Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
CAT preparation is all about striking the right balance between theory and practice. Within the given time duration of CAT exam preparation, you need to do both - cover CAT syllabus and practice CAT question banks/mock tests. If you are planning to appear for CAT 2025, Shiksha brings to you, top study tips by MBA expert. Check out how to prepare for CAT 2025 exam.
CAT is the most popular MBA entrance exam in India, taken by over two lakh aspirants every year. The number of CAT aspirants has increased to over 3 lakh in the last two years. It is the road to India's best B-schools, the IIMs. Naturally, it is also the toughest entrance exam to crack. So CAT 2025 aspirants must make such a preparation plan that encompasses all the aspects that contribute in scoring 99 percentile and above. CAT exam preparation requires six to eight hours of study on daily basis with revision of all the concepts and formulae regularly so that it remains fresh in memory till the exam day.
CAT 2025 preparation has entered it is last phase with only 2 months (October and November) left for the exam. Now is the time to start CAT mock test practice on daily basis and analysis of each mock to track progress. By the CAT 2025 exam day, i.e. November 30, 2025, candidates should be able to consistently score 99 percentile in mocks.
CAT is an aptitude test for assessing a candidate’s analytical, logical as well as verbal skills, all of which are essential for a successful career in business management. Thus to crack the CAT exam, one needs a sound preparation plan. In this article, you will read all about CAT preparation 2025. Also get section-wise prep tips and previous years' CAT question papers.
CAT preparation is a long term plan. One has to start preparing for it at least six to nine months in advance. Candidates who plan to prepare for CAT by self study must start even earlier (preferable from March 2025). Candidates who opt for coaching for CAT exam preparation will be guided well by the mentors and coaches. The coaching institute will also provide all the study material and CAT mock test series to candidates, while guiding them through tricky topics and questions. However, they will be required to attend classes of six to eight hours daily.
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Aspirants can also prepare for CAT 2025 by self-study. There are many CAT toppers, who have studied for the exam by self. Those who opt for self-study, must not worry about how to prepare for CAT 2025. All they need to do is, do the following:
CAT exam is held in online mode. The difficulty level of the question paper is usually moderate to difficult. The questions may be easy or tough, but what makes the difference is how well and fast you use your mind to solve them with 80-85 per cent accuracy.
Knowing CAT syllabus and pattern thoroughly is the first and foremost requirement. Being able to choose the right question, reading them quickly and accurately and solving them quickly and accurately, are the key areas you need to work upon during your CAT 2025 preparation. In the CAT exam, candidates have to take split-second decisions. To master this skill, you need to practice 40-50 CAT mock tests.
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Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section of CAT exam has two parts – Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension. For CAT 2025 preparation, you will need to have a separate strategy for both.
Verbal Ability questions of the CAT are mainly parajumbles, odd sentence out and para completion and sometimes, fill in the blanks. There are no grammar questions, thus one cannot rely on word power or English Grammar rules to help you sail through this section. Parajumbles are equally tricky as CAT RC passages, so the only way to crack CAT VARC is practice and more practice.
Reading Comprehension can be tackled by cultivating the habit of reading over time. Start fiction novel, newspapers and blogs. Target nothing less than a reading speed of about 300 words per minute depending on the level of the text. And read a lot. Choose topics that are out of your comfort zone.
| CAT Syllabus 2025: VARC |
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The weightage of Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) in a CAT exam almost the same as the other two sections of the paper. This section is moderately tough and time consuming.
The tricky part about CAT DILR is that it is not Mathematics and there is no formula. It is logic based and requires some amount of calculation and counting. Meaning, Reasoning is a skill to be acquired and not formulae to be memorised.
To prepare for CAT DILR, Mental calculation is the keY. To strengthen your hold on DILR, don’t use the calculator, rely on your brain. Master Tables from 1 to 20, knowledge of Fractions from 1/1, 1/2, 1/3 to 1/20, basic calculation, etc.
DILR section of CAT can be mastered with practice, the more you practice, the higher accuracy you will develop.
| CAT Syllabus 2025: DILR |
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The CAT Quantitative Aptitude section includes Arithmetic, Algebra, Advance Mathematics and Geometry; and makes up for the 1/3rd of the CAT question paper.
In this section, there is no other way of scoring but by being thorough with each and every chapter. Memorise fundamentals and theories. Attempt a variety of sample questions to tackle the QA section of CAT. This section may require heavy calculation. Rely on mental calculation as it will win against the calculator in time consumption.
| CAT Syllabus 2025: Quantitative Ability |
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Our advice to CAT 2025 aspirants is to practice, practice and practice more. The more you practice the better will be you speed and accuracy.
