SNAP Analysis & Cut-Offs

Overall an easy test, with 150 questions to be attempted in 120 minutes; i.e. AQAM – A Question A Minute Test. Except for some idioms and maxims in verbal section, there weren’t any question that could not be attempted – save for time. A student attempting 120+ Questions with 140+ Marks attempted for with a fair degree of accuracy (i.e. 85% - including for GK & Verbal) should surely expect call from SIBM Pune.

One small RC passage with 5 questions, with many sitters in verbal section on punctuations, and prepositional usages. There weren’t questions which required one to spend time, though being a well-read person did surely have its rewards in the section.

Quantitative section wasn’t time consuming either, rather there were many sitters, requiring a quick comprehension of the question and immediate response – more on TWIT line!

Reasoning section was easy to solve, but did require careful handling of questions. Unnecessary hurry might have landed a person in trouble.

GK section was largely drawn from the events in 2010, and till as recent as October 2010. Regular reading of newspapers was amply rewarded, as even if a student did not know the exact answer – one could surely eliminate other options.

Ideally, one could attempt 30+ Questions in 30 Minutes in Verbal, 35+ Questions in 35 Minutes in Quants, 25+ Questions in 35 Minutes in Reasoning, and 25+ Questions in GK in 20 Minutes. Cut-off for various institutes under SNAP can be expected to be as follows:

• SIBM, Pune: 114
• SCMHRD: 107+
• SIBM, Bangalore: 103+
• SIIB, Int. Bus.: 99+
• SITM: 88+
• SIOM, Nasik: 85+
• SCIT, MBA-IT: 75+
• SIIB, Agr. Bus.: 60+
• SIMC/ SICSR/Other: 60+

FMS: Analysis & Cut-Off Scores

Quite on an expected pattern, and as announced by FMS – the test had 4 sections of 50 questions each on Verbal, RC, Quants, DI-LR. The test was surely easier than the last year, with many questions, particularly in Verbal section, repeated from the previous year papers.

Based on feedbacks received, many students have attempted between 100 & 135 questions. Given the ease with which students attempted the test, and the nature of the test; the cut-off for the test shall surely be higher than the last year.

Section / Ideal Time / Possible Attempts / Good Score / Sectional Cut-Off

Verbal Ability / 25 Minutes / 30 Attempts / 80+ (22 Correct) / 50+

Reading Compre. / 30/35 Minutes / 30 Attempts / 70+ (20 Correct) / 40+

Quant. Ability / 35/30 Minutes / 30 Attempts / 90+ (24 Correct) / 50+

DI-LR / 30/35 Minutes / 30 Attempts / 80+ (22 Correct) / 45+

Sectional Cut-Offs in case of FMS would really be low, since it is normally pegged at score corresponding to sectional 50%-ile. Sectional scores adding up to 320+, the expected overall cut-off can, in no case be higher than 350.

IIFT:

 

The IIFT 2010 question paper was quite as expected. The paper was lengthy but quite doable. The question paper had 135 questions divided into four sections. Each question had four options and the extent of the negative marking was 1/3rd of the marks allotted to the question. The break-up of the sections was under:

• Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation (35 marks) – 35 questions
• Quantitative Ability (30 marks) – 30 questions
• General Awareness (12 marks) – 30 questions
• English (23 marks) – 40 questions
•  Part–1 (10.5 marks) RC – 15 questions
•  Part–2 (12.5 marks) EU – 25 questions
• Total (100 marks) – 135 questions

Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation

 

The LRDI section was a mix of simple LR and difficult DI. The calculations involved in DI were very cumbersome. 35 minutes for the section would have been the ideal time, which would have allowed answering close to 20 questions comfortably. Given 70% accuracy, cut-off can be said to be 12+

 

Quantitative Ability

 

There were around 10 -12 doable questions in the QA section. Giving 30 minutes to the section, and attempting about 16 questions would be a fair estimate for an IIFT call. Going by 70% accuracy again, cut-off works out to 9+

 

General Awareness

 

Anything under the sun section was definitely tougher than that of IIFT 2009. The questions were from diverse topics. About 18 attempts in 15 minutes, with 50% accuracy should get a student 2.4+ marks.

 

English

 

The overall difficulty level of the English section was higher as compared to the previous year. In the RC sub-section, there were four passages. The first two passages were doable. Questions in passages 3 and 4 were vague and some of the questions were out of the scope of the passage.

