Many students ask me until which year they should attempt Previous Year Questions (PYQs) for the CAT exam. To clarify, let’s review a bit of history. Earlier, IIMs publicly shared official question papers until 2008. From 2009 to 2016, they did not officially disclose the question papers, so the papers available from this period are memory-based and likely unreliable It’s hard to believe that anyone’s memory could accurately recall every passage, question, and option with precision. Thus, it’s best to avoid these papers.
Even if these were official papers, their relevance has diminished over time
The CAT exam has evolved, and its current format (2 hours with 3 sections, each lasting 40 minutes) has been in place since 2020. So the best thing to do is to practice PYQs from 2017 to 2023. Among these, papers from CAT 2020 onwards are the most relevant given the current format.
Another important point to note is that from 2017 onwards
IIMs have been publishing not only official question papers but also official answer keys, greatly enhancing transparency. Before this, students relied heavily on coaching institutes to understand the exam pattern and question types. However, this reliance has decreased over the past seven years, as a wealth of official PYQs is now available for students to analyze and understand the exam on their own.
Consequently, large coaching institutes are losing their dominance. Boutique, specialized coaching classes are gaining traction due to their agility in adapting content and teaching methods to the changing patterns of the CAT exam. Students now have the flexibility to seek coaching specifically in their weaker areas. For example, many Engineering and IT professionals excel in QA and DILR but struggle with the VARC section, preventing them from realizing their full potential. Large coaching institutes often neglect VARC, and the few available canned courses (such as VARC XXXX) are not effective for these aspirants as these courses totally lack personalized guidance and mentoring.
Recognizing this gap
I focus on providing high-quality, specialized coaching for VARC. If you’re looking to enhance your VARC skills in the remaining months leading up to CAT 2024, feel free to reach out. Many of my students from previous years are now attending some of the best B-schools in India. I’d be happy to discuss how my course can help you achieve your goals.