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The CAT marking scheme must be understood by the candidates who are considering appearing for the CAT 2024 examination. The CAT marking scheme clarifies how the marks are distributed across all the different sections. It also becomes important to get to know the CAT marking scheme as the CAT exam also has the provision of negative marking. Through this article, get the latest CAT marking scheme, exam pattern, total marks, and percentile needed.
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The CAT exam pattern consists of a total of 66 questions. Each question carries 3 marks. The time duration of the CAT exam is 120 minutes. 40 minutes are assigned for attempting each section of the CAT exam. For PwD candidates, 53 minutes and 23 seconds will be allotted. This year, the exam conducting authority conducts the CAT 2024 on November 24, 2024. The CAT exam pattern with the CAT marking scheme is presented in the table below.
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
CAT Exam duration | 120 minutes |
CAT Exam sections | Three (3 Sections)
|
Total number of questions in the CAT exam | 66 |
Total marks in the CAT exam | 198 |
Mode of the CAT exam | Online. Computer Based Test (CBT) |
CAT Marking scheme | Each question carries 3 marks.
|
The CAT exam has negative markings. It makes it very important for the candidates to wisely answer the questions to the best of their ability and knowledge. The negative marking in the CAT marking scheme involves deducting one mark for every wrong answer marked by the candidate. The negative marking can significantly reduce the marks and percentile of a candidate, therefore it is important to attempt not many questions with guesswork.
The total marks according to the CAT marking scheme are 198. These are calculated based on the total number of questions (66) and the marks carried by each question (3). The CAT score obtained by a candidate is out of the total marks for the CAT examination. It is also the maximum mark a candidate can score. The CAT percentile is also based on the marks obtained by the candidate out of the total CAT marks.
For different marks obtained by a candidate in the CAT exam, there will be different CAT percentiles. The selection of candidates is done based on the CAT percentile. Therefore it is necessary to know for what range of marks a certain percentile can be achieved by the candidate. The marks needed by a candidate for different ranges of CAT percentile are given in the table below which indicates all the details pertaining to CAT score vs percentile.
CAT percentile | Score VARC | Score DILR | Score QA | CAT Total Marks |
99.5 | 42 | 30 | 30 | 86 |
99 | 36 | 25 | 25 | 74 |
95 | 30 | 20 | 22 | 52 |
90 | 24 | 14 | 13 | 42 |
80 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 35 |
70 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 30 |
In the CAT exam, each question carries 3 marks. There are a total of 66 questions across all the sections of the CAT exam. For every question that is marked correctly, 3 marks will be assigned. For every question that is marked wrong, 1 mark will be deducted from the total marks obtained by the candidate.
Yes, CAT has a negative marking according to the CAT marking scheme implemented by the exam conducting body. The total marks obtained by the candidate will see a deduction of the number of questions marked wrongly amounting to -1 mark for every wrong answer.
As per the previous year's cutoff the CAT cutoff for General category candidates at IIM Ahmedabad was 99.68, for OBC candidates 97.71, for SC candidates 78.95, for ST candidates 72.79, and EWS candidates 97.71. This year too the cutoff can be expected to stay higher.
The CAT exam has maths as an important subject for evaluating candidates. The CAT exam has one section of Quantitative ability entirely dedicated to maths. It also has data analysis as a crucial component. The quantitative aptitude has a total of 22 questions.
This year CAT paper will be set by IIM Calcutta as it is the conducting body.
Many colleges accept low CAT scores or have their own exams. Some examples:
Lovely Professional University (LPU)
Amity University
UPES Dehradun
Jaipuria Institute of Management
ITM Navi Mumbai
These often have GD/PI rounds after application.
Hello Devansh, With your VITEEE rank close to 42,000, it is very much possible for you to get CSE in VIT Vellore (CAT 1 or CAT 2) and possible for VIT AP contingent on the opening ranks for that year. CSE in VIT Vellore is very competitive, especially CAT 1, so it is more realistic to get a stream instead. VIT AP is growing, with areas of opportunity and growing, and better infrastructure than what was in the beginning. If you get CSE there as I indicated, the same thought process indicates that it is worth consideration.
Many students say to avoid VIT Bhopal due to it being new (less facilities) and less industry connections. It also does not compare, facility-wise and industry-wise, to VIT Vellore and VIT AP. However, getting CSE is most important and if everything else fails, braking VIT Bhopal is possible. My suggestion would be VIT Vellore (CAT 1 or CAT 2) if you got to sit for CSE or relevant stream. Otherwise, VIT AP is a strong second option. Avoid VIT Bhopal if you have better options.
Best of luck!
With a 60 percentile in CAT, your son may have limited options for top-tier MBA programs, but there are still several good colleges offering residential MBA programs. Some institutes that may accept this percentile range include UPES Dehradun, IBS Hyderabad, Woxsen University, ITM Business School, and Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management. These colleges may offer opportunities with a focus on industry-oriented learning. It’s also worth exploring state universities and institutions that accept other entrance exams like MAT or XAT.
With a rank of 33,000 in the VITEEE 2025 exam:
You can get:
VIT-AP (Amaravati) – Category 1 or 2 for most branches including CSE (except CSE specializations might need Cat 2).
VIT-Bhopal – Easily Category 1 for all branches including CSE and its specializations.
Both campuses have relatively lower cutoffs than VIT Vellore or Chennai, so 33,000 rank is considered good for AP or Bhopal campus.
VIT Bhopal – CSE (Cat 1): Lower fees, good for programming, but newer campus and fewer top-tier companies.
VIT Chennai – ECE (Cat 2): Better campus, more industry exposure, but higher fees and slightly lower average packages for ECE.
Verdict: If you prefer CSE and lower fees, go for VIT Bhopal. If you value campus reputation and industry exposure, choose VIT Chennai ECE.
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