentiles and scaled scores have been announced in the first fortnight of January, you are going to be left with this score sheet for about a month.
This means that you should not be leaving any room for error. Missing out on a +3/-1 could end up impacting your final chances. Add to this the fact the overall impact of a wrong MCQ answer is -4 (-1 for getting it wrong, and -3 more for the 3 marks you would have lost out on, by not getting it right).
You will have to ensure you calculate diligently. The panic and pressure is going to be skyhigh.
Why are you telling me all this?
There is no solution to this panic. It happens to everyone who holds the prospect of an WAT, GD and PI call dear to them. Which is why it is of paramount importance that you have to remain relaxed both during and after calculation of scores.
In comes 2IIM’s Online CAT 2020 Score Calculator
Like Rajesh and Bharath keep reiterating, CAT is an examination where “you should prepare like your life depends on it, but write it like nothing depends on it.” The same applies to the process of calculation of scores using the CAT 2020 Answer Key as well.
Fret not, for we have got you covered! Copy-paste the URL of your Response Sheet, and watch the system do the Arithmetic (Quant, anyone?)
Important note: Bookmark this page and visit it after the response sheet and answer key are released. We will update this page with the link to the Score Calculator.
Here is the link to 2IIM’s Score Calculator: https://online.2iim.com/CAT-score-calculator
The oft-overlooked aspect of the Answer Key and Response Sheet
There is no doubt that the CAT 2020 Answer Key and Response Sheet are going to give an overall feel of where you stand. But even that is going to be uncertain. We might have a better understanding of what the predicted percentiles can be, but until the final results come out, these are going to be just mere numbers.
Breathe in. Relax.
2020 has already been a worrisome year. Make sure to not add one more tumbler of pressure to the already-full-and-boiling-pressure-cooker a.k.a your brain.
Keep looking out for the deadlines of different colleges and examinations, and start applying to them!
Stay safe, and best wishes for all the other upcoming examinations.
Written by Giridharan Raghuraman
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