Introduction
When you are preparing to get admission in top B-schools, be it in India or any foreign country, you will come across this question, whether GMAT is easier than CAT or not. The answer to this question would be given by this blog.
GMAT Vs CAT: Overview
While both the exams are conducted to select the students for top B schools but yet there are many differences in both the exams. GMAT is an internationally accepted test that allows your admission to b-schools abroad whereas CAT helps you to get admission in IIMs and B-schools in India.
| Differences | GMAT | CAT |
| Full Form | Graduate Management Admission test | Common Admission Test |
| Conducting authority | Graduate Management Admission Council | Indian Institutes of Management |
| Type of exam | Online and offline | Online |
| Minimum Educational Qualification | No specific educational qualification. | Candidates must complete their Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university. |
| Sections | Data Insights Verbal Reasoning Quantitative Reasoning | Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning Quantitative Ability |
| Age Limit | Minimum age: 18 years 13-17 years applicants need parental consent | No lower or upper age limit |
| Age Limit | Minimum age: 18 years 13-17 years applicants need parental consent | No lower or upper age limit |
| No. of Questions | 64 | 66 |
| Maximum Marks | 805 | 198 |
| Frequency | Multiple times in a year | Once annually |
| Duration of Test | 2 hours 15 minutes | 2 hours |
| Adaptiveness | Question-Adaptive | Non-adaptive |
| Number of Attempts | Maximum 8 attempts overall 5 attempts in a single academic year with 15 days gap between attempts. | No limit on attempts |
| Negative Marking | Not present | Present |
| Marking Scheme | 60-90 with one point increment for every section | +3 marks for each correct answer -1 mark for each incorrect response |
| Application Fee |
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| Score Format | Absolute score (out of 800) and percentile | Only percentile |
| Score Validity | 5 years (global) | 1 year (India only) |
| Acceptance | Accepted globally for B-school admissions | Accepted only for B-school admissions within India |
GMAT Vs CAT: Syllabus and Pattern
GMAT Syllabus and Pattern 2024
| Sections | Time | Number of Question | Topics |
| Quantitative reasoning | 21 | 45 |
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Verbal Reasoning | 23 | 45 |
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| Data Insights | 20 | 45 |
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CAT Syllabus and Pattern 2024
| Sections | Time | Number of Questions | Topics |
| Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension | 40 minutes | 24 | Reading comprehension passage based questions, para completions parajumbles, para-summary, Odd- Sentences, Jumbled paragraph, Vocabulary-based (Synonyms/Antonyms), Verbal reasoning, Facts- Inferences- Judgements, English usage or grammar, Summary questions, Reading comprehension, Fill in the blanks, Meaning- Usage match, Analogies or Reverse analogies, Cloze Passage, Sentence Correction. |
| Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning | 40 minutes | 20 | Logical Reasoning Routes and networks, Scheduling and allocation, Grids , Arrangements, Word puzzles, Math puzzles, Games and tournaments, Coding decoding Data Interpretation Bar graphs, Tables, Venn diagrams, Line graphs, Pie charts, Scatter plots, Gnatt charts, Radar charts |
| Quantitative Aptitude | 40 minutes | 22 | Averages, Ratio, Percentages, Linear equations, Quadratic equations, Polynomials, 2D, 3D, Coordinate geometry, LCM/HCF, Divisibility, Remainders, Factorials, Base systems, Logarithms, PnC, Probability, Set theory, Progressions |
Is GMAT easier than CAT?
Now comes the most important question whether GMAT is easier than CAT. It is generally believed that CAT is a tougher exam due to its marking scheme as well as question paper. While both the exams has good difficulty level, following are the reasons that make us believe that CAT is tougher:-
- The first challenge in the CAT exam is dynamic syllabus. The syllabus for GMAT remains well defined and openly published, while CAT syllabus is not stated officially.
- CAT is conducted once every year while GMAT is conducted many times.
- There is no negative marking in the GMAT exam while 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer in CAT.
- For the CAT exam, the most challenging section is data interpretation and logical reasoning, while the DI section of the GMAT exam is considerably easier.
- Additionally, the quantitative reasoning section of the GMAT tends to be moderately simpler than the QA section of the CAT question paper. However, candidates find the VR section of GMAT challenging as compared to the VARC section of CAT.
- The GMAT exam offers flexibility, with the difficulty level of subsequent questions adapting based on candidates’ responses to preceding questions. Consequently, the GMAT can be viewed as a test of adaptability, which constantly adjusts according to the candidate’s knowledge and skills.
Which one is better? GMAT or CAT
You might be wondering, what exam should I prepare for? The answer depends on your goals and needs. Following are the indicators:-
- On the basis of difficulty– If you want to choose the exam which is less difficult, then you can probably opt for the GMAT exam.
- On the basis of your goal– If you desire to get admission in top B Schools around the world, then you should probably attempt the GMAT exam because GMAT scores will decide your entry to B schools abroad. But if you want to study from top MBA colleges in India say IIMs then you can simply give CAT exams.
- On the basis of acceptance– GMAT has a global acceptance in all the top MBA colleges around the world. While CAT allows admission in Indian colleges only, but many colleges abroad ask for your CAT scores as well.
Conclusion
After reading complete information about GMAT and CAT- What have you decided? It is better to give both the exams if you wish to study abroad. But if you want to opt for one, then choose it according to your needs and aspirations. Gateway International is here to help you with all the exam resources, updates, list of top MBA colleges and moral guidance.
FAQs
Is GMAT score accepted in IIM?
However, IIMs require a high GMAT score for the admission process. The average GMAT score accepted by IIMs is 715 or above. Prominent IIMs such as IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, and IIM Ahmedabad typically require GMAT scores exceeding 700 for their one-year PGPX program.
Is getting 720 in GMAT easy?
Undoubtedly, getting 710+ on the GMAT has become more competitive. Getting 720 implies a ranking of 94 percentile, meaning that 6% of the test-takers performed better than you. Having said that, it can be seen vividly that it is difficult but not entirely unachievable.
Are GMAT and CAT syllabus the same?
The syllabus of the CAT and GMAT are not entirely different. However, the difficulty of the Quant section of the GMAT is far lesser than that of the CAT exam.