 

In the EU sub-section, some questions were easy like the para-jumbles and grammar. One question based on analogy was vague. A smart student would have selectively picked the easier questions and left the difficult and vague ones.

 

With 40 minutes available for this section, student can go for more than 25 attempts in this section with about 8 in RC sub-section. Going by 60% accuracy, the cut-off score should work out to 8.4+ marks.

 

The overall cut-off for getting a call from IIFT Delhi should be around 32+ marks.

CAT-2010: 14th Nov. Slots & 15-Nov (Slot-1)

CAT-2010: 14-Nov. (Slot-1)

• ·        Comparatively easier slot
• ·         Ideally overall attempts of 46+ should place student in quite a competitive position, a safe bet would be 50+ for the top B-Schools
• ·         All three sections were easy to moderate, with a couple of tough questions in DI-LR and Quants sections.
• ·         In DI-LR section, though lengthy, one could have attempted up to 17 question by judicious selection of questions.
• ·         17 attempts in Quants too were quite feasible, while one could have attempted up to 18 questions in Verbal section.

CAT-2010: 14-Nov (Slot-2)

• ·         Slightly tougher slot than the other two in this post, but quite doable.
• ·         Papers now are maintaining consistency in types and number of questions of each type.
• ·         Also the difficulty level of various sections vis-à-vis slots is remarkably consistent.
• ·         Attempts up to 43+ should position a student well, while 46+ should place one in a strong position.

CAT-2010: 15-Nov. (Slot-1)

• ·         Relatively easier slot, with DI-LR continuing to be very lengthy. One could safely have attempted 15+ questions in this section.
• ·         Verbal section was moderate with all the variety of questions thrown in. Safe attempts would be 17+ in this section.
• ·         Quants section was moderate with a few tough questions and rest sitters. Some students have suggested that a question on functions was wrong. Safe attempts, given the few tough questions, should be 16+.
• ·         Overall attempts of 44+ can be considered good, with 48+ in the safe regime.

Note: Estimates are based on minimum 85% accuracy in Quants & DI-LR sections and Minimum 70% accuracy in Verbal Section.

CAT-2010: 9th Nov. (Slot-2) & 10th Nov. (Slot-1)

CAT-2010 once again changed its colors with DI-LR section back to being its usual easier and lengthy stuff. Many DI-LR sets were thrown in with a lot of irrelevant data, and direct questions based on a part of data with some calculation. A good dose of Analytical Reasoning questions, interspersed with a few data based questions. 16+ attempts highly feasible.


Quants section continued to be on the same line – a few tricks & traps with many sitters and some really good questions. If one exercises good judgement, and does not get into the tough ones, one can attempt up to 15 questions safely.

Verbal section has moved up a notch on difficulty level, with RCs with more inference based questions than direct ones. Safe number of attempts for the top B-Schools would be 17+.

CAT-2010: 8th & 9th November (Slot-1)

Trend continued on 8th and then on 9th – Difficult & Lengthy DI-LR Section, with easier quants section and moderately difficult verbal section.


In both these slots, verbal section wasn’t all that easy as was presented in previous slots – RCs were difficult to comprehend and questions largely inferential. Vocabulary based questions too demanded good deal of understanding and word power – as context was not sufficient to arrive at the answer. 17+ attempts in verbal would be safe bet. Quantitative section had many direct questions, thrown in with a few tricky ones. If a student has a good eye for questions, one can safely attempt up to 16 questions. LR-DI section was surely the toughest and lengthiest section – a few students have even stated the answer not being in option choices for a couple of questions. While 12+ attempts in this section should see a student scrap through sectional cut-off, overall attempts should be more than 47+.

While number of attempts shall always be subjected to accuracy to give you raw score, all the analysis on his site are based on assuming a fair accuracy of 80+% in Quantitative and DI-LR sections and 70+% in verbal section.

CAT-2010: 7th November (Slot-1)

Wishing you a very happy Diwali & a Successful year ahead!

After two days’ break, the CAT has resumed, with a surprise – Difficult + Lengthy DI-LR Section as compared to all the previous slots. While Verbal maintained consistency, Quants was slightly easier. Going by the reviews available, and response of students having taken the test in this slot, about 12+ attempts in DI-LR section, 15+ in Quants, and 17+ in Verbal should place a student competitively. While one should have attempted overall 46+ with fair accuracy for being a serious contender for the top B-Schools.