Engineers Dominate CAT 2021 - 7 In Top 9 Ranks; Is CAT Easy For Engineers?

There are numerous questions and assumptions surrounding Common Aptitude Test (CAT). These questions have flummoxed the MBA community for ages, the top in the ladder being - IS CAT EASY FOR ENGINEERS?

CAT is conducted each year for admission into top IIMs and other premier management institutes of India. Lakhs of students and working professionals prepare for the exam and burn the midnight oil to get admitted into the dream colleges.

Each year, the exam preparation and results have shown different patterns. But the constant raging trend over the years has been the influx of engineering students in management institutions and constant high performance in CAT.

Also read: "I Scored 99.97 Percentile In CAT, Yet I Can't Get A Seat In IIM ABC"; Why Does This Happen? Is It Unjust?

This performance has developed a perception that CAT is easy for engineers among the common masses. But is it so? If yes, then why so? If no, then why not?

The examination of CAT comprises of three sections-

• Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
• Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation (LRDI)
• Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

The quantitative nature of two exam sections, i.e., LRDI and QA, has led students, working professionals, and the teaching community to believe that preparing for CAT is easier for engineers.

The perception is true to a large extent. Considering the QA section, the basic preparation involves traversing the path of 8th to 10th-grade math. At the same time, the science stream students are in a constant connection with Math. Although the syllabus contours change broadly for these students, the spirited connection with mathematical concepts during 2 years of schooling and 4 years of graduation keeps them abreast with the concepts they had studied years ago. So, it becomes easier for these engineers to prepare for CAT.

While they are on an equal footing as any other non-engineer, be it a CA, commerce, BBA, B.Com., or BA graduate, they stay ahead on the road from many of their peers in quants preparation. But this does not imply that CAT is difficult for non-engineers, and they cannot make up the lost ground to engineers.

As the old proverb goes, "Practice makes Perfect." So is the reality. The non-engineers can just need to practice and prepare a little hard for one exam section. By doing this, they can too achieve miracles. Even if someone does not readily believe this fact, there have been multiple students who have time and again proved that non-engineers also possess the grit to crack the exam.

Leveling the playing field

Coming back to the question, i.e., the straightforward nature of CAT for engineers.

Many luminaries have repeatedly pointed out that CAT is not all about Math. It consists of two others sections too. The candidates who appear for CAT start from a similar start line. The concepts covered in these subjects need no prior information. So, no bias is presented by the exam in terms of familiarity to both categories of students.

Many of us would have concluded that engineers have the upper hand at CAT by this far. But the picture is not sunny as it seems so.

CAT is not the end of the road for getting into B-Schools. The colleges administration is well aware that many of the top-performing candidates in CAT are from an engineering background. So they award diversity points to the students to ensure diverse backgrounds. 

Many students worry about this question over and over that they should not prepare for CAT because they are not from an engineering background. Thinking this, they get deterred at the very onset of their CAT journey. But that should not be the case. Students must acknowledge these facts:

• Some engineers will show phenomenal performance in CAT, but at the same time, many of them will not
• Some of the non-engineering students themselves may get lower percentile even after putting all their efforts
• Non-engineers are in no way in a disadvantageous position in CAT

In the long journey of reaching the IIMs or premiere MBA colleges, students of all backgrounds stand an equal chance.

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