How to Prepare for CAT 2025 Exam Without Quitting Your Job
Common Admission Test 2025 ( CAT )
Exam On - 30 Nov '25
It is a well known fact that Common Admission Test or CAT is the toughest MBA entrance exam in India. Typically, it takes about seven to nine months to prepare for the CAT. During that period, an aspirant is required to dedicate 6-8 hours to study on daily basis. Which means one cannot engage in anything else. So, what should a working professional do? If a person with 9-5 job wishes to appear for CAT, what should they do?
They cannot devote 8 hours to studies daily. So the question for them is how to prepare for CAT? Preparing for CAT requires time - quality time. Working professionals may not be able to devote 8 hours daily. But even if they are able to devote four to six hours with complete focus then, they can crack CAT exam.
CAT 2025 will be held on November 30, 2025. In this article, we have shared a few tips and tricks for CAT preparation for working professionals.
First of all, CAT aspirants need to analyse where they stand viz. their knowledge and practice of CAT 2025 syllabus. For example, finance professionals or engineers may not have to worry about Quantitative Aptitude as much as English. But a Humanities student may face challenge in handling Quants and Data Interpretation. Thus, the starting point should be identifying one's strengths and weaknesses. The second step should be to assess how much time they can devote to studies every day. Let's look at other aspects of CAT exam preparation strategy for working professionals.
Also Read:
- CAT Preparation 2025: When to Start?
- CAT Preparation 2025: Set a Daily Routine
- CAT Preparation 2025: Importance of CAT Mock Tests
- CAT Preparation 2025: Using Social Media to Study
- CAT Preparation 2025: Use Your Advantage
CAT Preparation 2025: When to Start?
Experts say, you don't need more than four to five hours daily for about five months to prepare for CAT exam. So you don't need to quit your job; just alter your daily routine. With office work, meetings, travelling time, it may seem difficult to spare four to five hours daily for studies, but it isn't impossible. In fact for other MBA entrance exams like MAT, XAT, CMAT or SNAP too, four to five hours of study every day is good enough as these exams are quite similar to each other in terms of pattern as well as syllabus. However, you must realise that each individual's capabilities are different from others. Thus, make a plan accordingly.
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CAT Preparation 2025: Set a Daily Routine
No doubt, balancing CAT preparation with a nine to five job is a tightrope walk, but a little bit of planning and minor changes in daily routine can do the trick like in the case of Ravi Prinshu.
Rahul Sinha, who scored 99.49 percentile in CAT 2025, started preparing in February to balance studies with a full-time job. "I started preparing for CAT 2024 early, around February, as I knew balancing studies alongside a full-time job would be challenging and require extra time. Initially, I had a few breaks scattered throughout my preparation until August. However, after August, I didn’t take any more breaks, ensuring consistent effort in the final stretch."
Making a daily routine and following it to T is the key. For a working professional, the most important thing is discipline. It is imperative to follow the daily routine and not waste a single minute.
Prepare a schedule for one month and follow it diligently. Once you get used to that routine, extend it for another two months and so on. Initially it will be taxing, but once you get used to it, you will find it easy.
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CAT Preparation 2025: Importance of CAT Mock Tests
All the CAT toppers recommend practising CAT mock tests. The more mock tests you attempt, closer you get to your target. The greatest benefit of attempting mocks is that with each solved mock test you get to know your mistakes and progress. With each mock test, your speed increases and you discovers new shortcuts to solve the questions. Since, the CAT exam is all about speed and accuracy, mock tests are the best platform to develop them.
Mock test booklets are provided by all coaching institutes. You can also get them on internet. Try to solve as many CAT mock tests and sample papers as you can. We are not giving a definite number here because every aspirant is different and so are their capabilities but 30-40 CAT mock tests should put you in a good position.
| CAT_Mock_Test_1 | CAT_Mock_Test_1_Solutions |
| CAT_Mock_Test_2 | CAT_Mock_Test_2_Solutions |
CAT Preparation 2025: Using Social Media to Study
- There are various groups on the internet that help each other in preparing for entrance exams. Social media platforms like Quora, Facebook, Reddit etc. are popular platforms where you can find student communities.