A key aspect of CAT exam preparation is solving sample questions and online mock tests. Candidates must make sure that they practice about 40-50 CAT mock tests during their preparation time. While the ideal time to start full-fledged CAT mocks is October, experts recommend that candidates solve topic-wise sample questions while studying them for better clarity of concepts. Listed below are some key points related to CAT mock test, read on.
Take free CAT Mock Test below to improve your speed and accuracy
| CAT_Mock_Test | CAT_Mock_Test_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
Download free PDFs of CAT questions for practice. The questions are clubbed as easy, medium and difficult for you to have a practice of all type of questions.
Along with sample papers and mock tests, candidates must also solve previous year CAT question papers of at least last five years. This will give them an idea of question paper pattern, difficulty level of questions, types of questions, topic-wise break-up of questions and marking scheme of the CAT. Candidates can download free PDFs of CAT question papers of previous years below.
17 Oct '25 - 18 Nov '25
1 Aug '25 - 20 Nov '25
30 Sep '25 - 20 Nov '25
19 Nov '25 - 20 Nov '25
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25
30 Sep '25 - 10 Dec '25
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25
21 Dec '25
31 Dec '25
We spoke to some of the CAT toppers to know how they prepared for the exam and what is their secret of scoring 100 percentile. Click on the links below to know their CAT preparation strategy:
| CAT Toppers |
CAT Topper Interviews |
|---|---|
| Vagish Nangia CAT 2024, 100 percentile |
“For an aptitude exam like CAT, one should focus on two things, speed and accuracy, both of which come with practice. Speed is important as the exam typically has 66-68 Questions to be attempted within 2 hours with sections like DILR and Quant in particular being fairly time-taking. Accuracy is also important as you need to avoid taking negative marks while looking to maximise your score as much as possible.” Read Vagish’s full interview |
| Mani Praneeth Chilukuri CAT 2024, 100 percentile |
“In terms of preparation, I started just a few weeks before the exam due to my job and other commitments. I prioritised understanding the exam format, syllabus, and structure through YouTube videos. I then solved a few previous years’ question papers to familiarize myself with the patterns.” Read Praneeth’s full interview |
| Vedant Chandewar CAT 2024, 99.98 percentile |
“I began my preparation in August 2024. Being good at mathematics, I found Quantitative Aptitude (QA) and Logical Reasoning (DILR) relatively easy to prepare for. I joined a coaching institute that provided daily practice questions for these sections, which I diligently solved.” Read Vedant’s full interview |
| Sarthak Jaiswal CAT 2024, 99.97 percentile |
“I personally think that for the DILR section, the mock tests do not really help because every question is unique and there is no set pattern. Only practice can help for the DILR section preparation. Attempting mock tests for this section will not harm the preparation but also not give an edge. For QA and VARC, mock tests are very important.” Read Sarthak’s full interview |
| Kartik Bhageria CAT 2023, 99.99 percentile |
"I began my CAT preparation around July 2023. Being an engineering student, I did not spend a lot of time learning new concepts in the Quant and DILR sections. I spent most of my time giving mocks to practice and try to increase my attempted questions with better accuracy in each attempt." Read Kartik's full interview |
| Riddhi Dugar CAT 2023, 99.91 percentile |
"My overall strategy was to finish the entire syllabus a few months before the CAT. From July, I focused entirely on taking mock tests and sectional tests to maximise my score and have a strategy for D-Day. I completed around 70 mocks from July until the CAT exam day." Read Riddhi's full interview |
Lastly, we recommend practice, practice and practice more. The more you practice questions from VARC, LRDI and QA the better control you'll have on the CAT question paper.
It is difficult but not impossible. If you give yourself a good enough time to improve English comprehension, grammar and vocabulary, you will be able to do it. Yes, a non- English medium student will require longer time for CAT preparation as they will have to start reading and improving English comprehension. So, may be they need to start English preparation for CAT in the second year of graduation, instead of final year (much earlier than English medium students). They may also need two attempts to crack CAT with high percentile. But that's not true for all. If you work hard and study smartly, you will be able to crack it.
CAT syllabus is vast. It has numerous topics from Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. Covering the CAT syllabus also includes practicing a variety of sample questions on the topics included. Thus, it requires a lot of time. Candidates must given themselves atleast 3-4 months to cover CAT syllabus and keep in mind the following:
· Check the previous years' CAT papers to know topics which carry more weightage so that you can focus on those topics more.
