CAT Exam Preparation Tips 2025: Section wise Strategy, Important Topics and Resources

CAT 2025 Exam on Nov 30, 2025! A well-balanced study, practice, and review strategy is essential for success in the CAT exam. The CAT preparation plan must be strategic and contain answers to significant queries that you face while studying. The strategy should include time-bound activities such as studying the CAT syllabus and structure, covering relevant topics, answering previous years' CAT problems, performing CAT mock tests, and regular revision. The following are crucial recommendations for preparing for the CAT exam 2025.

Though CAT hopefuls and most toppers begin their preparation in January. This offers you adequate time to improve your deficiencies, accelerate your pace, and cement your test-taking method. You must have CAT preparation books for each section to ease your journey. Read on to learn more about the CAT preparation tips 2025 in the article below.

CAT 2025 Last Day Preparation Tips

CAT Exam is scheduled for Nov 30, 2025. Here are a few tips that students can use for the last day of the exam.

Area	What To Do	What NOT To Do
Overall Prep	Revise only known topics	Don’t start new chapters or shortcuts
Quant (QA)	Skim formulas, revise solved questions	No new concepts, no heavy problem solving
LRDI	Revisit 5–6 previously-solved sets	Don’t try new puzzle types
VARC	Read 1–2 short RCs, revise PJ rules	Don’t attempt long RC practice
Mocks	Only check analysis of best mocks	Don’t take a mock test

How to Prepare for CAT 2025 Section-wise?

Let's plan our CAT exam preparation method by section. This will allow you to allocate your efforts and time based on the weighted parts.

CAT VARC Preparation Tips

Based on previous years' trends, we can fairly assume CAT 2025 to have 24 questions in VARC, with 16 on reading comprehension and eight on verbal ability. The ratio of MCQs to TITA questions will be approximately 20-22 MCQs to 2-4 TITA. 

Here are a few tips to prepare for the the VARC (Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension) you would need to check out:

1. Understand the underlying meaning: You need accuracy and speed for the CAT exam. You would want to read carefully and understand the nuances in each reading comprehension passage, and you need to quickly skim-read a passage.
2. Build up your vocabulary and grammar: Get in the habit of reading every single day. Read a novel, a magazine, or a newspaper. The more you read, the more you can expand your vocabulary and reading speed.
3. Select the appropriate reading material: Your material should have sections on grammar and verbal reasoning in VA and explanations on each question.
4. Practising 4-5 reading comprehension questions per day: You should practise several (4-5) reading comprehension questions for a good period of time. 

Also Read:

• When to Start Giving CAT 2025 Mock Tests?
• How to Plan Sectional Attempts in CAT 2025?

CAT Preparation Tips for DILR

Last year, the DILR section faced occasional significant changes. The number of questions went from 20 to 22. Further, the 5 sets of 4 questions contained 3 sets of 4 questions, but also 2 sets of 5 questions. DILR, while simple to begin with, comes with speed, critical analysis and with some mathematical skills that may help.

1. Practice Mock Tests: Practice weekly topic-wise mock tests, along with completing one set of DILR with mixed questions each day. Do focus on every mistake so that you can work on your speed and accuracy. With 40 minutes given to solve 22 questions, speed becomes crucial. 
2. Don’t Attempt Entire Section: Focus on accuracy instead of volume. Scoring two sets correctly can easily land you above 90+ percentile. First, learn how to master two sets, then try to add more. 
3. Develop a Strategy: Being able to identify which sets are easy to solve and which are hard is crucial. Generally, two of the sets are easier. Choose the right ones and learn when to leave some out.

CAT 2025 Preparation Tips for Quantitative Aptitude (QA)

Often touted as one of the hardest sections, the QA one is the one that usually ends up having the lowest cutoff mark. The whole QA syllabus is broken down into 5 subsections, which are Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Number System and Modern Math. Those who start their preparation for the CAT early enough can expect to finish the whole syllabus.

1. Practice Questions: Consider doing NCERT (Classes 10-12) as the last step before advanced QA to improve basics and speed.
2. Mock Tests: Take as many sectional mocks as possible, analyze the errors, and self-review the answers to speed up learning exam-relevant methods.
3. Reteach Yourself: Start with 10th standard maths. Questions in the CAT are supposed to be tricky, so develop accuracy based on strong fundamentals.
4. Shortcuts: Familiarize, then use, shortcuts for problem-solving to save time and enhance precision.
5. Time Management: Record the time taken to solve the questions and try to decrease it. Identify questions where too much time is consumed and omit them during the exam.

Also Read:

• Where can I find Free PDF Materials to Study for CAT 2025?
• Which IIM is Conducting CAT 2025?

CAT Sectional Weightage and Expected Ideal Attempts

The difficulty level of the question paper in CAT 2025 remains relatively unchanged. Topics and sectional weightages remain unchanged.

Also Read: When to Start Preparing for CAT 2025?

How to Prepare for CAT 2025 in the Last 3 Months?

Here’s a 3-month roadmap to prepare for CAT in a structured, focused way:

Month 1 - Set up Foundations and Core Principles

• Review NCERT Math Books for Grades 10-12 for the basics of QA. 
• Complete 1-2 DILR sets per day and work on DILR accuracy. 
• Deepen vocabulary and reading comprehension skills using newspapers and editorials, and work on practice passages. 
• Begin sectional tests (1-2 per week), starting with the easiest topics. 

Month 2 - Application and Improvement 

• Increase frequency of full mocks, completing one per week, and do 2-3 sectionals. 
• Pay attention to areas identified as weak—go through the mistakes and identify the shortcut paths. 
• Devote attention in DILR to varied sets, work on increasing the number of timed practice sessions. 
• Complete advanced QA problems and focus on time spent to solve the question. 
• VARC - focus on the passages and build on the skills needed for RC inference. 

Month 3 - Evaluation and Exam Preparation 

• Complete 2-3 full mocks every week and practice in exam-like conditions. 
• Review and assess your mock exam performance in relation to your accuracy, time taken, and the choice of questions. 
• Figure out your strategy for every section: what to attempt, in what order, and what to focus on for each. 
• Spend time on recalling the formulas or shortcuts, along with the usual question types. 
• Avoid practicing time on question sets with lesser accuracy to spend more time on, and score more.

CAT Preparation Online Free Resources

Take a look at the table below to check free resources for CAT preparation.

Resource	Highlights
2IIM	Videos, quizzes, question banks, solutions
InsideIIM	Mocks, articles, strategy decks, formulas
Others	Takshzila PDFs, GMATClub bank, TIME videos

Also Read:

• High-scoring Topics in CAT VARC Section 2025
• What is a good Quant score in CAT? Tips to Score Better

Conclusion

Your CAT preparation 2025 should begin as soon as possible. Even if you're sure in your ability to answer the majority of the questions, it's best to start with a diagnostic exam to see if your confidence is incorrect. CAT 2025 is scheduled for November 30, 2025, leaving you with only a few months to prepare. There are numerous moving factors, and a little guidance can go a long way toward ensuring you start your CAT preparation on the right track.