Know all the changes in CAT 2014 exam pattern and how to adapt your preparation

With an aim to make CAT 2014 exam more user friendly, IIM Indore and TCS have gone ahead and made some distinctive changes in the CAT 2014 exam pattern. Know how to adapt with these changes for your CAT 2014 exam preparation 

CAT 2014 exam pattern has undergone a lot of changes since last year including Exam dates, Registration process, results, exam pattern, CAT 2014 paper pattern, etc. With an aim to make CAT 2014 exam more user friendly, IIM Indore and TCS have gone ahead and made some distinctive changes in the CAT 2014 exam pattern.

This might be surprise news for many CAT 2014 aspirants who were busy preparing for their exams based on the pattern of last year as they now have to re-adapt themselves with the new and changed CAT 2014 exam pattern.

This article will provide you the detailed changes in CAT 2014 exam pattern and expert tips on how to cope up with these changes and align your CAT preparation schedule.

Important changes in CAT 2014 Exam Pattern

1. CAT 2014 exam duration has been increased to 170 minutes i.e. 2 hours and 50 minutes. Earlier the time limit was of 140 minutes. The CAT 2014 exam Syllabus will remain same though.

2. Candidates have been given the flexibility to switch between sections at any point of time during the examination.  Thus you have the option to devote less or more time in a particular section as per your choice.

3. The number of questions per section has been increased to 50 questions. Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation will consist of 50 questions and Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability will have 50 questions each. Earlier these sections had only 30 questions each.

4. This year in CAT 2014 exam, there will be no tutorial before start of examination. Candidates are advised to check and practice the tutorial from the official CAT 2014 website prior to testing date.

Impact of changes in CAT 2014 Exam Pattern

With so many changes in CAT 2014 exam pattern, aspirants have to make some amendments in their preparation schedule and style to achieve excellent percentile in CAT exam.  
• With the flexibility to switch from one section to other, aspirants must keep a check on their time spent on each question and section.

• Aspirant now has to attempt a total 100 question in 170 minutes while earlier it was 60 questions in 140 minutes. Thus the time per question has been reduced from 2.3 mins per question to 1.7 mins per question now.

• Increase in number of section question means greater representation of various smaller topics and different types of question. Thus, CAT 2014 aspirants now don’t have the liberty to leave any topic aside during their CAT preparation.

• With increase in exam time, candidates must adapt themselves to sit for 3 hours continuously while staring at the computer screen.

• With reduced Minute per question, candidates now need to be very choosy and sure as to which question to attempt and which to leave as attempting wrong or lengthy questions will kill their precious time.

• remember, sectional cut off is still prevalent for Admission to IIMs and other top B schools. Hence, candidates have to keep a check on their number of attempts in both the section. With an option of free movement between sections, chances of miscalculation and over-attempts are more.

How to adapt to New CAT 2014 Exam Pattern

Some suggestions for CAT 2014 aspirants to quickly adapt to the new changes in CAT 2014 exam pattern are:

1. Starting attempting mock test for 170 minutes with 50 questions in each section. Note the total time you spent on each question and section.

2. Follow a trial and error method to know the best possible strategy for your exam day. Since, now you have the option to switch section, hence decide which section you want to attempt first and in which order.

3. Analyze your results of every mock test to find out the best strategy which works for you.

4. Increase your accuracy and speed to attempt right question in less time to improve your sectional and overall scores.

5.  With increase in number of question, make sure you don’t leave out any topics without practice.

What do the CAT Expert suggests

CAT 2014 aspirants shouldn’t be afraid of the increase in length of the test.  The time is also increased and every candidate has sufficient time.  The best part is the facility to navigate and switch to and fro both the sections.  There could be questions in one or other section where candidates may consume less time vis a vis the question where more time is required to solve. So practically the new pattern will be beneficial to them. Level of difficulty may remain the same while composition of questions may change to some extent. Aspirants are advised to focus on all the topics and practice them more.

For Latest updates on CAT 2014 exam Registration, keep a check on the below link for LIVE Updates: CAT 2014 Exam Notification Details