- Connect with other CAT aspirants, ask questions, share insights and expand your knowledge base. In such forums, you will also find many experts who help students in preparing for such career defining exams.
- Interacting with people going through the same grind as you are, is important to keep the motivation level high.
- Downloading study apps is also a good idea. You can log on to these apps and study on smartphone while travelling.
Also Read:
- CAT Preparation Plan For VARC
- CAT Preparation: Your Love For Reading Can Get You Desired Result
- CAT Preparation Plan for DILR
- How to Crack Logical Reasoning for CAT
- Time Management in CAT QA and DI
- CAT Preparation Plan For Quantitative Aptitude
- Master the Secret of Acing QA in CAT Exam
Check out the video below to know more about CAT preparation for working professionals:
CAT Preparation 2025: Use Your Advantage
Working professionals have an advantage over fresh graduates, that is of work experience. All the IIMs and top B-schools give significant weightage to work experience while screening students for admission. For example, IIM Bangalore gives eight marks for work experience so you can well imagine its value where people miss admission even by .01 mark. Typically, work experience of three to five years is considered desirable by management institutes. Also, working professionals are better communicators. They can hold their own in GD and PI, whereas freshers may not be able to. So if you are a working professional planning to take CAT 2025, don't quit your job, instead, make the best of it.
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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.
CAT syllabus is vast. It has numerous topics from Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude, Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation. Covering the CAT syllabus also includes practicing a variety of sample questions on the topics included. Thus, it requires a lot of time. Candidates must given themselves atleast 3-4 months to cover CAT syllabus and keep in mind the following:
· Check the previous years' CAT papers to know topics which carry more weightage so that you can focus on those topics more.
· List down topicsin order of easy, moderate and tough and allot time to them accordingly.
· Make sure to study about 6-8 hours per day to complete the syllabus 2-3 months before the exam.
· After studying every topic, practice sample questions. Balance theory with practical.
To prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, stick to the traditional path of concepts first and practice later. Study English grammar and Verbal Ability first to understand the concept. Then practice a number of sample questions of different kinds to gain confidence, speed and accuracy. For RC passages, develop the habit of reading from early stages. Read books from all walks of life.
Practicing sample Reading Comprehension passages and questions in a crucial part of VARC preparation. This will help you understand the types of questions and RC passages asked in various entrance exams.
As an aspirant, you will be appearing for more than one entrance exam, thus you need to have the practice of different types of RC passages.
CAT Quantitative Aptitude has the potential of 100 percentile if you prepare well. The Quantitative Aptitude topics of CAT are advance level Mathematic topics from Class 9 and 10. So, for any candidate, the foundation is already there, they only need to work on it further.
The important topics of CAT Quantitative Aptitude include Geometry, Ratios and Proportion, Inequalities, Trigonometry, In-equations, Quadratic and Linear Equations, Work and Time, Algebra, Surds and Indices, Percentages, Mensuration, Time-Speed-Distance, Logarithms, Partnership (Accounts), Number System, Square Root and Cube Root, Profit & Loss, Geometric Progression, Probability, Mean-Mode-Median, Binomial theorem, Simple interest and compound interest.
Maximum questions are asked from Arithmetic and Geometry so keep the main focus on these two topic. Understand and memorise the formulas and theorems well, and practice enough questions to be thorough with their application.
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.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
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 8
Answered 4 days 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 8
Answered 4 days 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 8
Answered 4 days 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
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Contributor-Level 8
Answered 4 days ago
Hi...
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Scholar-Level 17
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Hi.
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Scholar-Level 17
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Hi.
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 5 days 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
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Contributor-Level 6
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 3 weeks ago
Getting into the MBA programme of NIT Trichy with a 300 SC CAT rank is somewhat uncertain. As the recent data sets suggest, NIT Trichy's CAT cutoff for SC category admission stands around 65th percentile. A 300 SC rank could be borderline depending on how many SC candidates apply and the quality of
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Contributor-Level 8
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.