CAT 2025 next week; check last-minute preparation tips

New Delhi:

Just a week left for the Common Admission Test (CAT 2025) which is scheduled to be held next Sunday, November 30, the candidates are at their last leg of preparations. CAT is a doorway to get into Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), top b-schools. At these crucial hours of preparations, Usha S, Professor and HOD, SOM, Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science shared some essential preparation tips and tricks that will help candidates to secure cent percentile in the management entrance exam.

CAT 2025: Topic-wise essential preparation tips

VARC

In Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), your first task is to diagnose the passage,just as a pilot checks wind direction before adjusting course. Spend 20–30 seconds reading the first few lines to understand tone and density. An effective target is:

• 3 RC passages attempted
• 12–14 questions in total
• 9–10 correct answers (75–80% accuracy)

Pilot-like decision rules:

• Follow the author’s argument line-by-line—like tracking flight heading
• Eliminate options that add new information; these are “winds” pulling you off course
• For close options, return to the passage for a 10–12 second recheck—like recalibrating altitude—to find the author’s exact intention.

VARC rewards readers who know when to confront complexity and when to switch lanes swiftly.

DILR

Begin the section with a 4–5-minute scan to identify zones that offer workable entry points.

Your operational target:

• 8–10 questions correct
• 2 solid sets fully solved
• 3rd set attempted only if the first two finish early.

Pilot-like decision rules:

• Select structured sets (tables, grids, schedules) first—your “clear corridors.”
• Avoid sets with >10 lines of conditions
• If you invest 8–10 minutes in a set without breakthroughs- disengage.

DILR rewards aspirants who can dive deep into a set but also climb out before losing too much time or accuracy.

QA

Quantitative Ability (QA) mirrors the logic of fuel-efficient flight. Begin with high-yield topics—Arithmetic, Percentages, Profit & Loss, Time, Speed, Distance, Ratios—your stable altitudes.

Targets for a well-balanced attempt:

• 14–16 questions attempted
• 11–13 correct (70–80% accuracy)
• First round: 10–12 quick attempts
• Second round: 4–5 selective confrontations

Aviation-inspired execution rules:

1. Confront a tough question for 25–30 seconds—assess patterns, substitutions
2. Move on if no structure emerges—fuel conservation is critical in QA
3. Use plug-in values for Algebra to accelerate time-to-solution.

Exam Day tips

On exam day, your mission is not a perfect flight but a controlled one.

Keep three numbers at the heart of your strategy:

• 75–80% accuracy overall
• 40–45 total attempts across sections
• Zero extended battles beyond 30–35 seconds without progress.   

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