Get here the best hacks to beat the competition in CAT 2024. You will not need much hard work on the CAT exam day, if you do these things from right now. Read the best hacks for CAT 2024.
CAT 2024 exam is just over 40 days away. It is time to put yourself in fast gear for exam preparation. The CAT preparation strategy so far must have been covering the syllabus and solving practice questions. Now the time is to change the strategy and speed so that you stay ahead of your peers.
Like every year, the competition is going tough this year too. So, you have to be better prepared for the CAT 2024 than everyone else. And as you move into the final phase of CAT 2024 preparation you need to devise a fresh strategy. The CAT preparation strategy now should be based on focus areas and strengthening important topics. Here we tell you CAT hacks to beat the competition.
Explore colleges based on CAT
CAT 2024 Strategy: Beat the Competition with these Hacks
Revise topics: It is time to start the revision of important topics for CAT. You might have completed the CAT syllabus through and through by now. If any topic is left, make an assessment of how much time can you spare for it, from the time allotted for revision. You need to revise at least one topic each from the three sections of CAT every day.
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.
Find out short cuts: Hacks for CAT Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation are tricks and shortcuts for calculation. Join study forums, find mentors to learn short cuts and tricks for Mathematical calculations. If you learn them right now, you will have enough time to try them and assess result. If you do it later, you may fall short of time to find another option, if one doesn’t work.
Practice CAT Mock Tests: The best way to prepare for CAT is by attempting mock tests. As you all know, CAT is a speed-based test, you need to have good speed in reading, choosing and solving 66 questions in 2 hours. This is the time to start practicing CAT mock tests. Many of you must have already started practicing the CAT mock tests series, but those who haven’t must start now. Go for about 30-40 CAT mock tests until the last week of CAT 2024 exam. Gain speed and accuracy in choosing and solving the right questions.
Analyse Mock Test: Another thing that you MUST DO, is analyse each CAT mock performance to note the gaps to fill. The purpose of CAT mock test practice is improvement in speed and scores. If that’s not happening find out why. May be you need to stop attempting certain type of questions or maybe you need to go through some concepts once again.
Check below Shiksha free CAT mock test:
| CAT_Mock_Test-1 | CAT_Mock_Test-1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test-2 | CAT_Mock_Test-2_Solutions |
Focus on Important Topics: It is an understood fact that one can’t solve all the questions from all the topics. So the best hack is to focus on the CAT topics which dominate the question paper. Go through CAT question papers of previous years to see which are the topics from which maximum questions are asked. Over the year, arithmetic has dominated the Quantitative Aptitude section. Similarly, in VARC, there are very less or no Grammar based questions. You can ignore topics from which 1-2 questions are asked because one doesn’t have to attempt all the questions. Focus on topics and subjects that have the potential of getting you more scores.
Make a CAT Exam Day Plan: As we’ve mentioned above that one doesn’t have to solve all the question in CAT, questions that you will address in the exam should be pre-decided. Yes, analyse your strengths and weaknesses viz. the topic wise weightage, and then make a plan of which and how many questions will you target in every section. This exam hack works best as CAT has sectional time limit and negative marking both. So be clear beforehand, what and how to do.
Set a Target: The next hack that will keep you ahead of your competition is to set a target for yourself. The reason behind appearing for the CAT exam is getting into a good MBA college. Check out the CAT cut offs of your preferred colleges. Now, you know how much score you need for admission to that college. In the last leg of CAT preparation, focus on scoring as much in the mock test and also calculate the number of questions you need to solve accurately in the exam to get there. In the exam, if you have solved questions as much as you need, don’t be greedy and try other questions unless you’re 100 percent sure of solving it accurately. CAT has negative marking and one wrong attempt can affect your CAT score as well as percentile.
Keep Room for Last Minute Changes: The greatest hack to crack the CAT exam is having a Plan-B. You should be prepared for the exam day in a certain way but always have a plan that is flexible. You need to be prepared for any unforeseen situation like change in pattern or weightage. To explain it, do not stick to preparing only 1-2 dominant topics. Have a decent practice of other topics as well so that if faced with unfavourable questions, you can still find some way to score well in CAT 2024.
Read More:
- CAT 2024 preparation: Mistakes You Can't Afford to Make
- CAT VARC questions with answers for practice PDF
- CAT Quantitative Aptitude questions and answers for practice with PDF
- CAT DILR questions and answer for practice PDF
- Verbal Ability (VA) solved questions
- Quantitative Aptitude (QA) solved questions
- Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions
- Data Interpretation (DI) solved questions - Part 2
- Logical Reasoning (LR) solved questions
- Logical Reasoning (LR) solved questions - Part 2

News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 Exam registration |
20 Dec '25 | XAT 2026 admit card download s... |
28 Nov '25 - 6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 admit card session 1... |
6 Dec '25 | SNAP 2025 session 1 |
28 Oct '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Admit Card Issuance |
1 Aug '25 - 16 Dec '25 | NMAT 2025 Rescheduling Window |
17 Oct '24 - 5 Dec '24 | IIFT 2025 registration and app... |
23 Oct '25 - 7 Dec '25 | MAT PBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
23 Oct '25 - 15 Dec '25 | MAT CBT Registration 2025 (Dec... |
1 Jul '25 - 19 Dec '25 | IBSAT 2025 Registration |
5 Nov '25 - 27 Dec '25 | IBSAT Slot Booking 2025 |
26 Nov '25 - 28 Nov '25 | CMAT 2026 form correction |
17 Oct '25 - 24 Nov '25 | CMAT 2026 registration and app... |
16 Apr '26 - 18 Apr '26 | MAH MBA CET 2026 exam |
9 May '26 | MAH MBA CET 2026 exam 2 |
Jan '26 | Publication of TANCET notifica... |
Jan '26 | TANCET registration window |
Mar '25 | IRMASAT 2025 Final Result Anno... |
Feb '25 | IRMASAT Personal Interviews |
Student Forum
Answered Yesterday
Nirma University CAT Cutoff 2024 for students belonging to the General AI category was 60 percentile overall and 40 percentile for Quants, VA-RC, and DI-LR sections. Nirma University CAT Cutoff 2025 will be available when the CAT exam results 2025 get declared. Students can refer to the table belo
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 days ago
Christ University CAT Cutoff 2025 has not been released yet. The results are expected to be out in December. However, going as per the last yeat CAT Cutoff 2024 for the General AI category, the cutoff was 60 for admissions to MBA course. It can be said that the cutoff for this year could fall somewh
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 3 days ago
Yes, you can wear jeans in CAT exam. Outfits with big pockets are not allowed. Candidates can also not wear jackets, coat, hoodies, caps, hats, headgears. It is recommended to wear simple outfit.
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 days ago
In general, as per available education sources, the CAT cutoff for FLAME University lies around 70–75 percentiles for the 2025 admissions. Though this score helps the candidates qualify for the shortlisting stage, FLAME follows a holistic selection process; hence, the final admission also depends on
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham CAT Cutoff 2025 is yet to be released as the exam will be conducted on 30 Nov, 2025. However, according to the CAT Cutoff 2024, students need to secure at least 40 percentile for successful admission at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham. If students have appeared for the XAT exa
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
The Sri Balaji University CAT Cutoff 2025 is not out yet. However, according to the CAT Cutoff 2024, the minimum percentile required for admission to MBA courses at Sri Balaji University is 50 for the General AI category students. For more information, click here.
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
The Vishwakarma University CAT Cutoff 2024 for the General AI students was 50 for admission to various MBA programmes. The CAT exam is the accepting exam for MBA courses and various other PG courses. Students can click here for a more detailed cutoff information about Vishwakarma University 2024.
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Fore School of Management Cutoff 2025 has been released for admission to PGDM course on the basis of CAT and XAT Cutoff 2025. For the General AI category, the overall CAT Cutoff 2025 was 85, same as the XAT Cutoff 2025. For more details about cutoffs for the General AI quota, see the table below:
| CAT Cutoff 2025 | XAT Cutoff 2025 | Course/ Specialisation Name |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | 85 | PGDM |
| 75 | 75 | PGDM in International Business |
| 75 | 75 | PGDM in Financial Management |
| 65 | 65 | PGDM in Big Data Analysis |
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Bennett University CAT Cutoff 2025 has not been released yet. However, according to the CAT Cutoff 2024, the overall cutoff was 24 for students belonging to the General AI quota. For the OBC AI candidates, the CAT overall cutoff was also the same at 24. For more information about CAT Cutoff 2025 and
N
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
GIBS Business School, therefore, accepts 'all national-level entrance examination' scores that include the major management exams like CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, GMAT, and in some cases State CET exams for admissions to PGDM and MBA programs. These scores will determine a candidate's eligibility for
M
Contributor-Level 7
Result - To be notified

CAT is a speed based test of analytical aptitude, logical reasoning skills, data interpretation and English comprehension. Now, it may sound tough, but these are the skills which we are taught in school so there is nothing new to learn. What is required is to learn these subjects at advanced level. If you are an average student but have studied Science or commerce in Class-12 and graduation, you will find a lot of familiar topics in Data Interpretation, Quantitative Aptitude and Logical Reasoning. All you will need is brush up the basics and practice the concepts on advance level problems.
However, since the competition is so high in CAT and less than 95 percentile can break your dream of joining a top college like IIM, the preparation for CAT requires a lot of focus, dedication, discipline and diligence. If you can do that, despite being an average student, you can crack the CAT exam.