CAT Slot 3 Analysis 2024 – Difficulty Level, Expected Cutoffs, Types of Questions

The third slot of CAT 2024 was held on the evening of November 24th, 2024, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Some changes in the exam pattern were expected from CAT 2024, and as news from our students who sat for the first slot poured in, these expectations were proven right. Go through the full CAT slot 3 analysis 2024 to get a better understanding of how it turned out.

CAT Slot 3 analysis 2024 – Overall

The Third slot of CAT 2024 took place today between 4.30 and 6:30 pm.

The structure of CAT 2024 underwent several changes compared to 2023, with a total of 68 questions. As per our CAT slot 3 analysis, the Verbal Ability (VA) and Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) sections experienced modifications in segmentation and the distribution of MCQs and TITA (Type In The Answer) questions. The Verbal section saw the complete removal of Paragraph Jumble questions. Instead, it featured 3 Summary (MCQ) questions, 3 Paragraph Completion (MCQ) questions, and 2 Odd Sentence (TITA) questions.

The DILR section, which had 22 questions in total, had 22 sets, which increased from 4 to 5. This included 2 sets with 5 questions each and 3 sets with 4 questions each. Comparing the difficulty levels across the three slots of the CAT exam reveals that the difficulty was fairly consistent across all three sections.

The marking scheme was +3 for every correct and -1 for incorrect. There was no negative marking for TITA Qs.

Based on the feedback received from several candidates who have appeared in the first slot, our initial estimate of the percentiles and scores*** is as follows. These estimates will be suitably revised soon after the CAT releases the response sheets.

Read our overall CAT exam analysis and analyses for the other slots here:

Read More – Overall CAT Exam Analysis – Difficulty Level, Expected Cutoffs, Types of Questions

Read More – CAT 2024 Slot 2 Analysis – Difficulty level, expected cutoffs

Read More – CAT 2024 Slot 1 Analysis – Difficulty level, expected cutoffs

CAT slot 3 analysis 2024 – Expected percentile vs score

Read More – Download Your CAT Answer Key and Response Sheet Here

Read More – CAT Score vs Percentile – Updated for CAT 2024

*** Students are advised not to take any B-School application decision based on these initial estimates. They serve only as the first indicator of likely performance.

CAT slot 1 analysis 2024 – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)

The VA-RC section consisted of 16 Reading Comprehension questions and 8 Verbal Ability questions. As in the past several years, there were no direct Grammar or Vocabulary questions. Based on our CAT slot 3 analysis, two of the passages were easy to moderate. The passages on “Languages have become endangered” and “The need to regulate AI” required more careful reading. About 12 RC questions could be attempted with high accuracy. There were no jumbled paragraph questions. One additional paragraph completion question and one summary question replaced the two jumbled paragraphs. So, the section had 3 questions, each of Summary (MCQ) and Paragraph Completion(MCQ), and two Odd Sentence questions (TITA). In VA, 5 or 6 attempts with high accuracy were possible. Overall, the section was moderate and comparable in LOD to the first two slots and to the VARC of SimCAT 16.

An attempt of 10 or 11 questions with an accuracy of approximately 60% will fetch around 85%ile score in VARC.
An attempt of 12 or 13 questions with an accuracy of approximately 70% will fetch 95+ percentiles in VARC.

CAT slot 1 analysis 2024 – Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

Last year, there were four sets, each comprising five questions. This pattern has been changed in CAT 2024, as per our CAT slot 3 analysis. There were two sets with five questions each and three sets with four questions each.

Overall, the section’s difficulty level was Easy to Medium, and it was relatively easier than the DILR Section of Slot 3 of CAT 2023.

An attempt of 9 or 10 questions with an accuracy of approximately 80% will fetch around 85 %ile score in DILR.
An attempt of 12 or 13 questions with an accuracy of approximately 85% will fetch 95 + percentiles in DILR .

CAT slot 1 analysis 2024 – Quantitative Ability (QA)

When we finished our CAT slot 3 analysis, we came to the conclusion that this section was comparatively easier (in terms of level of difficulty) as compared to last year’s slots and was dominated by Arithmetic (8 questions), followed by Algebra (5 questions). There were 3 questions on Geometry, 3 questions on Modern Math and 1 on Numbers. In Arithmetic, the questions were on SICI, Time and Work, Time-Speed-Distance, Ratio Proportion, Mixtures & Alligations, Multiple operations, and Profit & Loss. In Algebra, the questions were dominated by Quadratic equations, Inequality with graph, Functions, and Identity-based questions, etc. In Modern Math, the questions were on Logarithms, Sequences, Permutations etc. In Geometry, the questions were on Quadrilaterals, Sphere with cuboid, etc. There were questions on remainders and numbers.

Number of TITA (8 questions) and MCQ (14 questions) in this section.

Attempting the right questions was the key.

An attempt of 7 or 8 questions with an accuracy of approximately 80% will fetch an 85% ile score in QA.
An attempt of 9 or 10 questions with an accuracy of approximately 85% will fetch 95 + percentiles in QA .

CAT slot 1 analysis – Conclusion

At many centres, shoes and metallic objects (including metal jewellery) were not allowed. Only the admit card and ID proof were allowed. As in previous years, the authorities took possession of the admit cards. The candidates were given a small pad with the IIM CAT Logo on the cover for rough work and a pen—which were also taken away at the end of the exam.

The test interface was user-friendly and exactly the one provided in the official CAT Mock Test. A simple calculator was provided, and not a scientific one. There was an arrow provided near the question palette, which, when clicked, expanded the question window to full-screen view by hiding the question palette & vice versa

At the end of the test, a summary of the number of questions attempted, visited, and not visited for each section was displayed.

There was a button marked ‘Question Paper’ that opened up a screen containing all the questions of the section. This was used by students for planning their approach for the section.

According to our CAT slot 3 analysis, it was the trickiest of the three slots, although the overall difficulty level remained below expectations. Compared to slots 1 and 2, slot 3 presented slightly easier questions. We’ll continue to update the data here as more information pours in.

*** The scores and percentiles mentioned in this analysis are indicators based on the feedback from students and IMS experts. They are in no way related to the results which IIMs are expected to declare in January 2025. You are advised to wait for the results.