Are you Ready for CAT 2025? Start Your Preparation Now

Result - To be notified

Senior Manager - Content

Updated on Feb 17, 2025 16:32 IST

CAT 2024 exam will be held on November 30, 2025 and if you start exam preparation from now, you will have ample time cover its vast syllabus and practice a good number of mock tests. Many candidates would have already enrolled for CAT 2025 coaching classes. So, decide now and start your CAT 2024 preparation.

CAT 2025 exam preparation will require long terms planning and a good number of months. If you plan to appear for the CAT exam 2025, you should start preparation by March 2025. Check here key CAT preparation strategies for VARC, QA and DILR.

Common Admission Test or CAT, the gateway to IIMs and all other top MBA entrance exams in India is not easy to crack. The difficulty level is high and competition is tough. Over 3 lakh MBA aspirants appear for the CAT every year, but a very small number of them score 99.99 plus percentile, the ideal score to bag a seat at the top IIMs. Understandably, one needs to prepare hard and smart. Most importantly, one needs to start CAT preparation early. A minimum of nine months are required to prepare for the CAT exam.

Explore colleges based on CAT

IIM Ahmedabad - Indian Institute of Management institute image

Ahmedabad

#1 NIRF

Courses Offered3 courses4.6

Total Fees₹12.00 L

IIM Bangalore - Indian Institute of Management institute image

Bangalore

#2 NIRF

Courses Offered4 courses4.8

Total Fees₹20.00 L

IIM Kozhikode - Indian Institute of Management institute image

Kozhikode

#3 NIRF

Courses Offered4 courses4.4

Total Fees₹14.00 L

Symbiosis Skills and Professional University institute image

Pune

Courses Offered1 course

Total Fees₹9.50 L

Want better recommendations?

There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.

+ Add preferences

Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi institute image

Delhi

#4 NIRF

Courses Offered2 courses4.5

Total Fees₹12.00 L

Symbiosis University of Applied Sciences institute image

Indore

Courses Offered3 courses4.4

Total Fees₹12.50 L

IIM Lucknow - Indian Institute of Management institute image

Lucknow

#5 NIRF

Courses Offered1 course4.6

Total Fees₹12.60 L

Indian Institute of Management Mumbai institute image

Mumbai

#6 NIRF

Courses Offered3 courses4.6

Total Fees₹14.00 L

Shri Vishwakarma Skill University institute image

Gurgaon

Courses Offered2 courses3.6

Total Fees₹86.00 K

IIM Calcutta - Indian Institute of Management institute image

Kolkata

#7 NIRF

Courses Offered1 course4.3

Total Fees₹27.00 L

Confused about which college or exam to opt for? assitentRcpRhsImage

Chat with our counselor
Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences

View allCollections

If you are planning to appear in the CAT 2025, you need to start your preparation now. The CAT 2025 exam will be held on November 30, 2025 and if you start exam preparation from now, you will have ample time cover its vast syllabus and practice a good number of mock tests. Many candidates would have already enrolled for CAT 2025 coaching classes. So, decide now and start your CAT 2025 preparation.

Q: When is the correct time to appear for CAT exam?

The pre-final/final year is a good time to appear for CAT. Pre-final year because by the time you will graduate, you will get the confirmation on your admission. If you are unable to clear the exam in the pre-final then you can attempt again in the final year and as you already have taken it once, you have a good chance to score good marks. If you are not able to make in these two attempts then attempt CAT after gaining the work experience of 1-2 years.

Q: Which IIM will conduct CAT 2025?

