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Don't know how to priorities CAT topics in limited time?. Know which section has highest weightage in CAT 2025 to optimise performance in the exam.
CAT preparation 2025
Starting CAT exam preparation 2025 is a must now, as there's only five months left. To prepare for the CAT exam in an effective manner, it is very important to understand the syllabus and sectional weightage. Since sectional cut off is critical in CAT, candidates need to pay equal attention to all three sections - Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), Quantitative Aptitude (QA) and Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC). With the limited time in hand, how do you plan to prepare for CAT? It is important to know the weightage of the subjects of CAT exam so that you can focus on maximizing the score in CAT 2025. More importantly you should know which section has the highest weightage in CAT, to make a better strategy.
Sectional cut off is crucial to score high percentile and get selected in a top B-school thus candidates need to prepare equally well for every section. In CAT exam, VARC has the maximum weightage, i.e. 24 questions and 72 marks. Next to VARC, QA has a weightage of 22 questions and 66 marks. DILR section has the minimum weightage in CAT, i.e. 22 questions and 66 marks. Let’s look at the weightage of sub topics in these CAT sections.
Also Read:
- Which section has highest weightage in 2025?
- CAT VARC Weightage
- CAT DILR Weightage
- CAT Quantitative Aptitude Weightage
Which section has highest weightage in 2025?
In the following tables you can see which section has highest weightage, sub topics, question type and level of difficulty. These table carry CAT 2025 data, but can be seen are a reference for CAT 2025 weightage is usually the same every year.
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CAT VARC Weightage
VARC has the maximum weightage in CAT exam and it is also the first section of the CAT question paper that candidates have to solve within 40 minutes. Within the VARC section of CAT, reading comprehension has maximum weightage. So, candidates need to focus on RCs during the preparation. Given below is the break up of CAT 2024 VARC section. Usually, there are Parajumble questions in CAT VARC, but in 2024, there wasn't any. In CAT 2025, parajumbles questions many be asked, but they will not be more than 4-5.
| VARC sections |
No. of questions |
Type |
Difficulty Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |
MCQ |
Medium |
|
| Paragraph completion |
3 |
MCQ |
|
| Summary |
3 |
MCQ |
|
| Odd Sentence Questions |
2 |
TITA |
CAT DILR Weightage
In the DILR section of CAT 2024, there were 22 questions. Weightage of DI and LR is usually equal. but in 2024 exam, there were more DI sets than LR sets. CAT DILR questions are on the tougher side and also time consuming. They must target at least 12-15 questions in the DILR section with 100 per cent accuracy, to score well.
| Area |
No. of Questions |
Question Type |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
3 MCQ, 1 TITA |
Easy |
|
| Data Interpretation | 4 |
2 MCQ, 2 TITA |
Moderate |
| Data Interpretation |
5 |
4 MCQ, 1 TITA |
Moderate to Difficult |
| 4 |
5 TITA |
Moderatre |
|
| Logical Reasoning |
5 |
3 MCQ, 1 TITA |
Easy to moderate |
| Overall |
22 |
-- |
Moderate |
Also Read:
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.
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.
CAT Quantitative Aptitude Weightage
The weightage of Quantitative Aptitude in CAT is 66 marks. It has a total of 22 questions of moderate to high difficulty. This section of the CAT has traditionally been calculation intensive thus, there is no way out but to practice, practice and practice more. Within the section, Arithmetic has maximum weightage. Check the table below for CAT Quantitative Aptitude weightage.
| Area |
No. of Questions |
Question Type |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
8 |
MCQ |
Moderate |
| Algebra |
7 |
MCQ |
Moderate |
| Geometry |
3 |
MCQ |
Moderate |
| Modern Maths |
3 |
MCQ |
Moderate |
| Numbers |
1 |
MCQ |
Moderate |
| Overall |
22 |
-- |
Moderate |
CAT 2025 aspirants must keep in mind that in this exam, it doesn’t matter how many questions they have solved, but what matters is how many questions they have solved correctly because for each incorrect answer one mark is deducted. So, focus on the questions that you can solve accurately. So solve CAT questions of previous years and attempt 30-40 fill length CAT mock tests to improve your speed and accuracy in all the DILR, VARC and Quantitative Aptitude.
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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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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 19 hours 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
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 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.
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 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
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Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Hi.
The Vishwakarma University cutoff 2024 is 50 for all the categories.
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 4 days ago
Hi.
The CAT cutoff percentile is required for IMS Ghaziabad is 75. This is the qualifying cutoff for all specializations, including Marketing, Finance, HRM, and Business Analytics.
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Scholar-Level 17
Answered 4 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
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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.
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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.
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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 |
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Contributor-Level 9
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Contributor-Level 9
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.