Exam On - 30 Nov '25
As the CAT prepartion season kicks in, MBA aspirants are busy making CAT strategies and plans that give them the best results. While preparing for CAT 2025 exam, aspirants must pay attention to certain daily habits which can impact their studies positively. Take a look at some lifestyle aspects which are crucial for CAT preparation 2025.
Preparation for CAT exam is rigorous and requires time. There is no doubt that with back-to-back coaching classes and hours and hours of revisions, self-study and mock tests, aspirants leave no stone unturned in CAT preparation. Aspirants have to devote a minimum of 8-10 hours daily to CAT preparation, which can sometimes make one feel like giving up. Let not pressure of CAT preparation wear you down. It is important to stay motivated and dedicated through the journey and in that physical well being is very important.
CAT aspirants tend to overlook certain important things that affect their performance in a significant manner. Your daily routine can play a huge supporting role in your CAT preparation 2025 and eventually in your exam performance. CAT 2025 will be a high difficulty level test so you need to prepare it well without risking your physical and mental health. As you start your CAT 2025 journey, here we have listed a few things you need to pay attention to during CAT exam preparation.
Simple Tips to Optimize CAT Preparation 2025
A Good Night’s Sleep
A good night’s sleep is essential for everybody. More so for CAT aspirants as they need to have deep focus, sharp memory and alertness. Experts say, it is important to sleep for a minimum of eight hours in the night to be fully energized, alert and attentive in the daytime. To ensure there is no daytime fatigue, you must fix a time to sleep. Sleep and wake up at the same time every day. This routine will fix your body clock and optimize the quality of your sleep. The better your sleep the better you will be able to concentrate on CAT preparation. There are confusing theorems and concepts in CAT syllabus that will require a lot of mind work. So, there’s no point in burning the midnight oil if you can’t recall in the morning what you studied at night.
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To be able to optimize your CAT 2025 exam preparation you have to be physically fit. Along with sleep, you need to watch your diet. Avoid fried and fatty food as they tend to induce lethargy. Add fresh fruits and vegetables to your diet for protein, vitamins and other important minerals. Dark leafy vegetables, fish, berries, walnuts and food rich in omega-3 fatty acids are good for the brain. Also, avoid eating out to prevent upset stomach or any sort of illness that may hamper your studies. You need to study daily for 6-8 hours. If you skip a day, you will have to work extra on CAT topics the next day.
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Recreational Activities
While there is no argument about the fact that you should dedicate your maximum time towards studies, we would like to emphasize that ‘all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ Too many hours of solving CAT DILR puzzles and wracking your brain over CAT Quant problems can slow you down. Take a break and engage in some recreational activity. Listen to music or watch your favourite TV show or take an hour off to play any outdoor game to rejuvenate yourself. Take some time off daily and do whatever energises you and refreshes your mind and then get back to studies with renewed vigour. It is also important for you to practice some kind of physical exercise to prevent laziness and lethargy. You can also opt for Yoga and meditation for a calm and uncluttered mind.
You can pick up puzzles, word games and mind games as leisure activity. This will serve dual purpose of CAT Logical Reasoning practice and recreation.
Besides these three main lifestyle activities, you also need to pay attention to other small details like your study environment, study table, lighting system in your study room and place and the time of studying.
Aspirants should start preparing for CAT exam at least nine months in before the test date. CAT preparation requires long-term planning thus one must start early. The best time to start CAT preparation is in March. Starting early will also help you assess that whether you need to join a coaching institute or not.
Divide your preparation into two phases -
- Covering the CAT syllabus
- Practicing mock tests, sample questions and revision.
The CAT syllabus includes the following topics:
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension: Parajumbles, Parasummary, Sentence Completion and Inferences, Questions based on passages, para meaning, order of sentences
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: Tables, Graphs, Pie Charts, Venn Diagram, Blood Relation, Seating Arrangement, Caselets and Syllogism
- Quantitative Aptitude: Geometry, Algebra, Number System, Arithmetic, Mensuration.
You can read the following CAT books for exam preparation:
- CAT Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
- Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K Sinha
- Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
- How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay
- 30 Days to a More Powerful Vocabulary Mass Market Paperback by Wilfred Funk and Norman Lewis/ Simon and Schuster
- How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for the CAT by Sharma and Upadhyay
- High School English Grammar and Composition by Wren and Martin
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Nishit Sinha
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha.
