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CAT 2007: Analysis and expected cut-offs
Career Launcher
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November 18, 2007

On the whole, the CAT 2007 paper was tough, with no section providing much of a respite to the aspirants. Comparatively speaking, the students would have found Data Interpretation (DI), with a mix of calculations and logic to be on the easier side. Data Sufficiency in its old format reappeared in CAT after a span of three years, more so in two different sections! The emphasis in the DI section was definitely on speed of calculation.

But Quantitative Ability (QA) proved to be mind bogglingly difficult for the average student. However, on a closer look 7-8 questions could have been solved using options without using deeper mathematical knowledge.

In Verbal Ability (VA), the number of Reading Comprehension (RC) passages was more than last year, though they were not lengthy. The number of questions per passage was low, just three each. Though, for a change, there were no abstract questions in RC, however, each passage required meticulous reading. As a section, it is safe to infer that the VA section checked almost all the aspects, including verbal logic, vocabulary and grammar.

The Sentence Correction questions in VA were different in nature to last year's, while the Para jumbles provided a bit of a breather in terms of difficulty level.

Overall, even though the paper did not pose any surprise, pattern wise, with the number of questions remaining 75 as last year, the level of difficulty was increased by at least two to three notches.

In conclusion, even with the best of preparations it would be really tough to score 100 in this paper.

Overview
Here is an overview of how you should have attempted this paper.

Section

Topics

Number of questions

Total Marks

Suggested time

Possible Attempts

Expected
Cut-offs

I

Quantitative Ability

25

100

55

12

26-28

II

Logical Reasoning Data Interpretation

25

100

45

14

34-36

III

Verbal Ability

25

100

50

15

26-28

Total

 

75

300

150

41

102-107

Disclaimer: These cut-offs are decided by our expert faculty who have attempted the CAT 2007 paper and may not tally with the actual IIM cut-offs. These are calculations based on our experience and expertise.

Expected Cut Offs for different institutes:

Institute

Likely Cut Offs in

2007

Any 1 IIM call

105+

MDI (BM)

100+

S P Jain, NITIE, IMT, IMI, MDI-HR

96+

MICA, TAPMI

92+

KJ Somaiya, BIM, Fore, UBS, NIRMA, IMI-HR

80+

ITM(Mum), LBS, Welingkar, FMS (BHU)

76+

IFMR, IIFM, BIMTech, Kirloskar, IISWBM, Jaipuria

64+

IILM (Lodhi Rd), IMDR, SDM-IMD, JIMS

60+

SCM Cochin, IMM, Globsyn, Cosmic, Alliance, ISBM

52+

NDIM, EMPI, Asia Pacific, Amrita, Suryadatta, Skyline

45+

Disclaimer: All information on cut-offs, analysis, answer key, solutions and scores are based on independent analysis and evaluation made by Career Launcher. We do not take responsibility for any decision that might be taken, based on this information.

Comparison with CAT 2006 and CAT 2005

Parameter

CAT 2007

CAT 2006

CAT 2005

Number of sections

3

3

3 x 2

Number of questions

75

75

90

Difficulty level (Overall)

Difficult

Moderate

Difficult

Difficulty level (Quant)

Difficult

Easy

Average

Difficulty level (EU + RC)

Difficult

Difficult

Average

Difficulty level (DI + DS + AR)

Moderate

Moderate

Difficult

Expected cut-off (Overall)

102  - 107

110-115

47-49

Expected cut-off (Quant)

26 - 28

36-40

12-13

Expected cut-off (EU + RC)

26 - 28

21-25

17-18

Expected cut-off (DI + DS + AR)

34 - 36

34-38

10-11

Section-wise Analysis
Quantitative Aptitude

Topic

CAT 2007

CAT 2006

CAT 2005

Overall

25

25

30

Arithmetic

8

10

9

Number system

1

7

5

Percentage, SI-CI, PLD, Avgs

4 + 1(DS)

1

0

Ratio proportion

 

1

0

Speed Time Distance, Work

2

1

4

Algebra

9

9

8

Equations & Inequalities

5

4

2

Functions & graphs

1

1

2

Maxima minima

1

2

2

Series, sequences & progressions & logs

2

2

2

Geometry

3

4

10

Plane geometry

1+1(DS)

4

6

Mensuration

1 (DS)

 

3

Co-ordinate geometry + trigonometry

 

 

1

Modern math

 

2

3

Miscellaneous math

5

 

0

English Usage & Reading Comprehension

Topic

CAT 2007

CAT 2006

CAT 2005

Overall

25

25

30

English usage

13

10

18

Usage Dictionary

 

0

3

Vocabulary: contextual meaning

3

0

0

Para jumbles

4

0

3

Sentence completion

 

0

4

Sentence correction

3

0

4

Replacement of words

 

0

4

Critical Reasoning

 

5

0

Paragraph Completion

3

5

4

Reading Comprehension

12

15

12

Politics & Social

6

1

4Qs (2 marker)

History & Mythology

6

0

0

Science & Technology

 

0

0

Business & Economics

 

0

0

Fiction, Philosophy & Law

 

2

4Qs (2 marker)

Psychology & Management

 

0

4Qs (2 marker)

Data interpretation, Data sufficiency, Analytical reasoning

Topic

CAT 2007

CAT 2006

CAT 2005

Overall

25

25

30

Data Interpretation

21

20

10

Logical Based Table

2 sets ( 4 Qs each )

1 set (5 Qs)

6

Bar graph

 

0

4

Calculations based Table

2 Sets ( 4 Qs ) + 1 Set ( 5 Qs)

0

0

Caselet

 

3 sets (15 Qs)

0

Data sufficiency

4

0

0

Analytical reasoning

0

1 set (5 Qs)

20


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