CAT Score Calculator: Understanding Its Calculation and Why It Matters
It is India’s gateway to the prestigious IIMs and a host of other top-notch B-schools: Common Admission Test, or CAT, as it is popularly known. Scoring will be one of the crucial aspects of this exam concerning the prospects of a candidate being able to secure admission into a top-tier MBA program. The CAT score calculator while deriving the scores is essential for every aspirant aiming for excellence.
CAT Percentile Calculator
How CAT Score is Calculated
The components of CAT include verbal ability and reading comprehension (VARC), data interpretation and logical reasoning (DILR), and quantitative ability (QA). These three sections are equally weighted for the total score and use a structured formula for CAT score calculation. To understand this in context of effective CAT online coaching, let’s break it down.
There is a marking scheme in which a correct answer holds three marks; however, each wrong answer deducts one mark from the total score; unattempted questions are not counted. The total raw aggregate of CAT scores is that from the three sections.
CAT Raw Score Calculator
A CAT raw score calculator helps to determine the first scores before scaling you can also use our CAT percentile predictor tool to evaluate where you stand. A raw score is calculated according to:
Raw Score = (Number of Correct Answers × 3) – (Number of Incorrect Answers × 1)
If, for example, a candidate attempted 75 questions but only got 60 correct and 15 incorrect, the calculation would be as follows:
Raw Score = (60 × 3) – (15 × 1) = 180 – 15 = 165
This raw score is subjected to a complex scaling process to be equal and similar between the different slots.
How the CAT Scaled Score is Calculated?
The CAT is administered in numerous slots, making room for varying difficulties that the CAT authorities cater for in the normalisation of scores by application of a statistical algorithm. This normalisation process is done using a standard formula that equates the different slots for the difficulty level, leading to a CAT-scaled score calculator, on which the final adjustment of raw scores is based. The scaled score is calculated for each section independently, ensuring that the final composite score is an unbiased and fair measure of the candidate’s performance.
What is Composite Score Calculation in CAT?
The composite score is the score through which IIMs will shortlist candidates and is computed based on various factors such as the scaled score, sectional percentiles, academic background, work experience, and diversity factors, having variant weightage across different IIMs.
The general formula used for the calculation of the composite score is:
Composite Score = (Scaled CAT Score × Weightage) + (Academic Performance Score × Weightage) + (Work Experience Score × Weightage) + (Diversity Factor × Weightage)
The weightage of components is predetermined by a particular institution. It plays an important role in the final selection process.
Formula for Calculating CAT Score and Process for Normalisation
The main formula derives from statistical normalisation techniques for the CAT score calculations. The following formula gives the candidate’s percentile rank:
Percentile Rank = [(Total Candidates Appeared – Rank of Candidate) / Total Candidates Appeared] x 100
For example, the percentile for a candidate ranked 1,000 out of a test population of 200,000 would be calculated as:
Percentile = [(200,000 – 1,000) / 200,000] * 100 = 99.5 percentile
This score is fundamental to positioning a candidate within the confines of peers.
Table Representation of CAT Score Calculation
|
Section |
Correct Answers |
Incorrect Answers |
Raw Score |
Scaled Score (Approx.) |
|
VARC |
20 |
5 |
55 |
58 |
|
DILR |
15 |
7 |
38 |
40 |
|
QA |
22 |
3 |
63 |
65 |
|
Total |
57 |
15 |
156 |
163 |
This table describes how an approximately raw score can be converted to a scaled score normalisation.
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Importance of CAT Score Calculator
A CAT score calculator helps estimate the likely percentile and shortlisting possibilities at diverse B-schools. There are lots of aspirants who visit several CAT score calculator sites to assess their performances with the help of mock tests, they can predict their admission chances to prestigious institutes.
Since IIMs and other elite business schools also look at sectional and overall percentiles, CAT composite score calculators would help them set realistic expectations and an accordingly strategised preparation plan.
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Conclusion
Each aspirant needs to understand the calculation of a CAT score. It involves raw score, scaling, normalisation, and percentile calculation. The fairness of evaluation is maintained in terms of various exam slots by the calculated scaled scores in CAT, where the final selection process is based on composite scores. Hence a CAT score calculator, when used effectively, provides a bright insight into what aspirants could expect, enabling them to design strategies to strengthen possibilities for attaining spots in their dream B-school. Not sure where to begin? Book a free counseling session for CAT with our 100 percentilers today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to calculate score in CAT?
The CAT exam score calculation depends on the marking scheme. The exam consists of three sections: VARC-Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, DILR-Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning, and QA-Quantitative Ability. Each correct answer is awarded 3 marks, while 1 mark is deducted for each incorrectly answered question in the MCQ format. Non-MCQ questions do not carry any negative marking. The total score is computed by summing the scores of the three sections. The raw score is subjected to further scaling via a normalisation process that accounts for variability in difficulty levels of an exam on different slots.
Is 70 a good score in CAT?
A score of 70 in the CAT is not too high, considering the highly competitive nature of the exam. A score of 70 may be below the 70th percentile, depending on how hard the actual examination was that given year, it is difficult to enter the best business schools. Some private, or maybe less reputed but still decent, MBA colleges would accept candidates with this score.
How much is 80 marks in CAT?
For 80 marks, the actual percentile depends on the difficulty of the examination and the performance of other test-takers. By and large, 80 marks should give a percentile between 80-90, but these figures develop. The above percentile could help secure admission to good MBA colleges, but for the top IIMs, this score is too low.
How much is 31 marks in CAT percentile?
Scoring a 31 would be on the lower side in the CAT; it places the candidate roughly in the 40-50 percentile range, depending on that year’s score distribution. Such a percentile does not place the candidate in contention for IIMs, but a few lesser-known business schools might consider it.
Can I get IIM with 75 percentile?
With a 75 percentile in CAT, a top IIM cannot be made, as the cutoff generally is for a 98+ percentile. New or baby IIMs could accommodate candidates with a 75 percentile, especially if they have decent academic credentials, and work experience, or fall under defined reserved categories.
What percentile is 40 marks in CAT?
For a CAT score of 40, the estimated percentile would be low somewhere around 50-60. The exact percentile for this would depend on the difficulty level of the paper and the competition in that particular year. Such a percentile is bound to constrain your admission opportunities to a handful of private B-schools.
Can I get IIM at 80 percentile?
80 percentile in CAT may not get you admitted to the top IIMs, but a newer IIM, such as IIM Bodh Gaya or IIM Jammu, can consider candidates with a good profile. Noted business schools TAPMI, KJ Somaiya, or GIM may also see applications from candidates with this percentile.
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