CAT Exam Analysis 2024: Slot-Wise, Section-Wise and Difficulty Level

The CAT 2024 exam analysis depicts that the exam by IIM Calcutta was of moderate difficulty level in general. But there were certain significant CAT exam pattern changes as opposed to past years. There were no parajumbles under Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) and there were 22 questions under Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR).

The CAT 2024 question paper analysis includes the level of difficulty, sectional weightage, good attempts, CAT cutoffs and scores. According to the analysis, the second slot was the most challenging whereas the first and third slots were comparatively easier.

In the future IIM Kozhikode will administer the CAT 2025 exam on November 30, 2025. The test is likely to be of a medium difficulty level like last year.

CAT Exam Analysis 2024 Key Highlights

• The paper was overall moderate in nature.

• Compared to slots one and three, Slot two was the most challenging.

• Reading comprehension questions dominated the VARC.

• Most problems from algebra and arithmetic dominate quantitative ability.

• DILR had 22 questions in sets making it lengthy but moderate.

• Total marks of the paper were 204 compared to 198 in CAT 2023.

• Overall CAT percentile estimates indicate that cutoffs will be steady.

CAT Exam Pattern 2024 Sectional Break-up

Note - This demonstrates a minor but significant CAT exam pattern shift with two additional questions in the CAT 2024 than CAT 2023.

CAT 2024 VARC – Topic-wise Analysis

• RC passages dominated the focus in all slots.

• The other questions included odd sentence, sentence completion and para summary.

• Difficulty was from easy to moderate.

CAT 2024 DILR – Topic-wise Analysis

• 22 questions in sets made time management challenging.

• Questions were graph-based, caselet-based and number-based arrangements.

• This portion of the CAT 2024 exam had a moderate degree of difficulty.

CAT 2024 QA- Topic-wise Analysis

• Questions predominantly from Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry.

• Topics covered were percentages, ratios, TSD, SI-CI, equations and coordinate geometry.

• Slot 2 QA was calculation-intensive and needed great time management.

CAT 2024 Slot One – Topics Analysis

• VARC: Netflix, human economics, spices RC passages; simple questions.

• DILR: Candlestick shares, tournaments and blogger-based bar graphs sets.

•  QA: Moderate mix of algebra, arithmetic, number system and geometry.

CAT 2024 Slot Two – Topics Analysis

• VARC: Spice trade, technology impact, peer review RC passages; moderate level.

• DILR: Scatter plots, grids, frequency distribution and network problem sets; moderate but long.

• QA: Algebra, inequalities, ratios, coordinate geometry; calculation-based.

CAT 2024 Slot Three – Topics Analysis

• VARC: Passages on AI, languages, Chinese culture and outer space; slightly more difficult RCs.

• DILR: Sets on GDP, food grains, OTT, ATM networks; moderate level.

• QA: Questions based on algebra, arithmetic, permutations & combinations and polygons; balanced difficulty.

CAT Exam 2024 Overall Score Versus Percentile

CAT 2024 VARC- Score vs Percentile Slot-Wise

CAT 2024 DILR- Score vs Percentile Slot-Wise

CAT 2024 QA- Score vs Percentile Slot-Wise

CAT Overall Score vs Percentile Comparison 2022, 2023 & 2024

The difficulty level of CAT exam has fluctuated in 2022, 2023 and 2024 depending on the aggregate score vs percentile analysis. In 2024, the marks for achieving high percentiles such as 99.9%ile and 99.5%ile were significantly higher 121 and 106 than those in 2023 and 2022 indicating that the paper was more convenient for toppers to achieve higher.

In the 99%ile category, 2023 had the lowest cutoff of 79 over 90 in 2022 and 93 in 2024 making CAT 2023 the most difficult in this category. For mid-percentiles such as 95%ile and 90%ile, 2022 reflected uniformly better scores whereas 2023 and 2024 had nearly equal cutoffs pointing to both of these years being more difficult than 2022 for the average scorers.

At the lower mark like 80%ile the scores were practically consistent for all three years with minimal fluctuation. Overall, CAT 2024 was the easiest for top scorers CAT 2023 was the most difficult overall and CAT 2022 was in between with moderate difficulty.

CAT Exam Difficulty Comparison  For 2022, 2023 & 2024

CAT 2022

• For 99%ile the test-takers needed 90 marks which is greater than 2023 and nearly 2024.

• Even at 95%ile and 90%ile the cutoffs were slightly greater than 2023.

• This indicates CAT 2022 was moderately tough particularly in the mid-percentile region.

CAT 2023

• Cut-offs at nearly all percentiles 99%, 95%, 90% were lesser than both 2022 and 2024.

• For example 99%ile was 79 against 90 in 2022 and 93 in 2023.

• This shows CAT 2023 was the most challenging of the three years since fewer marks corresponded to greater percentiles.

CAT 2024

• The scores increased hugely at the higher end. For instance 99.9%ile required 121 marks much more than 103 marks in 2023.

• However for 98%ile and lower the scores remain virtually the same as 2023.

• This implies CAT 2024 was easier for high scorers but the level of difficulty for most remained at par with 2023.

Key Takeaways from CAT 2024 Exam Analysis

• Overall CAT paper difficulty level was moderate.

• Slot 2 was the most difficult particularly in QA and DILR.

• Cutoffs and CAT percentile estimates are expected to remain stable.

• Candidates preparing for MBA entrance exams in 2025 can use this section-wise analysis for better preparation.

This comprehensive CAT exam analysis 2024 will assist the students in comprehending the CAT sections' toughness, CAT cutoffs and scores preparation and refer to last year's CAT exam analysis for the coming IIM CAT exam 2025.