· List down topicsin order of easy, moderate and tough and allot time to them accordingly.
· Make sure to study about 6-8 hours per day to complete the syllabus 2-3 months before the exam.
· After studying every topic, practice sample questions. Balance theory with practical.
To prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, stick to the traditional path of concepts first and practice later. Study English grammar and Verbal Ability first to understand the concept. Then practice a number of sample questions of different kinds to gain confidence, speed and accuracy. For RC passages, develop the habit of reading from early stages. Read books from all walks of life.
Practicing sample Reading Comprehension passages and questions in a crucial part of VARC preparation. This will help you understand the types of questions and RC passages asked in various entrance exams.
As an aspirant, you will be appearing for more than one entrance exam, thus you need to have the practice of different types of RC passages.
CAT Quantitative Aptitude has the potential of 100 percentile if you prepare well. The Quantitative Aptitude topics of CAT are advance level Mathematic topics from Class 9 and 10. So, for any candidate, the foundation is already there, they only need to work on it further.
The important topics of CAT Quantitative Aptitude include Geometry, Ratios and Proportion, Inequalities, Trigonometry, In-equations, Quadratic and Linear Equations, Work and Time, Algebra, Surds and Indices, Percentages, Mensuration, Time-Speed-Distance, Logarithms, Partnership (Accounts), Number System, Square Root and Cube Root, Profit & Loss, Geometric Progression, Probability, Mean-Mode-Median, Binomial theorem, Simple interest and compound interest.
Maximum questions are asked from Arithmetic and Geometry so keep the main focus on these two topic. Understand and memorise the formulas and theorems well, and practice enough questions to be thorough with their application.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
At GIBS, they keep the entrance exam part really simple. For PGDM or MBA, they accept almost all the common exams like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT. Even state-level or institute-level scores are considered.
Honestly, GIBS doesn't stress too much about “only one specific exam.” As long as you
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At GIBS, the faculty-to-student ratio is around 1:15, which honestly makes learning a lot easier. Since the classes aren't overcrowded, the faculty actually get time to focus on each student.
You can easily ask your doubts, get personal guidance, and have open discussions. It feels more like a mentor
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Answered 3 days ago
The online application for GIBS Business School is very well-organized and student-friendly for its MBA, PGDM, and BBA programs.
Application Procedure Step 1: Access the Admissions Portal
Go to the official website of GIBS Business School, and click on "Apply Online", which can be found under the sect
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Answered 4 days ago
GIBS Business School considers the overall CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, and GMAT scores for the admission of candidates in the PGDM and MBA programs. Rather than using solely high cut-offs, the entrance test scores are used to judge the aptitude of a candidate in terms of analysis, quant, and verbal f
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GIBS Business School, Bangalore, has a strong and dynamic Placement Cell that helps in securing excellent career opportunities for the students. Every year, more than 260 reputed companies have visited the campus for recruitment, offering versatile jobs in sectors like BFSI, IT, consulting, manufact
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Getting into the MBA programme of NIT Trichy with a 300 SC CAT rank is somewhat uncertain. As the recent data sets suggest, NIT Trichy's CAT cutoff for SC category admission stands around 65th percentile. A 300 SC rank could be borderline depending on how many SC candidates apply and the quality of
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Candidates who did not appear for the CAT entrance exam can apply St. Xavier's College, Kolkata admissions as it is not a mandatory entrance exam. The candidates who wish to gain admissions into the MBA course of the institute have to appear for the Kolkata University entrance test for St. Xavier's
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PGCET and CAT serve distinct purposes. The PGCET is primarily conducted for MBA admissions in colleges in the state of Karnataka, specifically for government colleges and private universities with lower fees. CAT is a national level exam for top-ranking B-schools and colleges such as the IIMs that h
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That's a wonderful goal to push your son toward right at the start. To obtain previous CAT model papers, you can check many available popular exam preparation books in any bookstore or online store. Coaching interest such as TIME, IMS, Career Launcher, etc., usually have mock tests and sample papers
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Yes, you can get admission to Jaypee Business School (JBS), Noida for MBA even if you don't have CAT. JBS accepts scores from several other exams such as MAT, CMAT, XAT, GMAT, ATMA, and also CUET-PG. Just make sure you have a bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks, then apply with any of those va
Contributor-Level 9
Yes, CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of the candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion.