The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a single entrance examination for admission to numerous business universities across India, serving as the sole entry test for the highly regarded Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). As of mid-2025, students aspiring to pursue an MBA are eagerly anticipating CAT 2025. While official notifications for dates are rumored to be released around July and August, a comprehensive overview of the structure, syllabus, and preparation strategies is already available.

This manual offers insights based on recent exam patterns to help candidates prepare more efficiently and effectively.

Tentative Dates for CAT 2025: Important Dates and What Lies Ahead

As of June 4, 2025, CAT 2025 is expected to have its official notification released by the last week of July 2025. Following past trends, IIM Kozhikode is likely to be the conducting body for CAT 2025.

Here's an estimated schedule based on previous patterns:

• Last week of July 2025: Notification Release CAT 2025
• First week of August 2025: Registration Begins
• Third week of September 2025: Registration Ends
• Last week of September 2025: Application Form Correction Window
• First week of November 2025: CAT 2025 Admit Card Download
• November 30, 2025: CAT Exam Date (Last Sunday of November)
• First week of December 2025: Answer Key Release CAT 2025
• Last week of December 2025 or First week of January 2026: Results Declared

Candidates must regularly check the official IIM CAT website (iimcat.ac.in) for confirmed details and official updates.

Unpacking CAT Exam Pattern 2025: Structure and Strategy

CAT has undergone several changes over the years. The current format, implemented in 2021, is a two-hour exam divided into three sections. This structure is expected to persist in 2025 with no major alterations, apart from potential reordering of questions within sections.

Expected Key Features of the CAT 2025 Exam Pattern (likely to remain the same):

• Exam Type: Computer-Based Test (CBT)
• Total Duration: 120 minutes (2 hours)
• Allocation of Time per Section: 40 minutes per section
• Total Number of Sections: 3
  • Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)
  • Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
  • Quantitative Ability (QA)
• Order of Sections: Fixed (VARC -> DILR -> QA). No section can be accessed before the assigned time for the current section has elapsed.
• Total Expected Questions: Approximately 68 (based on CAT 2024, which had 68 questions; an incremental increase from 66 in 2021-2023)
• Total Expected Marks: 204 (3 marks per question)
• Marking Criteria:
  • Every correct answer: +3
  • Incorrect Multiple Choice Question (MCQ): -1
  • Type-in-the-Answer (TITA) questions: No negative marking
• Question Types: Combination of MCQ and TITA. TITA questions usually comprise 25-30% of the paper.
• On-screen calculator: Available for use during the exam.
• On-screen clock: Facilitates sectional timing.

Target Focus and Expected Questions Per Section (in accordance with recent patterns):

Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC):

• Total Questions: 24 (approximately 21 MCQs and 3 TITA)
• Breakdown:
  • Reading Comprehension (RC): Mostly encompasses two passages with 4-5 questions each; tends to include 4 passages. RC passages cover a range of topics within philosophy, science, literature, economics, and current affairs. This typically comprises around 16-20 questions.
  • Verbal Ability (VA): Accounts for the remaining questions. It normally includes:
    • Para Jumbles: A set of sentences that need to form a coherent sequence, providing a grammatical context among sentences.
    • Para Summary: Pinpointing the main idea from a given paragraph that features the central thesis or argument.
    • Odd One Out: Selecting a sentence that seems irrelevant to a coherent paragraph.
  • There has been a pattern of including all three question types. There are also new types with varying frequencies, so some types may have their counts altered or may be excluded entirely. For example, CAT 2024 reportedly had no para jumble questions.
• Strategy: Strong reading speed and comprehension skills are essential. Practice extracting main ideas, drawing inferences, spotting logical contradictions, and identifying the tone. For VA, focus on sentence composition and adherence to grammatical rules of style while maintaining cohesion.

Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR):

• Total Questions: 22 (14 MCQs and 8 TITA)
• Breakdown: Easily the most unpredictable section, it frequently has the toughest sets. It typically consists of 4-5 sets, with each set containing 4-6 questions.
  • Data Interpretation (DI): Focuses on answering questions based on tables, bar graphs, line charts, pie charts, scatter plots, and even caselets (text-based data). The emphasis is on analyzing and interpreting the given data.
  • Logical Reasoning (LR): Involves solving logical puzzles, identifying seating arrangements, blood relations, syllogisms, Venn Diagrams, logical sequencing, coding-decoding, and other analytical reasoning tasks.
• Strategy: This section requires advanced evaluation skills and a quick understanding of difficult scenarios. The focus is on selecting the correct sets of questions, as some can be very time-consuming. Work with a variety of set types and aim for a structured problem-solving approach.

