CAT Quantitative Aptitude preparation is straightforward. However, it will be effective only if the strategy is focussed and time bound. The key is to understand the CAT quant concepts and application. Check out tips on how to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT 2025 recommended by MBA expert.
CAT Quant preparation and tips
CAT Quantitative Aptitude has the potential of 100 per cent score. Quantitative Aptitude occupies one third of the CAT test paper and is often of higher difficulty level but if you get the Mathematical question right, there is no way you can't solve it with 100 per cent accuracy. Those preparing for CAT 2025, must read this article for key insights on how to prepare for quantitative aptitude for CAT 2025 by expert.
The IIMs do not share CAT syllabus officially but if you look at the question papers of the last 10 years, you'll know the important CAT Quantitative Aptitude topics. Since the aspirants targeting CAT exam come from diverse backgrounds, the syllabus of Mathematics till Class 10 is a safe assumption for Quantitative Ability for CAT preparation. Barring an exception or two, last few years’ CAT question papers have had advanced level questions from Mathematics topics covered till class 10 only. In this article, we have tried to suggest a CAT 2025 preparation plan keeping all these facts in mind. Let’s start with the understanding of Quantitative Aptitude for CAT exam.
Also read: CAT Quant topic wise weightage - 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020
In CAT 2025, there will be a total of 68 questions and Quantitative Aptitude section will have 22 questions, here's the break up of CAT syllabus for Quantitative Aptitude. The number of questions mentioned below is an expected range, based on previous years.
| CAT Quant Topics |
Chapters |
Expected Number of Questions* |
|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
Numbers, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Simple and Compound Interest, Ratio, Proportionality, Time-Distance, Time-Work, Mixtures, Averages, Partnership |
8-10 |
| Algebra |
Linear Equations, Quadratic Equation, Differential Equation, Maxima-Minima, Inequalities, Logarithm, Functions, Finding Root, Number of Integers, Vector |
5-7 |
| Advance Mathematics |
Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory, Progression and Series |
4 |
| Geometry |
Line, Angles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygon, Circles, Ares, Volume, Height and Distance, Co-ordinate Geometry, Basic Trigonometry |
3 |
*For CAT Quant section having 22 Questions.
Many of the chapters have a good size of theory portion. But most of the times, theory is used for application in problems, only. A question directly asking a property is a rarity.
Also read: CAT quantitative aptitude syllabus: detailed breakup
If we look at last few years’ CAT question papers, CAT has done all the experiments, in terms of topic wise wieghtage and question type. In 2020, the number of questions in the Quantitative section were reduced from 34 to 22 questions. The difficulty level of Quant in CAT has remained moderate to high. By looking at the last two years’ trends, one can say that Quantitative Aptitude of CAT 2025 should be more or less of a moderate difficulty level.
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The key to a good performance in Quantitative Aptitude section of CAT exam is not about how much you know but how much can you use that knowledge for application during the exam within 40 minutes. Here are some of the key points on how to improve Quantitative Aptitude for CAT.
1.Practice chapter by chapter: There is a difference between solving a problem and solving a problem effortlessly. Depending on the difficulty level of the CAT test paper, 10-14 questions should be of easy to moderate level. Practice of easy to medium questions of all the chapters would enable an aspirant to sail through the questions easily. The best option for you would be to refer the book - How to Prepare Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma.
Our Advice: Know basic theories and varieties of problems of all chapters.
Download Free CAT study material:
| Free QA Question Bank with Answer Keys for Practice | Free DILR Question Bank with Answer Keys for Practice | Free VARC Question Bank with Answer Keys for Practice |
2.Short Methods and Group Studies: Nothing boosts confidence of an aspirant more than a question which he/she can solve within seconds. More such questions, better the score. This can be achieved by improving mental calculation and by discussing unconventional methods with a focused study group. Many times it involves use of options to get the correct answer. Have a fundamental understanding of the topics included in Quantitative Ability for CAT preparation, to apply a relevant strategy - conventional method or unconventional method.
Our Advice: Two is more than one. Three is even better. Do a regular discussion of short methods in your focused study group.
3.Building Stamina: Quantitative Aptitude is the last section of the CAT question paper. That means aspirants would reach this part of the paper in 81st minute of the test. An aspirant who hasn't developed stamina for the last bit would face challenge to deliver his regular performance. Eat healthy and sleep well during the CAT preparation phase.
Our Advice: Study for 3-4 hours at a stretch while practicing sample questions.
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4.Testing Skills Development: Having 10 to 30 per cent of the problems as speed-breakers is an expected situation in the Quantitative section of CAT. Being able to find them without wasting time is the key. It’s a skill which can be achieved by sufficient practice of a large number of problems and by going through sufficient number of CAT mock tests.
Our Advice: Plan to write approximately 20-25 CAT Mock Tests.
5.Mental Calculation: You will be given basic onscreen calculator. Mental calculation will be a better option if you want to save time . Since it’s an on-screen calculator, mental calculation will win against the calculator in time consumption in most of the cases.
Our Advice: Do enough practice of basic summation, subtraction, tables and fractions.
Get here sample questions and practice tests of how to prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT pdf with solutions for practice.
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Remember, solving the chapters for the first time teaches you Mathematics. Second time, it brings speed in solving. Aspirants are advised to solve all the chapters twice to get the advantage of speed in the exam.
All the best for CAT 2025!!
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About the Author
Parasharan Chari is an alumnus of SPJIMR and is currently serving as the Chief Operating Officer at Endeavor Careers.
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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.
The best way to prepare for DILR section is through practice. Before starting the preparation, aspirants should check previous years’ question papers. Since there is not much conceptual understanding required in this section, practice is important.
Some of the most popular books on DILR section that you can refer are How to Prepare for Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Arun Sharma, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit Sinha, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning for CAT by Pearson, to name a few.
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 advanced-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.
Hope it was helpful!!!
While candidates belonging to Science and Engineering background do have an edge over Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), it is not impossible for students from non-Science background to crack this section of an MBA entrance exam. They do need to prepare harder which includes going back to study fundamentals of Mathematics such as Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry and Mensuration.
With regular practice and understanding of the question types and topics, candidates, irrespective of the educational background, can crack this section. Aspirants must note that it is important to identify the weak areas and improve on them to get a stronghold on this section. For Logical Reasoning, a good amount of practice of sample questions will be enough.
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Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
No, CAT scores are not important for enrollment into Masters of Business Administration course at Chitkara University. Because CAT is not the only scores which are considered by the university, it also accepts the scores of MAT/ XAT/ NMAT/ CMAT.
K
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Minimum qualifying cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 95 percentile whereas for IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, it is 85. However final cut offs for these three top IIMs are between 99 to 100 percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 days ago
GIBS is pretty flexible when it comes to entrance exams. They accept almost all the common management tests — CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT, ATMA, State CET, and even GMAT. In my batch itself, we had students who came through different exams, not just CAT.
Honestly, that's one thing I liked about GIBS — they d
M
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, you can join Adarsh Institute of Management and Information Technology without appearing for CAT. This is because, the institute also accepts other tests. The accepted exams include CAT/ XAT/ MAT/ CMAT/ KMAT/ PGCET/ GMAT. Hence, if you have appeared for any of these, you can still apply.
M
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, Myra School of Business does offer CAT scores based Scholarships upto INR 1.5 lakh. In recognition of outstanding performance in CAT, MSB awards special scholarships as follows:
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
LISAA School of Design, Bangalore BDes admission is done based on performance in the in-house entrance test. LISAA CAT is conducted at the LISAA centres. Candidates need to connect with the admission team to set up a time slot. Besides, it is important that the eligibility criteria is fulfilled.
M
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Yes, you can absolutely get admission into the MBA programme without clearing CAT or MAT, because the university follows a flexible admission pathway that allows students to apply through its own entrance exam called CUCET. This exam acts as the primary route for MBA admissions, and it is designed t
s
Beginner-Level 3
Answered a week ago
No, CAT is not mandatory for School of Business and Management, Christ University MBA admissions. Students can alternatively submit scores of other national-level management exams. These include MAT/ XAT/ CMAT/ ATMA and GMAT/ GRE are also accepted.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
You can download your CDAC C-CAT 2026 response sheet by logging in to the official C-DAC Candidate Portal using your form number and password.
R
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes, JAGSoM accepts CAT scores as part of its multi-stage admission process. Candidates are shortlisted for selection rounds based on their entrance exam scores.
B
Contributor-Level 6
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.