Abhishek
Abhishek Dhawan
Assistant Manager – Editorial Content
Updated on Dec 11, 2025 15:18 IST
IIM Kozhikode conducts CAT exam in three slots. CATKing shares question paper analysis for slot 1, 2, and 3 of CAT 2025 exam along with the expected CAT cutoff. CAT analysis by CATKing highlights the topic weightage, any surprise elements in CAT exam, section wise CAT difficulty level, and more.

IIM Kozhikode conducts CAT exam in three slots. Get here CAT 2025 analysis by CATKing. CAT exam analysis by CATKing includes section-wise difficulty standards, expected cutoff, and more.  By Sumit Singh Gandhi.

CAT 2025 Exam Analysis by CATKing

CAT 2025 Exam Analysis by CATKing

CAT 2025 Analysis by CATKing: IIM Kozhikode conducted CAT 2025 exam in three slots on November 30. CATKing has released question paper analysis for all three slots. CAT analysis highlights the topic weightage, any surprise elements in CAT exam, and section wise CAT difficulty level.

CAT slot 1 and 2 exam analysis by CATKing is now out. As per CATKing, CAT 2025 overall difficulty was between 2023 and 2024, it was moderate but lengthy. VARC saw the return of parajumbles like before, RCs were lengthy hence looked scary but were doable. QA was dominated by Arithmetic and Algebra, a little more questions of geometry. DILR as predicted by CATKing had Spider chart, Routes and Network and Caselet based Questions. IIM K gave a fair exam on similar lines of 2023.

CAT analysis by CATKing indicates slot 2 was easier than first slot. CAT slot 2 question paper was as per the prediction. Candidates found RC topic on fishes and AI as well. The RC passages were looking lengthy but were doable.

Scroll down for detailed analysis of CAT exam 2025 by CATKing.

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Table of contents
  • CAT 2025 Analysis by CATKing: Slot-wise Highlights
  • CAT Slot 2 Analysis by CATKing
  • CAT Slot 1 Analysis by CATKing
  • Previous year’s CAT analysis by CATKing
  • CAT Expected Cutoff 2025

CAT 2025 Analysis by CATKing: Slot-wise Highlights

CAT is conducted across three slots. CAT exam pattern remains the same across all three slots. However, the difficulty standards vary across all three slots of CAT exam. Check highlights of CAT 2025 exam analysis by CATKing below:

CAT 2025 Particulars

Slot 1

Slot 2

Slot 3

Total questions in CAT 2025

68

CAT 2025 exam difficulty

Moderate Moderate Moderate to tough

Section-wise question weightage

VARC: 24

DILR: 22

QA: 22

Maximum marks

204

Good attempt

to be updated

to be updated

to be updated

Also Check: CAT 2025 Question Paper PDF

Q:   What is the CAT exam cutoff required to get admission to IIM Bangalore?
A:

The CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore hovers between 97-100 percentile. The qualifying CAT cut off required for being eligible for IIM Bangalore's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 85 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST candidates, it is 65 percentile and for PwD candidates it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Bangalore.

  • General category: 80 VARC 75 DILR 75 Quantitative Aptitude 85 (Overall)
  • NC-OBC category: 75 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
  • EWS category: 70 VARC 65 DILR 65 Quantitative Aptitude 75 (Overall)
  • SC category: 65 VARC 60 DILR 60 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall)
  • ST category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 65 (Overall)
  • PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall)
Q:   What is the difference between qualifying CAT cut off and final CAT cut off?
A:
Qualifying CAT cut off percentiles of an IIM is the minimum percentile (sectional as well as overall) required by candidates to be eligible for the Written Ability Test (What) and Personal Interview PI round. These are only eligibility score and not the score for selection. The final CAT cut off percentiles are the scores on the basis of which a candidate is actually selected for the What-PI round. The qualifying CAT cut offs are released publically before the CAT exam and result as a part of selection criteria for the MBA/PGP batch of that year. The qualifying cut offs for CAT are release category wise - General, NC/OBC. General-EWS, SC/ST, PwD. The qualifying cut offs percentiles of General category candidate is higher than then rest. The final CAT cut offs are not released publically. The cut offs are estimate on the basis of candidate's selection for What-PI. The final CAT cut offs for General category candidate is also higher than then rest.
Q:   Will CAT cut offs rise for 2026 admission?
A:

CAT cut offs do not flutuate much. For the past few years, the CAT exam cut offs for IIMs or other top colleges have not seen much change. If there is any change at all, it is in decimals. However, that decimal point too can make or mar admission chances. CAT cut offs for 2026 admission will largely remain the same as the CAT 2025 exam difficulty level was same as last year and number of takers dipped from last year.