CAT exam is conducted by any one of the top 6 Indian Institute of Management on rotation basis. Each of the top IIM conducts the exam after a gap of five years. The responsibility to conduct the CAT 2024 was given to IIM Calcutta. For CAT 2025, IIM Kozhikode will be the exam convening institute. IIM Kozhikode will be responsible for preparation and conduct of the exam without glitches, in collaboration with TCS for test labs and centres. The institute will design the question papers, exam pattern and guidelines, as well as manage the conduct of exam and preparation of admit card, answer key and result. CAT Conducting Indian Institute of Management Over the Years:

2024: IIM Calcutta

2023: IIM Lucknow

· 2022: IIM Bangalore

· 2021: IIM Ahmedabad

· 2020: IIM Indore

· 2019: IIM Kozhikode

· 2018: IIM Calcutta

· 2017: IIM Lucknow

· 2016: IIM Bangalore

· 2015: IIM Ahmedabad

· 2014: IIM Indore

· 2013: IIM Indore

· 2012: IIM Kozhikode

· 2011: IIM Calcutta

· 2010: IIM Lucknow

· 2009: IIM Ahmedabad

Q: What are the CAT exam slot timings?

CAT exam is held in three slots for the past three years. Earlier it used to be held in two slots of three hours each, but since 2020 it is held in three slots of two hours each. The three slots are conducted between 8 am to 4 pm. The first slot is held from 8:30 am to 10:30 am, the second slot is held from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm and the third slot is held from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm. In these three slots, about 2.22 Lacs candidates are accommodated at over 400 test centres in about 150 plus cities across India. The exam slots are allotted to candidates by the examination authorities as per the receipt of applications and candidates cannot request for change of examination slot. They have to give the test in the slot mentioned on the admit card.

Table of contents

CAT Syllabus 2025
CAT Sectional Break Up
How to Prepare for CAT 2025: Section wise Tips
CAT Mock Test for Practice

CAT Syllabus 2025

Before starting CAT 2025 exam preparation, know the CAT syllabus and topics included. CAT syllabus includes Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension.

CAT Section	Syllabus and Topics
Quantitative Aptitude	Geometry, Algebra, Arithmetic, Mensuration, Trigonometry, Modern Math and their sub topics
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning	Data Structure, Data Sufficiency, Tables, Pie Charts, Graphs, Series, Coding-Decoding, Family Tree, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Assumptions
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension	Reading Comprehension, Fill in the Blanks, Para Jumble, Para Completion, Vocabulary, Grammar

Explore more MBA exams with upcoming dates

NMAT

NMAT 2025 Retake Registration

6 Nov '25 - 17 Dec '25

MAT

MAT CBT Admit card 2025 (Dec )

18 Dec '25

IBSAT

IBSAT 2025 Registration

1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25

SNAP

SNAP 2025 admit card session 3

15 Dec '25 - 20 Dec '25

XAT

XAT 2026 admit card download starts

20 Dec '25

X-GMT

XGMT registration

30 Sep '25 - 22 Dec '25

MICAT

MICAT (I) result declaration

24 Dec '25

JAGMAT

JAGMAT admit card issuance

30 Dec '25

PAT

PAT 2025 Exam

31 Jul '25 - 31 Dec '25

TANCET

Publication of TANCET notification

15 Jan '26

CAT Sectional Break Up

In order to make a CAT 2025 preparation plan, you not only need to know your strong and weak areas with respect to CAT syllabus, but you also need to know the weightage of topics. Knowing which topic will have more questions will help you in making your study plan more focused. Given below is the sectional break-up of the latest CAT question paper (2023). This will give you an idea of which topics carry more weightage.

CAT Sections	Number of questions	Topic wise break up	Difficulty level
VARC	24	4 passages having 4 questions each, 2 para jumble questions, 2 para summary questions, 2 para completion questions and 2 odd one out questions	Moderate
DILR	22	5 sets of 4-5 questions each	Moderate to difficult
Quantitative Aptitude	22	7 Algebra questions, 7 Arithmetic questions, 3 Geometry questions, 4 Number System questions, 1 Modern Maths questions	Difficult
Total	66	--	--

How to Prepare for CAT 2025: Section wise Tips

CAT VARC Preparation: The VARC section is dominated by Reading Comprehension (RC) passages. Out of 24 questions, there are usually 14-16 questions on RC. Which means, your English comprehension should be strong. For that, start early. Start reading English novels, books, newspapers from now on and spend at least an hour every day reading. Keep a dictionary by your side and check the meaning of any new word or idiom that you come across. Keep making a note.

