We all want to know how many questions does one need to attempt in order to get a certain percentile. In fact, we want to know just some number, some arbitrarily concocted number, just some number – and we want this number so badly that we care not about the veracity of said number. So, here goes –
The numbers indicate correct answers/attempts. For instance, in order to get 90th percentile in DI-LR, one should shoot to attempt 15 questions and get 12 of these correct.
Now, on to the assumptions
Without assumptions, what is the basis of all analysis? Those fungible, flexible, stretchable, delicious things called assumptions are the vital cog in the modern economy. We would not want a crucial table to be created without those assumptions, would we?
- We have assumed DI-LR would be slightly easier in 2016 than it was in 2015 and that Verbal would be slightly tougher. Why? We like to use the term “regression to mean”. But you could have easily said “because we can”
- In an ideal world, there is nothing called as Target Hit rate or target accuracy ( target hit rate should always be 100%) , but we suspended the idea of the ideal world a while ago. So, we have accounted that students factor this kind of accuracy variable in.
What are the real takeaways here? Enough of snark
If you want a higher percentile, make sure your error rate is close to zero. From 95th to 99th percentile, attempts go up very little, improved accuracy contributes most of the leap. Anyone who is ambitious enough to think of 99th percentile and beyond has to be absolutely pig-headed about accuracy. All this talk of 70% hit rate is humbug. Would you go on a bus if the driver had a 70% accident-free rate?
If someone says that he/she is confident of 70% accuracy, he/she is talking out of his/her hat. Which 70%? Why did you just not leave the other 30%? If you are clueless about which 70%, might it be lower? Could it go as low as 20%? What are you really sure of? Are some of the good questions that can be asked of the student. If you are part of the brigade happy with a lowly 70% accuracy, ask yourself these questions, and then relentlessly chase 100% accuracy.
What about the overall percentile?
80th percentile in each section should see the overall percentile close to 90. 90 in each section should take you to 95 overall. 95 in all three will take you to 98-ish overall. 97-ish in all three will fetch an overall score of 99.xx. 99 in each section should see you in the 99.6+ range. Average of the three percentiles and a healthy boost to that would usually take you to the overall percentile.
Best wishes for CAT preparation. Bear in mind that these are just broad targets to give yourself an anchor prior to the exam. Do not take these two seriously. Approach the exam with an open mind.
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Comments
AKSHAY RAJ
Akshay is a various reader and loves reading fictional novels especially the ones by George Orwell and Paulo Coelho. He is supposed to be an Electronics & Communications engineer by degree. This year he is joining IIM K for his MBA.
Your article resembles a lot with one written on Catwriter Blog
11 Jun 2020, 02.21 PM
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Dikshant Yadav
I am a student of batch 2022 at FMS Delhi. Calls- IIMC, FMS, IIMK, IIMI, NITIE, SJMSOM IITB, New IIMs Converts- FMS D, IIM K, IIM I, NITIE M, SJMSOM IIT B, IIMC(Waitlisted), New IIMs
Yes, even I felt that.
12 Jun 2020, 01.10 AM |
AKSHAY RAJ
Akshay is a various reader and loves reading fictional novels especially the ones by George Orwell and Paulo Coelho. He is supposed to be an Electronics & Communications engineer by degree. This year he is joining IIM K for his MBA.
Good to know that.The sentence formation might be different but the main idea and even ordering of those points are same
12 Jun 2020, 09.19 AM |
Ashi Jain
Hello. I was unaware of this page. For my research, I relied on a lot of Quora answers (some even published back in 2015), and spoke to an IIM graduate who again talked about things like brand value of an IIM, and other factors such as ROI (which we commonly look and mentioned that even IIM A doesn't have a good ROI if you look like that ). You B-School Only Once was a series started by InsideIIM which was to say at the last that this decision is crucial. Towards the end, it was just my opinion that while I had spoken of the IIM tag before, this shouldn't be limiting especially in cases when you've to choose between a new IIM and other top B schools. Hope that it clarifies. :)
12 Jun 2020, 03.58 PM |
Pat Sen
very wishy-washy, no validations of the conclusion arrived at. a better approach would have been to share some current data about pay- bands and such interesting career outcomes. No statistics at all to understand authenticity.
12 Jun 2020, 07.53 PM
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Ashi Jain
Hello. This is a very subjective topic and there is no concrete way to determine which college scores over the other. I just addressed the things you should look out for and how important are each of them - like not just falling for ROI or an IIM tag (while these are important) and looking at the bigger picture in terms of Networking Opportunities, Alumni Base and most importantly, figuring where you interest lies. However, thank you for your feedback. I would back my next articles with more statistics to help the reader arrive at a definitive conclusion. :)
12 Jun 2020, 08.46 PMEdited |