|
Exam
Year |
Conducting
IIM |
VARC Difficulty | DILR Difficulty | QA Difficulty | |||
| IMS | TIME | IMS | TIME | IMS | TIME | ||
| 2020 | IIM Indore | Moderate-Difficult | Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate | Moderate-Difficult |
| 2019 | IIM Kozhikode | Moderate | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Difficult | Easy-Moderate | Moderate-Difficult |
| 2018 | IIM Calcutta | Easy | Moderate | Easy-Moderate | Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate-Difficult |
| 2017 | IIM Lucknow | Easy | Moderate-Difficult | Difficult | Difficult | Easy-Moderate | Moderate |
| 2016 | IIM Bangalore | Easy-Moderate | Moderate-Difficult | Easy-Moderate | Difficult | Moderate | Moderate-Difficult |
| 2015 | IIM Ahmedabad | Easy | Moderate-Difficult | Moderate-Difficult | Very Difficult |
Easy- Moderate |
Moderate |
In 2018, it was speculated that with IIM Calcutta being a 'Quant-oriented institute', the Quantitative Ability section of the CAT exam would be the toughest section. In the following year, forums were rife with speculation that IIM Kozhikode would set a particularly tough VARC section. In 2018, both the QA and DILR sections were moderate-tough in terms of difficulty, while in 2019 both the VARC and DILR sections were moderate-tough in terms of difficulty, with the DILR section in-fact being the toughest section of the exam as per some analyses.
As is clear from the table above that captures exam analyses by IMS and TIME, there is no pattern that can be observed in the difficultly level of the CAT exam over a span of 5-6 years. Additionally, there appears to be no correlation between the difficulty level of any section of the exam and the IIM conducting the exam in that year. The difficulty levels of the various sections of the exam are unpredictable. Here is a more satirical answer to this unfounded rumor that is propounded by self-proclaimed experts.
Why Is It Important For This Myth To Be Busted?
Now that it is known that IIM Ahmedabad will be conducting CAT 2021, soon, the official CAT paper pattern and exam date will also be released, along with other important dates and information like registration deadlines. This will be followed by a lot of speculation around the expected level of difficulty of the exam. Anyone closely following such debates based on conjecture will, inevitably, have some expectations from the exam which may threaten to alter their preparation strategy by basing it on unfounded claims.
It is important to understand that there is no evidence to suggest a correlation between the paper pattern or difficulty level of the CAT exam (or any of its sections) and the IIM conducting the exam in any particular year. We strongly recommend against spending any time on such discussions, as it will be a waste of time that can be devoted to actually preparing for an exam that is only a few months away.
Read Next → CAT 2020: Slot-Wise Deep-Dive And Percentile Prediction With CAT Experts
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