(Photo: Bansi Mehta)

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2011 results are out and yes, it might just have opened up a Pandora’s box of surprises for some. The change in the pattern of the exam has proven to be a boon for those with good skills in Logical Reasoning questions, claim test preparation institutes across Delhi and Mumbai. The second section, which had 30 questions each from LR and Verbal Ability, seems to have been the deciding factor for the majority of candidates appearing for the exam. However, many candidates have expressed their dissatisfaction over their scores in the second section.

Abhishek Gupta, Head (content), Career Launcher said, “This year candidates who have done well in Logical Reasoning stand a better chance to qualify as compared to students who have focussed more on Verbal Ability which has more ambiguous questions (implying that if you had to score in the second section, you had to depend on LR). Many students seem a bit dissatisfied over their marks in the second section.” He however said that the change in the pattern of exam was fair as it needed aspirants to have a good hold on all the subjects, unlike earlier when aspirants used to focussed more on a particular subject and could score well.

Students who scored well also said that LR did help them get a good percentile. Kolkata’s Gautam Bawa with a percentile of 99.97 had few reasons to complain. “I had expected a percentile of 95-96 in the LR-VA section but was more than happy to attain 97 plus. From the time the change in pattern in the CAT exam was declared, I had put more focus on LR as VA was my weak point. However, some of my friends, who were constantly scoring above 90 percentile in the mock tests have scored in the 80s in CAT 2011.” He said that there was a general element of surprise in the results for a large number of candidates.

Vinayak Kudwa, Head (products), IMS Learning Resources also agreed to LR’s being a key factor in defining the results. “The extra time that the candidates got after attempting the VA questions was utilised in LR. Barring the unseen passage, the grammar questions don’t take up much time; you either know them or you don’t,” Kudwa explained.

Though his first attempt, Suman Sumit Soren, a student of T.I.M.E., New Delhi was all excited about his CAT results. However, disappointment soon loomed over him when he actually saw his scorecard. “This is my first attempt at CAT, but I was very confident of scoring at least 80 percentile in the second section. A score of 60 was disheartening; I am really confused and surprised as to how there can be such a stark difference in marks.” He also said that LR was his strong point, and the score had been a big jolt to his morale of giving the CAT a second try.

Another bolt-from-the-blue has been the drastic difference in scores in the mock tests and the actual CAT for many candidates. A disappointed Parag Chitale, director of Mumbai-based coaching institute Chitale’s Personalised Learning Centre (CPLC) said, “Among the top twenty students (of CPLC) who used to score above 95 percentile in mock tests, none have got satisfactory results. In fact, one of my top scoring students in the VA section has got just 38 percentile. Interestingly, these students have done very well in other management exams like those of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade and Narsee Monjee Management Aptitude Test; it’s only the CAT that has been a shocker to them.”

Utkal Desai is yet to believe that he has scored 39.83 percentile in the VA section. Though his overall score is 79.33, he refuses to believe that he could ever get below 95 percentile in the VA section. “I attempted all the 30 questions as VA was my strong point. I never got less than 98 percentile in VA in the mock tests,” he said. Talking on similar vein, Mumbai’s Abhishek Pandey said, “I am satisfied with my score of 86 percentile, but many of my friends are disappointed with their scores, especially in the VA section. Most of them feel that they scored better in the mock tests.”

There are more who were mocked at by the CAT results. Neelabh Verma, centre manager, IMS’ Churchgate branch in Mumbai said, “Around seven students who never scored less than 95 percentile in mock tests got scores of 80 percentile. He also said that such adverse turn of results was often a big blow to the confidence of students.

However, some like Dipankar Maganty, an engineer from Bangalore who scored 99.99 percentile, believe that mock tests should not be taken too seriously. “There is a huge difference between mock tests and the actual exam. Most of the test takers do not understand the normalisation process, which is why the grumbling happens,” he remarked.