11 Candidates Score 100 percentile in CAT 2018

As many as 11 candidates have scored a perfect 100 percentile in the Common Admission Test (CAT) with the results being declared on January 5, 2019.

More than 200,000 candidates had appeared for the computerised exam, mandatory for admission to various management programs of the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) held on November 25, 2018. The results and scores are available at iimcat.ac.in. Candidates can log in to the website to access their scorecard.

While IIM Bangalore and Calcutta are expected to have their first cut-off around 90 percentile score, IIM Ahmedabad is expected to keep the cut-off around 80 percentile. IIM Lucknow, Indore and Kozhikode are also expected to release cut-off near 90 percentile score.

Most of the other top institutes that accept CAT score, the expected cut-off is above 90 percentile score. The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi University is expected to keep it at 98 percentile. The Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad may have the cut-off at 90 percentile. Management Development Institute (MDI) is expected to keep it around 94 percentile score.

Of the total 2,09,405 candidates who appeared for the test, 1,36,075 male students succeeded in clearing the exam. However, only 73,326 female candidates met with success. Four students, who cleared the test, have identified themselves as transgender.

All the 11 candidates who scored 100 percentile were male with an educational background in engineering or technology. A total of 21 candidates scored an overall 99.99 percentile. Of them, 19 have an engineering or technology background.

Meanwhile, IIM Calcutta which conducted CAT 2018, announced on the official website that the objections raised by the candidates were not taken into consideration while announcing the final result.

“The objections received against questions in CAT 2018 were carefully examined by the expert panels. Those candidates who had raised objections will receive individual responses to their respective objections over their registered email ID. The answer key remains unchanged after careful examination of the various objections,” it said.

IIT Kanpur B Tech graduate Rounak Majumdar had topped CAT 2018 with a 100 percentile score. His overall score was 251.38 out of 300. Majumdar, 22, is a mechanical engineer working with a US-based international financial firm in Gurugram. Intending to pursue a career in finance, he listed his preferences for management studies at IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore or IIM Kolkata.

In Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section, he had scored 87.62 out of 102. In Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section, he managed to get 66.77 out of 96 and in Quantitative Ability, his score was 96.99 out of 102.

Majumdar said he started preparing for the CAT in August 2018. He took a series of mock tests at two coaching institutes every weekend. After every test, he analysed the mistakes made in the test.

Among the toppers, most of the students from Maharashtra, as many as seven students from the state have secured 100 percentile.  Candidates are from Maharashtra, and two from West Bengal, and one each from Karnataka and Bihar.

Meanwhile, Kaustubh Vyas, 21, who secured the second rank, has a piece of advice for CAT test takers. He said one should always aim for rank and not the percentile. When around 20 candidates score the same percentile, it will be the rank that matters. He began preparing only six months ahead of the exam. He intends to specialise in Finance at IIM Ahmedabad or Bangalore.

While taking the test, he laid emphasis on time management. Having spent 40 minutes on verbal and reading comprehension (VARC), he took another 20 minutes revising it. He also kept aside time to revise every section. For logical reasoning and data interpretation (LRDI) section, he picked up problems in a set of four questions and began speeding up. Finding the quant section to be lengthy, he did not waste time on difficult questions and instead tried to solve as many as he knew and at the end tried solving the questions which he did not attempt earlier.

Delhi-based twins Anubhav Garg and Abhishek Garg secured equal marks. They have both scored 99.99 percentile score for the second spot in the test.

Among the toppers, most of the students from Maharashtra, as many as seven students from the state have secured 100 percentile.  Candidates are from Maharashtra, and two from West Bengal, and one each from Karnataka and Bihar.

Meanwhile, 1990 candidates have been shortlisted for the interview round. Among them, approximately 43% are women and one transgender candidate. Admission to IIMs is decided on the basis of the cumulative score of CAT percentile and interview round.