Dear readers,
In this article, we will look at the cutoffs for SBI PO 2015 exam at various stages and will help you set your targets for next year’s exam. This will benefit you in your preparation.
For banking aspirants across the country, the SBI PO exam offers some of the most attractive Banking sector jobs. In 2015, more than 20 lakh students applied and appeared for the SBI PO Prelims exam. Around 40,000 candidates were selected and appeared for the SBI PO 2015 Mains exam. SBI has recently released the final result for SBI PO 2015 Exam. In all, 2,393 vacancies for the position of Probationary officers were filled through this exam.
If you are planning to appear for SBI PO 2016 exam, you must be concerned about exam preparation, expected cutoffs and your targets for the exam. In this article, we will provide you a detailed analysis of the SBI PO 2015 Mains scorecard. This will help you to set your targets and prepare your strategy for your next attempt smartly. So, before analysing the scorecard, let us take a quick glance at the new pattern of the exam.
Pattern of exam: This year’s SBI PO exam was held in three different stages as follows:
Exam Marks allotted
Phase I – Preliminary 100
Phase II – Mains (Objective + Descriptive) 250
Phase III – Personality Assessment (GD + Interview) 50
Cutoffs at various stages of the exam:
Phase I – Preliminary
This years’ preliminary exam overall cutoffs & sectional cutoffs are as follows:
Overall cutoffs:
Category Total marks
(out of 100)
General 47.50
OBC 42.25
SC 37.25
ST 19.75
Sectional Cutoff:
Subject Total marks General OBC/SC/ST
cutoff cutoff
English Language 30 5.75 3.25
Quantitative Aptitude 35 5.75 3.50
Reasoning Ability 35 9.25 5.75
Our Target:
So in order to maximise your chances for final selection,
we can conclude that to be on the safe side ideally candidates should target around 48-50 marks for General category, 43-45 marks for OBC Category, 38-40 marks for SC category, 20-22 marks for ST category in SBI PO preliminary exam.
No. of attempts:
If we consider solving questions with 90 % accuracy, to be on the safe side candidates should attempt around 54+ questions for General category, 48+ questions for OBC category, 43+ questions for SC category, 23+ questions for ST category in SBI PO Preliminary exam. Achieving this target will improve your chances of selection for the Phase II of SBI PO exam.
Note: The marks obtained by candidates in the preliminary exam are for the purpose of eligibility for Mains exam only. These marks are not included in the final score.
2) Phase II & III – Mains (Objective + Descriptive) & Personality Assessment
Let us take the general idea of this year’s cutoffs in Phase II & III exam for different categories,
Category
(Objective) (Descriptive) (Out of 50) (Out of 100)
(Out of 200) (Out of 50)
General 80 20 20 58.93
OBC 70 17.5 18 52.33
SC 70 17.5 18 49.20
ST 60 17.5 18 34.78
Now, let’s calculate the ideal score and number of attempts for each category.
A) Cutoff analysis for General
The number of marks secured by candidate in Phase I (prelims) exam
Before analysing the cutoff, let’s sum up the actual pattern and structure of
Mains (Objective) : 200 marks
Mains (Descriptive) : 50 marks
GD + Interview : 50 marks
Total marks (out of
Here, final marks are counted by counting Phase II (Objective + Descriptive) + Phase III (GD + Interview)
The breakup for the final 100 marks goes as
Mains (Objective + Descriptive) + GD & Interview = 75 + 25 = 100
Let’s assume that the average marks secured by the selected candidates in GD + Interview (out of
After normalising, this would mean that a
So, to get exact marks secured only in Mains (Objective + Descriptive) exam,
58.93 – 15 = 43.93 marks (out of 75 marks)
Now, 43.93 x 250/75 = 146.43 marks
Thus, the
Now, as we know Phase II = Objective (200 marks) + Descriptive (50 marks)
Let’s assume marks secured by the selected candidates in Descriptive section of Phase II (Out of 50) on average = 30 marks
So, the number of marks secured by the selected candidates in the Objective section of Phase II on average = 146.43 – 30 = 116.43
Our Target:
So, we can conclude that ideally candidates should target around 115-120 marks out of 200 marks in the Objective section of Phase II of SBI PO exam in order to maximise their chances of final selection.
No. of attempts:
If we consider solving questions with 90 % accuracy, you should attempt around 135+ questions out of 200 in
B) Cutoff analysis for OBC Category :
Total marks (out of 100) : 52.33
Ideal marks to be secured in GD + Interview (out of 50) : 26 marks
After Normalising : 13 marks (out of 25)
In Mains (Objective + Descriptive) : (52.33 – 13) = 39.33 (Out of 75)
Now, 39.33 x 250/75 = 131.1 marks
So, candidates must secure around 131.1 marks out of 250 marks.
Ideal marks to be secured in Descriptive section of Phase II (Out of
Ideal marks to be secured in the Objective section of Phase II = 131.1 – 26 = 105.1
Our
No. of attempts (With around 90%
C) Cutoff analysis for SC
Total marks (out of
Ideal marks to be secured in GD + Interview (out of
After
In Mains (Objective + Descriptive) : (49.20 – 12) = 37.20 (Out of 75)
Now, 37.20 x 250/75 = 124 marks
Ideal marks to be secured in Descriptive section of Phase II (Out of 50) : 22 marks
Ideal marks to be secured in the Objective section of Phase II = 124 – 22 = 102
Our
No. of attempts (With around 90% accuracy): Around 115-120+ questions
D) Cutoff analysis for ST
Total marks (out of 100) : 34.78
Ideal marks to be secured in GD + Interview (out of
After
In Mains (Objective + Descriptive) : (34.78 – 12) = 22.78 (Out of 75)
Now, 22.78 x 250/75 = 75.93 marks
So, candidates must secure around 75.93 marks out of 250 marks.
Ideal marks to be secured in Descriptive section of Phase II (Out of
Ideal marks to be secured in the Objective section of Phase II = 75.93 – 22 = 53.93
Our
No. of attempts (With around 90%
So, all the calculated ideal scores and number of attempts in Phase II Objective exam are as follows,
Category Target Score No. of attempts to be targeted
(out of 200 marks) (out of 200 questions)
General 115-120 135+
OBC 105-110 125 – 127+
SC 102-107 115-120+
ST 55-60 65 – 70+
You should carefully consider the target score and expected number of attempts as you prepare for next year’s SBI PO examination. This will help you make a proper plan and prepare an appropriate
You can check your progress from time to time by appearing for various mock tests for SBI PO Mains (Objective) exam. Mock tests will help you test you preparation, identify your strengths and weaknesses & fine-tune your time management strategy before the actual exam.
Best of Luck!!!