CAT Slot 2 Analysis by CATKing

CAT slot 2 was found ot be moderately difficult. If compared with CAT 2024, slot 3 of CAT 2025 was tough, however exam was easier than CAT 2023. Candidates found VARC to be scoring. DILR was tougher than expecter. On the other hand, QA was challenging but doable. DILR from Slot 2 of CAT 2025 was wasy with three sets doable. 

Section Wise CAT Slot 2 Exam Analysis by CATKing

VARC: Out of four RCs, three were doable, whereas one was difficult. Candidates found 2 TITA questions having parajumble questions. Para summary, Paracompletion, and Odd one out had 2 questions each.

DILR: As per CAT analysis by CATKing, DILR was the lengthiest section with heavy data handaling. Out of five sets in DILR, three were doable, one was moderate, whewreas one was on the tougher side.  Those who have been solving sets in mocks daily practicing and prepared well essentially were able to attempt 3 sets.

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QA: Quant in Slot 3 was tougher than 2024 exam and easier than 2023 exam. Candidates found the questions to test conceptual knowledge. Many reported the questions in QA to be calculation heave. AP-GP, Geometry, Time & work were among important topics in the section. Candidates did not find any question on probability in second slot of CAT 2025 exam. As per CATKing analysis of CAT slot 2 exam, candidates who attempted 10-12 questions in QA can score good marks.

CAT Slot 1 Analysis by CATKing

As per the detailed exam analysis for CAT slot 1 exam by CATKing, The first slot was doable. In the LRDI section, two sets were doable. The overall difficulty level of CAT slot 1 exam was in between the difficulty standards of 2023 paper and 2024 exam. In VARC section, 2 RCs were doable. Attempting all four RCs were difficult. DILR had question based on spider chart, roots and network.

"If slot 1 sets the tone for CAT 2025, we may be in for a year of examinations that valie thinking stamina as much as raw aptitude" 

Section Wise CAT Slot 1 Exam Analysis by CATKing

VARC: There were lengthy passages, while these had friendly logic. Initially the VARC section was looking intimidating as it had dense topics, lengthy passages, and parajumbles (which were dumped in previous session). However, once candidates started attempting questions, the passages felt easy as eliminating incorrect options led to an answer quickly. There were three questions from parajumbles, two question for para summary, one question for odd one out, and two para completion questions. CAT VARC analysis by CATKing indicated that VARC was easier than it looked and had a moderate difficulty level.

DILR: Questions came in as per the prediction. Candidates found question sets from spider charts, networks, route, etc. There werre four sets in LRDI with two doable and two having moderate difficulty.

Four sets in DILR included:

  • Spide/Radar chart + Bar graph - doable
  • Circular arrangement with movement: moderately difficult and required careful tracking
  • Traditional table-based analytical puzzle: moderately difficult
  • Routes and network puzzles: classic CAT-style set

Only one set of all wasd found to be doable others were easy to moderate. LRDI sets were not tricky but were lengthy. As per CAT slot 1 analysis by CATKing, good attempt in LRDI was attempting 2 sets completly and a part of third set. Overall, LRDI section was tougher than 2024, but was fair and predictable.

Quant: This section had usual weightage with Arithmetic on heavier side and focused on concepts. There was a noticeable rise in Geometry questions and some well structured Algebra questions. Arithematic had 7-8 questions, Algebra had a moderate presence, Geometry had slighly higher weightage than last year. CAT slot 1 analysis by CATKing also reported a mixture of TSD, Progression with Time and Work. There was a distance problem based on TSD and AP. Time and Work problem had 'man-hours' logic. The overalll difficulty of CAT QA section reported by CATKing was moderate with aq 10-12 attempts to be decent. Students did not find anything out of the syllabus. As per CATKing the section was scoreable if a candidfate had good fundamentals. 