Yes, the difficulty level of CAT syllabus is very high as compared to other MBA entrance exams. However, if you prepare well and follow the CAT exam pattern well, you will be able to score well. Besides having an understanding of the CAT syllabus 2025, candidates also need to be well aware of the CAT exam pattern before they start preparing for the exam. The CAT exam pattern was revised in 2021 and the number of questions were reduced from 76 to 66. The structure of CAT 2023 and CAT 2024 was the same. The syllabus is still tougher than other exams.
The most important things to keep in mind are:
- CAT exam mode is online
- Each question carries three marks
- There is negative marking of minus one mark for wrong attempts
The section-wise distribution of questions and difficulty levels as per the latest CAT exam pattern are listed below:
- Quantitative Ability (QA) - 24 questions, difficulty level - moderate to high
- Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) - 20 questions, difficulty level - moderate
- Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) - 22 questions, difficulty level - moderate. to high
Study Desk
Make sure your study table and chair are at the right height, which supports your posture as wrong posture can lead to discomfort which can affect your concentration. You also need to ensure that your seating arrangement is not causing back pain to you. Don’t study for CAT exam continuously for long hours. Take small breaks of 5-10 minutes in between. This way you will be able to give rest to your eyes and brain too.
Also Read:
- CAT total marks and number of questions
- CAT quantitative aptitude syllabus
- Logical reasoning topics for CAT
Lighting System
Tiredness of eyes is common to all of us. Long hours of study during CAT 2025 preparation can severely affect your eyes. That is why your study area should be well lit. It should be neither too bright nor dim. Try to study in natural light as much as possible. It provides a soothing effect which is absent in artificial lights. Keep the screen light of your laptop/desktop at comformtable limit.
CAT is a speed based test which is designed to assess a candidate's 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.
The best way to prepare for DILR section is through practice. Before starting the preparation, aspirants should be accustomed to the question types by going through previous years’ question papers and solving those. Since there is not much conceptual understanding required in this section, practice is the key to excel in this area.
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.
Ideally, students start their preparation for CAT and other management entrance tests from the 2nd year onwards. -Starting by understanding the syllabus and the concepts of each section. -Once you are thorough will the syllabus, practice with mock tests, and identify your strengths as well as weak areas. -Be consistent with your stronger portions and keep working on your loose ends too. -If a particular topic is out of your understanding, don't waste much time on that. Rather try to improve the sections you are performing on average. -No student ever tries to attempt the whole exam. Strategies & plan on attempting your test. -Practice as many Mocks as you can, no matter how much score you are getting. Mock tests will help you will time management which is yet another important aspect of giving entrances. -Do keep the backup option of the other entrance tests as well as the syllabus is more or less the same. -Keep yourself updated with the Current Affairs and news, especially business and economics. That will help you with your GD&PI. -Last but not the least, don't pressurize yourself. Just take it easy and give your best. Good Luck :). .
Time and Place of Study
Since studying is going to be your main occupation for the next few months, you need to create the right environment for it. The one which is free from noise and disturbances. Set up your study area away from your living room where family members watch TV, listen to music or converse with each other. Don’t study in a room which invites noise from outside.
You also need to set a time table for CAT preparation 2025. Experts say, early morning is the best time to study new concepts and solving problems as the mind is fresh after sleep. Post-dinner study time is good for revision and studying relatively lighter topics.
Stay Away from Phone
Last but not the least, stay away from your smartphone, IPad and other gadgets that have the potential to distract you.
Implement these few things in your preparation plan and see the result. All the best for CAT 2025!
Free CAT Mock Tests by Shiksha
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| CAT 2025: Preparation Plan for Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning |
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| VARC Questions with Answers for Practice | DILR Questions with Answers for Practice | Quantitative Aptitude Questions with Answers for Practice |
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Usually, it is recommended to start CAT preparation about a year or nine months in advance. However, one can prepare for this exam even in six months if they put 8-10 hours daily into it. Candidates who have attempted the CAT before may not face a lot of hurdles in six-month preparation as they have a foundation in CAT preparation from previous year, but candidates who are appearing in the exam for the first time may face obstacles, mostly related to accuracy. The syllabus of CAT is vast and includes a lot of reading.
One also has to spend a lot of time in practice sessions and mock tests to be able to master all types of CAT questions - easy, moderate and tough. If you are a student of engineering/technical or commerce background you will need to pay extra attention on VARC .
However, you'll be able to manage the syllabus of DILR and Quantitative Aptitude with adequate practice of topics. But if you are a student from Arts background, it is advised to start CAT preparation much earlier because you will have to brush up a lot of Mathematics. Reading Comprehension is one subject that cannot be mastered by student belonging to any academic stream, if their English comprehension is not strong. To develop reading habit all CAT aspirants will have to start much earlier.