CAT Exam Analysis 2023 (Slot 1,2,3): Check Section-Wise Analysis, Difficulty Level and More

CAT Exam Analysis 2023: The overall difficulty of the CAT 2023 paper was almost the same as that of the last year. However, while analysing the 2023 paper, experts revealed that the Quantitative Aptitude portion was more difficult in all three positions compared to VARC and DILR. Also, experts had already predicted that the overall CAT cutoff for a 99+ percentile would fall between 82 and 83. Now, that the CAT results 2023 are out, analysis of the paper is a must. 

CAT 2023 Exam Analysis Highlights

The CAT 2023 exam paper was prepared by IIM Lucknow which was quite tough compared to other IIMs. Considering the difficulty level of the CAT exam, a candidate getting an overall score of 98 to 99 will be able to fetch a 99 percentile in CAT 2023. However, the CAT exam did not see any change in the exam pattern or test structure from last year. Below are highlights of the CAT 2023 exam:

• Same Pattern: There was no change in the CAT 2023 exam pattern as compared to the previous year’s paper. Both year’s paper had 66 questions.
• Lower Cut-Offs for IIMs: It was seen that the CAT 2023 exam was considered to be one of the most difficult papers by experts. 
• Difficult Paper: Given the difficulty of the paper, the cut-offs for IIMs are also expected to go down. 

CAT Exam Analysis 2023: Slot 1, 2 and 3

Herein, we have CAT exam analysis for Slots 1, 2, and 3. 

Slot 1

Check CAT exam analysis 2023 for Slot 1 paper:

Topics	Total Questions	Difficulty Level
Reading Comprehension	16 Questions | 4 RC Passages	Moderate to Tough
Para jumbles	2 Questions	Easy to Moderate
Para jumbles – Out of Context	2 Questions	Moderate to Tough
Paracompletion	2 Questions	Easy
Parasummary	2 Questions	Easy to Moderate
Total	24 Questions	Good Attempts 15+

Slot 2

The table displays an analysis of Slot 2 CAT 2023 paper:

CAT Sections	Number of Questions	Topics	Difficulty Level
VARC	24	4 passages have 4 questions each; 2 para jumble questions; 2 para summary questions; 2 para completion questions; and 2 odd one-out questions	Moderate
DILR	20	4 sets of 5 questions each	Moderate to Difficult
QA	22	8 Algebra questions, 9 Arithmetic questions, 2 Geometry questions, 3  Number System questions, 0 Modern Maths questions	Difficult
Total	66	—	—

Slot 3

The table gives an analysis of the CAT 2023 exam Slot 3 paper:

CAT Sections	Number of Questions	Topics	Difficulty Level
VARC	24	4 passages have 4 questions each; 2 para jumble questions; 2 para summary questions; 2 para completion questions; and 2 odd one-out questions	Easy-Moderate
DILR	20	4 sets of 5 questions each	Moderate to Difficult
QA	22	7 Algebra questions, 8 Arithmetic questions, 3 Geometry questions, 4 Number System questions, 0 Modern Maths questions	Difficult
Total	66	—	—

Also Read: CAT Result 2024: Dates, Download Results, Cut Off, Percentile, Exam Analysis

CAT 2023 Difficulty Level vs CAT 2022 Difficulty Level (On the Scale of 10)

Here is the difficulty level of the CAT 2023 paper when compared with the CAT 2022 examination. 

Sections	CAT 2022 Difficulty Level	CAT 2023 Difficulty Level
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)	7	6
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR)	7	8
Quantitative Ability (QA)	6	8-9
Total	7	8-9

Also Read: CAT Admission: Know Complete Application Process 2024

CAT Score Vs Percentile

Taking admission through the CAT exam is based on percentile and not on score. Note that the CTA percentile is different from the score and is derived from the latter. In this case, the CAT 2023 scores vs percentile are derived based on the question paper as well as the difficulty level. 

CAT Percentile	VARC Score	DILR Score	QA Score	Overall
99.9 Percentile	48	36	48	106
99.5 Percentile	44	32	32	98
99 Percentile	40	28	28	80
80 Percentile	19	11	10	36
70 Percentile	15	9	8	29

Also Read: CAT Preparation in 6 Months: Preparation Tips, Best Books

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