Previous year’s CAT analysis by CATKing

Check past year's CAT exam analysis and expected cutoff by CATKing:

Exam Year

Analysis by CATKing

CAT exam analysis 2024

Check Here

CAT exam analysis 2023

Check Here

CAT exam analysis 2022

Check Here

CAT exam analysis 2021

Check Here

CAT exam analysis 2020

Check Here

CAT exam analysis 2019

Check Here

CAT Expected Cutoff 2025

Find CAT expected cutoff 2025 below:

IIMs

*CAT cut offs 2025 (percentile)

IIM Ahmedabad

99-100

IIM Bangalore 

99-100

IIM Calcutta

99 

IIM Lucknow

97-98

IIM Indore

97-98

IIM Kozhikode

97-98

IIM Amritsar

95-96

IIM Nagpur

95-96

IIM Sambalpur

95-96

IIM Trichy

94-95

IIM Raipur

94-95 

IIM Ranchi

94-95 

IIM Kashipur

94-95 

IIM Vizag

92-94 

IIM Rohtak

92-94 

IIM Udaipur

92-94

IIM Bodhgaya

92-94 

IIM Shillong

90

IIM Sirmaur

90

IIM Jammu

90

IIM Mumbai

90

Q:   Which are some of the top MBA colleges for 85 percentile in CAT?
A:

Some of the top CAT 85 percentile colleges are mentioned below:

·       IIM Amritsar

·       IIM Bodh Gaya

·       IIM Nagpur

·       VGSoM IIT Kharagpur

·       Department of Management Studies – IIT Madras 

·       Department of Management Studies-IIT Roorkee,

·       Department of Management Studies-Delhi Technological University

·       TAPMI Manipal

·       IMT Nagpur

Q:   What is the CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow?
A:
The CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow is usually around 97-99 percentile. The two courses - PGP Agri-Business Management (ABM) and PGP Sustainable Management (some) are extremely popular among MBA aspirants who wish to make a career in these areas. The institute also offers PGP programme. The qualifying CAT cut off for IIM Lucknow's Written Ability test (What) and Personal Interview PI is 90 percentile for General category students, whereas for SC candidates, it is 70 percentile. For ST and PwD candidates, it is 60 percentile. Given below are the sectional and overall qualifying CAT cut offs for IIM Lucknow PGP course. General category: 85 VARC 85 DILR 85 Quantitative Aptitude 90 (Overall) NC-OBC category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) EWS category: 77 VARC 77 DILR 77 Quantitative Aptitude 82 (Overall) SC category: 55 VARC 55 DILR 55 Quantitative Aptitude 70 (Overall) ST category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) PwD category: 50 VARC 50 DILR 50 Quantitative Aptitude 60 (Overall) Click here for detailed IIM Lucknow admission and selection criteria: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/iim-lucknow-shortlist-admission-criteria-blogId-18509.
Q:   Is CAT cutoff higher for non-IIMs?
A:

CAT cut offs for non-IIMs is usually lower than IIMs.

Top MBA College

CAT Cut Offs (percentile)

FMS, Delhi

98-99

IIFT Delhi

95-99

SPJIMR, Mumbai

95-99

IMT, Ghaziabad

95-97

JBIMS, Mumbai

96

MDI, Gurgaon

97-99

IMI, New Delhi

90

XIM, Bhubaneshwar

91

GIM Goa

85

K J Somaiya, Mumbai

86

TAPMI, Manipal

80

FORE, New Delhi

85

IFMR, Chennai

80

IRMA, Anand

80

MICA, Ahmedabad

80

LIBA, Chennai

70

XIME, Bangalore

70

CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT score by clicking the link below:

CAT Percentile Predictor

Check CAT cut offs and predict calls from IIMs and Non-IIMs accepting CAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all CAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

Predict CAT Admission Calls

Sumit Singh Gandhi, CEO Founder CATKing Educare. He completed his MBA from SPJIMR and is a Master of Information Technology from Virginia Tech. He has also pursued SPNM from Havard Business School. Among numerous awards, he's been honoured with Digital Indian of the Year 2016 and Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2015.

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Abhishek Dhawan
Assistant Manager – Editorial Content

Abhishek is a content writer and editor with 7+ years of experience in education journalism. He completed his graduation from University of Delhi with a BA Degree. At Shiksha.com, he handles content for MBA, BBA, an

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