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Vipra Shrivastava
Senior Manager - Content
Updated on Nov 30, 2025 16:21 IST
CAT 2025 exam analysis is out for first slot. Overall, the question paper was moderate. According to T.I.M.E, the exam was moderately difficult. Check below section wise analysis and expected CAT cut off 2025 for slot 1, slot 2 and slot 3, along with topic wise break up and number of good attempts.

CAT 2025 exam analysis is out for first slot. Overall, the question paper was moderate. Read below CAT 2025 analysis by T.I.M.E. for Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3.

CAT 2025 analysis

CAT 2025 difficulty level

CAT 2025 Exam Analysis by T.I.M.E. – Today is the day of Common Admission Test or CAT. The exam is being conducted at across India for admission to IIMs and other top MBA colleges India. Shiksha will be sharing below CAT 2025 analysis for Slot 1, Slot 2 and Slot 3. The CAT 2025 question paper review for Slot 1 is out. According to T.I.M.E, the exam was moderately difficult. Check below section wise analysis and expected CAT cut off 2025.

Latest:CAT 2025 answer key soon @iimcat.ac.in - live updates

Table of contents
  • CAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Sectional Break Up
  • CAT 2025 analysis: VARC
  • CAT 2025 analysis: DILR
  • CAT 2025 analysis: Quantitative Aptitude

CAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Sectional Break Up

Check below the sectional break up of CAT 2025 question paper.

Section

Number of Questions

Sectional Time

VARC

24

40 Minutes

DILR

22

40 Minutes

QA

22

40 Minutes

Total

68

120 Minutes

CAT 2025 analysis: VARC

VARC section of CAT 2025 had maximum questions from RC. The Verbal Ability questions were moderate. There were 2 parasummary questions, 2 parjumbles, 2 odd sentence, 2 paracompletion.

Sr No.

RC Passages

Number of questions

1

Income Inequality & Economic Growth

4

2

Electronic Music

4

3

Law & Mental Health

4

4

Noise & Social Order

4

Also read:

CAT 2025 analysis: DILR

DILR questions of CAT 2025 were as usual in sets. The Spider + bar set was easy, but others were slightly tricky and 2 sets were tough.

Set

Area

Topic

Number of questions.

1

DI

Spider + Bar

4

2

LR

Seating Arrangement

4

3

LR

Quant-Based Reasoning (Train tickets)

5

4

LR

Quant-Based Reasoning (Feet tapping)

4

5

LR

Distribution Puzzle plus rank arrangement

(Employee rating)

5

CAT 2025 analysis: Quantitative Aptitude

Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT 2025 was dominated by Algebra and Arithmetic, as usual.

Topics

No. of Questions

Difficulty Level

Number System

3

Easy to Moderate

Algebra

6

Moderate

Arithmetic

8

Moderate

Modern Math

1

Easy

Geometry & Mensuration

4

Moderate

Read More:

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CAT Percentile predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to get their predicted CAT 2025 percentile on the basis of their expected exam score. So, predict your CAT 2025 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

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Q:   What is the marking scheme of CAT?
A:

CAT has 68 questions. Each question carries three marks. There is negative marking of minus one for incorrect attempts. There is no deduction of marks for unanswered questions. Total marks in 204.

Q:   What is the difference between slot 1, 2 and 3 of CAT exam paper?
A:

There is no difference between slot 1, 2 and 3 of CAT exam paper in terms of structure and patten. The sectional break up, marking scheme and time limit are the same in all slots. However, due to unique sets of questions in each slot leads to difference in difficulty levels. There is usually a slight difference in the CAT question papers of different slots. Sometimes, topic wise weightage of the questions also vary. To negate advantage or disadantage to candidates due to difference in difficulty level of slots, CAT scores are normalised for result preparation.

Q:   What is the sectional time limit in CAT?
A:

In CAT exam, each candidate gets 120 minutes to solve the paper. There are three sections in CAT Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude. For each section 40 minutes are allotted as sectional time limit. For PwD candidates, the sectional time limit is 53.20 minutes per section. Candidates have to complete each section within the given time limit. Since the CAT is an online mode exam, the test screen will move from first section to the next section automatically as soon as the time limit gets over. Thus candidates have to be mindful of the on-screen timer and pre-decide the number of questions to solve in each section. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section of CAT has 24 questions, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section has 22 questions and Quantitative Aptitude section has 22 questions. It is not mandatory to solve all the questions in CAT so candidates can devise a strategy to use 40 minutes per section as per their strength and weakness.

Q:   What's new in CAT exam?
A:

In CAT 2025, the following changes were seen:

  • The fee amount increased from INR 2,500 to INR 2,600 for General category candidates and from INR 1,250 to INR 1300 for Reserved category candidates. 
  • In DILR section, number of questions increased from 20 to 22. 
  • Total marks of CAT DILR section increased from 60 to 66. 
  • Total marks of CAT exam increased from 198 to 204. 
  • Candidates can select five cities instead of six.
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About the Author
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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

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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

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