Quantitative Ability (QA):

• Total Questions: 22 (approximately 14 MCQs and 8 TITA)
• Breakdown: The focus is on assessing students from grades 8 to 10, with a strong emphasis on their understanding of concepts and problem-solving speed.
  • Arithmetic: Dominant part (around 40% weightage). Includes topics like Percentages, Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Ratio & Proportion, Averages, Time & Work, Time-Speed-Distance.
  • Algebra: Significant part (around 30% weightage). Covers topics like Linear & Quadratic Equations, Functions, Logarithms, Progressions (AP, GP, HP), Inequalities.
  • Geometry & Mensuration: Triangles, Circles, Quadrilaterals, Polygons, Solid Geometry, Co-ordinate Geometry.
  • Number System: Properties of numbers, Divisibility, Factors, Multiples, Remainders.
  • Modern Math: Sets & combinatorics, Permutations and Combinations, Probability, and Set Theory.
• Strategy: Refine each topic to its most basic principles. Arithmetic and Algebra are particularly valuable subjects. Solve a variety of problems ranging in difficulty, focusing on accuracy and speed. Develop shortcuts and techniques for mental calculations.

Eligibility Criteria for CAT 2025

These criteria typically do not change frequently year to year. For CAT 2025, the following criteria are anticipated:

• Educational Qualification: The candidate should possess a Bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% marks or equivalent CGPA. For Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and Persons with Benchmark Disabilities (PwD) categories, the minimum is 45%.
• Recognized University/Institution: The degree must be awarded by a university/educational institution established through an Act of Parliament or State Legislature in India, or an educational institute recognized by the UGC or AIU.
• Final Year Students: Those who are yet to complete their bachelor’s degree (or equivalent), and those who have completed degree requirements and are awaiting results, can also apply. Admission will be provisional and subject to verification of a candidate’s university/institution statement certifying completion of all degree requirements with requisite marks/CGPA.
• Professional Degrees: Candidates with professional qualifications like CA/CS/ICWA (CMA)/Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of India (FIAI) along with the requisite percentage of marks are also eligible.
• No Age Limit: There is no age limit for appearing in the CAT exam.
• Reservation: Reservations for SC, ST, NC-OBC, EWS, and PwD categories are as per Government of India norms. Certificates must be valid and in the stipulated format.

Meeting the eligibility requirements does not guarantee a call for further selection processes (Group Discussion, Personal Interview, Written Ability Test). Additional factors considered by IIMs include prior academic performance, work experience, diversity among candidates, and sectional cut-offs.

The CAT Score vs. Percentile: Understanding the Outcome

Post-exam evaluation is measured in two terms: Raw Score and Percentile.

• Raw score: This is your actual score, calculated by awarding positive marks for correct answers and negative marks for wrong MCQs.
• Scaled Score: Since CAT is conducted in multiple slots, raw scores are normalized to a “scaled score” to account for slight variations in difficulty across these slots. This ensures fairness and uniformity in evaluating performance across different test sessions.
• Percentile: This is the most important measure. Your percentile indicates the percentage of candidates who scored the same or lower than you. For instance, a 99 percentile means you have outperformed 99 percent of all test takers.

The CAT percentile is a relative score and varies annually depending on the exam’s difficulty, the total number of candidates, and their performances. Generally, to gain admission into the top IIMs (A, B, C, L, K, I), a percentile score above 98-99 is typically needed for General category applicants, along with meeting sectional cut-offs. For newer IIMs and other highly reputed non-IIM B-schools, the cut-off tends to be around 90 - 97+ percentile.

Complete Strategy to Prepare for the CAT Exam 2025

Passing the CAT exam requires disciplined and strategic preparation. Here are the most important pillars that need your utmost attention:

Get Acquainted with the Syllabus and Pattern of the Exam

Understand the test structure, including question types, marking system, and time allocated to each section. Knowing the expectations sets you up for success. Familiarize yourself with all sections in detail: VARC, DILR, and QA.

