CAT 2019 Analysis – The After Math

CAT 2019 Analysis

As expected, CAT 2019 did carry surprises. For detailed analysis on how each section was and expected Score Vs Percentiles, head on here: https://online.2iim.com/CAT-2019-Analysis-slot-1-and-slot-2/. Detailed Youtube Videos on Analysis is also available in this link.

CAT 2019 Analysis – Slot 1

Rajesh Balasubramanian, 4 time CAT 100 percentiler took up Slot 1. In his words, DILR was almost similar to CAT 2018. Quantitative Aptitude Section was comparitively easier than 18, but definitely much tougher than CAT 17, 16 and the likes.

VA-RC was the elephant in the room, where the passages were obscenely tough, questions unnecessarily complicated.

CAT 2019 Analysis – Slot 2

Enter the Dragon

I took slot 2 of CAT 2019. The PC I got had issues with mouse. I requested the invigilators to change it. I was told that it will be changed later. The first 20 odd minutes was a struggle as I couldn’t comfortably scroll the passages. The First passage was the one on British Colonialism. I started off with the passage, read it once completely. Did not understand anything. I did not get a feel of what was conveyed in the passage.

I kept coming back to the passage after I read every question. After 3 attempts I seemed to have a mild handle on what the passage tried to convey. This process was almost same for every passage. There was one moderate passage and the rest were tough.

After 2 RC passages, being unable to continue further, I shifted to Verbal Ability questions. Sentence Rearrangement puzzles were tough. Pick the Odd Statement (Sentence Elimination) and Paragraph Summary were do-able.

Then went on to solve 2 more RC passages. Did not have time to touch one RC passage. Got out of RC Section damn tired (tbh pushed out by the timer).

Now, I am bestowed with the knowledge that, that ONE Passage I did not have time for, was the easiest passage of all RC Passages in CAT 2019.

Round 2

The next in store was a reasonably tough DILR Section. In the first 3ish minutes, had solved 3 questions. Proceeded to skim through the entire paper for the next 4-5 minutes. Overall completed 2 sets, and then went on to solve ones and twos from multiple puzzles. Overall I attempted 12 questions with 2 random additional TITA questions.

Return of the Dragon

I am usually afraid of numbers. Math always takes a back seat for me. I do not attempt questions from tougher ideas like Number theory or Permutation Probability. Arithmetic is my strong suit and I went in wanting to maximise as much as I can. The Quant paper was a fantastic paper from my perspective. I attempted 15 questions and got 14 absolutely right.

Takeaway from the Quantitative Aptitude of CAT 2019

I think the CAT 2019 Quant paper is phenomenal in testing basics. A question started off with Speed time distance, but used Ratios to solve completely. I faced another question that was all about using Common sense or Logical reasoning to solve Mixtures. Many questions were not plain vannila questions, but involved testing the understanding more than anything else. From CAT 2018, the necessity for Shortcuts and Formula fell down drastically. It fell further after CAT 2019.

The Quant section had 18 questions that involved Arithmetic and basic math (inclusive of Linear Quadratic Equations). Number theory had about 2+ questions, Geometry had about 6 questions and 2 questions from Mensuration. I really enjoyed the Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT 2019.

The more you depend on tips and tricks and shortcuts, the tougher it gets to nail this section.

Takeaways from DILR Section of CAT 2019

The DILR Section though was lengthy in some form, was not surprising. Solving CAT 17 and 18 puzzles would have helped a lot in terms to what to expect. Also 2IIM’s DILR Course contains fantastic puzzles that replicate the level of difficulty seen in CAT.

Pick one Reliable Source, and Keep solving puzzles away to glory.

Takeaways from VARC Section of CAT 2019

VARC was tougher than previous editions of CAT. Passages were tough to read, comprehend. Questions were a cherry on the top of already tough passages. All that being said and done, a great reading habit definitely helps one get better at the VARC Section.

Read Extensively. From a variety of High Quality Sources.

I do post a lot of articles from a variety of handpicked sources on a daily basis. You can find them on Facebook & YouTube.

Best Wishes for CAT 2019 Results and upcoming Other Management Tests.