Practicing sample RC passages is a useful way of preparing for CAT VARC. Since you will need to answer the questions in limited time, you will need develop speed reading. You will also need to develop the skill of finding answers from the passages quickly. This is possible only if you practice time bound VARC test prep.

Q: Where and how to check CAT 2025 notification?

CAT 2025 notification will be released online as well as offline. The online notification of CAT 2025 exam will be released at iimcat.ac.in website and the offline notification will be issued in all the national dailies – Hindi, English and Vernacular. Aspirants can either check the notification and CAT 2025 exam dates online at the official website or in the newspapers (to be published in the last week of July 2025).

Q: What are the items to carry on the CAT exam day?

Every candidate must carry a blue/black ball point pen and a few copies of their passport size photo to the exam centre. They must not carry any stationary item other than the pen. Candidates who have diabetes can carry fruits as per medical prescription. No other item will be allowed inside the exam venue. Candidates must not carry bags or valuables as there will be no arrangement for depositing while candidates appear for the exam. Candidates must also not carry notebooks or rough paper to the CAT exam centre. Any candidate found with an unauthorised item will be disqualified.

Q: What are the dos and don'ts for CAT exam day?

On CAT exam day, candidates have to follow a number of guidelines like cooperating with the exam centre staff during identification process, etc.:

CAT exam day dos:

Reach examination centre at the reporting time mentioned on your CAT admit card. 2.
Carry two copies of the CAT admit card, one photo ID card, passport size photos
PwD candidates should carry relevant certificates and documents.
Carry a blue/black ball point pen for signing attendance sheet
Cooperate with test centre staff and follow instructions
7. While entering answers, use only computer mouse.
Do not touch keyboard as doing so will lead to screen locking.

CAT exam day don'ts:

Do not carry items such as bags, purses, pencil box, beepers, wrist watch, calculators, mobile phones, electronic devices, scanners, cameras, wireless/Bluetooth transmission or any such communication devices.
Don't wear closed shoes, jewellery made of metal, jackets, clothes with pockets, mehendi on palms. Socks are allowed inside it.
Don't wear caps, hoodies or jackets/shirts with pockets
Don't be late for exam. Entry gates will be closed 15 minutes before the commencement of exam.
No candidate will be allowed to enter the exam centre after that.
Don't cheat or indulge in mal practice. You can be disqualified due to any such ACT.
Don't create a ruckus inside the test lab
Don't leave your seat until the exam duration gets over and the invigilator announces exit.

CAT DILR Preparation: There are a total of 20 questions in DILR - 10 from Data Interpretation and 10 from Logical Reasoning. In CAT 2024, however, there were 22 questions. To prepare for this section of CAT exam, you will need to have a good analytical aptitude. DI is all about tables and bars, so will require mathematical calculations. Logical Reasoning, on the other hand is about puzzles and patterns which require logical deduction and keen observation. In this section too, practice is the key. Apart from strengthening your fundamentals, you will need to practice a lot. Get the best sample question series for CAT DILR and devote a good number of months on it.

CAT Quantitative Aptitude Preparation: This is the section, with the potential of 100 percentile. The topics included in CAT Quantitative Aptitude are advanced level Class 9 and 10 Mathematics, so it is not something completely new. For candidates from Engineering and Technical studies background, CAT Quants will be a more familiar field, however, for candidates from non-Engineering background it could be a challenge. So, start with basics. Go back to NCERT Mathematics books for conceptual clarity. Then take up CAT books for Quantitative Aptitude. Again, the key here is practice. You need to practice a huge number of sample papers and mock tests to be quick in solving questions.

CAT Mock Test for Practice

Shiksha has created free CAT mock test for practice. CAT 2025 aspirants can try these to check their control on CAT topics and preparation level:

CAT_Mock_Test_1	CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions
CAT_Mock_Test_2	CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions

Videos you may like

About the Author

Vipra Shrivastava

Senior Manager - Content

Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8

Read Full Bio

Download Important Dates for MBA/PGDM Exams