Strengthening the Building Blocks (Strengthen Your Fundamentals)

• Quantitative Ability (QA): Review middle school mathematics concepts. Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, number systems, and modern math form the majority of the basics. Focus on understanding the concepts behind the formulas.
• Verbal Ability (VA): Polish grammar, vocabulary, and sentence construction to elevate your General English skills. Reading broadly will promote comprehension and help develop logical reasoning.
• Logical Reasoning (LR): Practice solving logical puzzles, classification games, series, and coding-decoding. Develop a structured strategy for tackling complex logical problems.
• Data Interpretation (DI): Work on your calculation speed and accuracy. Practice analyzing different graphs and tables.

Extensive Reading (for VARC and Overall Aptitude)

Reading is essential. Develop a habit of reading diverse materials like editorials, philosophy books, economics journals, literature, science articles, and social issues. This not only prepares you for RC passages but also enhances vocabulary, general awareness, and critical thinking. Do not skip high-quality sources such as Aeon Essays, The Economist, Scientific American, Smithsonian Magazine, and reputable newspapers.

Practice Consistently: The Golden Rule

• Focus on Practice by Topic: After understanding a concept, solve many related problems, gradually increasing their difficulty.
• Sectional Tests: Once comfortable with individual topics, take timed sectional tests to train for speed and accuracy within each section's time limits.
• Previous Year Papers (PYQs): Solving previous years' CAT papers is invaluable. They provide a feel for the exam’s difficulty, question types, and frequently tested areas. Aim to solve the last 5-7 years' papers.

Mock Tests: Your Most Potent Weapon

• Regular Full-Length Mock Tests: Once a significant portion of your syllabus is complete, start taking full-length mock tests weekly. In the last few months before the exam, increase the frequency to 2-3 mocks per week.
• Mock Test Reflection: The most crucial part of mock tests is analyzing your performance afterward, not just focusing on the score during the test. After every mock, meticulously review your performance. This includes:
  • Evaluating your time management.
  • Identifying your strong and weak areas (topics and question types).
  • Determining the mistakes made (conceptual errors, silly errors, time pressure, misinterpretation).
  • Reviewing sectional time management and assessing if you spent too much or too little time on specific problems.
  • Learning from your mistakes.
• Mock Strategy Formation: Mock tests help refine strategies for each section. In DILR, it's about deciding on the order of preferred sets, while in QA, it's about understanding which topics to prioritize. Effective time allocation is as important as knowledge in CAT – each 40-minute section requires vigorous time management.
• Practice time management using the "two-pass" method: In the first pass, quickly go through all easy and moderate questions; the second pass allows revisiting complex challenges if time permits.
• Don’t get stuck on a question. If you cannot complete a problem within a reasonable time (e.g., 2-3 minutes for a single question, or 8-10 minutes for an RC passage or DILR set), move on. Do not let ego waste valuable time.

Physical and Mental Health

Remember that preparing for CAT can be stressful. Prioritize good sleep, a healthy diet, regular exercise, and relaxation. Stay kind to yourself. You are capable of achieving your goals with determination. Focus on continuous improvement and self-belief rather than obsessing over setbacks.

IIM Selection Process Beyond the Score

A good CAT score alone is not sufficient; it is just one of the prerequisites. After the CAT results are out, IIMs and other top B-schools initiate their application processes, which involve several stages:

• Shortlisting of candidates based on their CAT score and profile: IIMs combine CAT percentile scores with academic profiles (10th, 12th, graduation marks), work experience, and sometimes academic and gender diversity to create a composite score.
• Written Ability Test (WAT): This written exam is typically an essay on a specific topic, assessing candidates' writing skills, structured thought, and clarity of expression.
• Group Discussion (GD): Aspirants participate in group discussions to evaluate their command over language, leadership skills, teamwork, and ability to present arguments. (Note: Many IIMs have replaced GD with WAT or a combined GD/PI round.)
• Personal Interview (PI): This is one of the most decisive parts, where a panel of faculty members interviews candidates. The interview covers personality, communication skills, general knowledge, career objectives, and suitability for an MBA program.