The CAT 2025 exam analysis is still the best free benchmark you have for CAT 2026. With the exam scheduled for 29 November 2026, you have roughly four weeks left. That is enough time to learn from what 2.58 lakh candidates faced last year and fix your approach.
This CAT 2025 paper analysis uses the official exam pattern and result data, plus slot-wise expert breakdowns. Percentile figures are marked as approximate where they are not official.
Quick Summary: CAT 2025 Exam Analysis in 60 Seconds
- Overall difficulty: Moderate to moderately difficult, and slightly tougher than CAT 2024 according to expert reviews.
- Most decisive section: DILR, with long, calculation-heavy sets.
- Slot-wise picture: Slot 1 was the most balanced. Slot 2 was the most time-consuming. Slot 3 had the toughest QA.
- Pattern: 68 questions, three sections of 40 minutes each, +3 for a correct answer, −1 for a wrong MCQ, and no negative marking for TITA.
- Benchmark: About 85 scaled marks gave roughly the 99th percentile (unofficial estimate). That is well below the roughly 96 seen in CAT 2024.
- Participation: 2.95 lakh registered and 2.58 lakh appeared, both lower than the previous year.
CAT 2025 Exam Analysis at a Glance
| Detail | CAT 2025 |
|---|---|
| Conducting institute | IIM Kozhikode |
| Exam date | 30 November 2025 (Sunday) |
| Slots | 3 (8:30–10:30 AM, 12:30–2:30 PM, 4:30–6:30 PM) |
| Registered candidates | About 2.95 lakh |
| Appeared candidates | About 2.58 lakh |
| Final answer key | 17 December 2025 |
| Result declared | 24 December 2025 |
| 100 percentilers | 12 (2 female, 10 male; 3 engineers, 9 non-engineers) |
| Score validity | Until 31 December 2026 |
CAT 2025 Exam Pattern: What the Paper Looked Like
The CAT 2025 exam pattern kept the 68-question structure from the previous year. Each section had its own 40-minute clock. You could not carry spare time from one section to another.
| Section | MCQs | TITA | Total | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VARC | 20 | 4 | 24 | 40 min |
| DILR | 11 | 11 | 22 | 40 min |
| QA | 14 | 8 | 22 | 40 min |
| Total | 45 | 23 | 68 | 120 min |
Slot-wise TITA counts varied by one or two questions, so treat 23 as the pattern figure rather than a fixed count. The maximum score is 204 (68 × 3). You lose one mark for each wrong MCQ, while TITA answers carry no penalty. That makes an educated attempt at TITA questions worthwhile.
CAT 2025 Difficulty Level: Slot-Wise Analysis
Overall, the CAT 2025 difficulty level was moderate to moderately difficult. Experts also called it a little harder than CAT 2024. The three slots did not feel the same, which is why normalisation mattered so much (more on that below).
| Slot | Overall | Easiest section | Toughest section |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 | Moderate | VARC | DILR |
| Slot 2 | Moderately difficult | QA | VARC and DILR (reviewers differed) |
| Slot 3 | Moderately difficult | VARC | QA |
Expert reviewers did not always agree on Slot 2, so treat these as directional ranges rather than exact rankings.
Slot 1 was the most balanced paper. It had one clearly scoring DILR set, and its QA was moderate.
Slot 2 was the most time-consuming. Its VARC passages were denser, with closer answer options. Its DILR sets, including a scatter-plot index set, ate time.
Slot 3 had the friendliest reading passages but the toughest quant. It contained fewer straightforward TITA opportunities, and many students rated this slot the hardest overall.
CAT 2025 Section-Wise Analysis
VARC: CAT 2025 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension
VARC had four reading comprehension passages of about 400–450 words each, with four questions per passage. The 8 verbal ability questions had a fixed mix: 2 summary, 2 para-completion, 2 odd-one-out and 2 para-jumble questions. Para-jumbles were back after a gap.
| Slot | Passage themes (sample) |
|---|---|
| Slot 1 | Diagnosing mental disorders, income inequality and growth, electronic music, complex systems and tail events |
| Slot 2 | Evolution of a fish species, biases in AI, the role of “place” in literature, science and culture |
| Slot 3 | Ill-effects of dams, AI and ethical decision-making, the Forest Act 1982, tribal art |
The themes ranged from science to law and arts, so the exam rewarded broad reading habits more than a narrow topic list.
For a timing plan, read CATMOCK’s guide on how to attempt CAT VARC in 40 minutes.
DILR: CAT 2025 Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning
DILR was the most decisive section in this CAT 2025 exam analysis. Every slot had five sets: two with 5 questions and three with 4 questions. There were also 11 TITA questions in the section.
- Slot 1: import–export data for five countries, train movement, employee ratings, a circular arrangement with four people and seven chairs, and a yes/no set.
- Slot 2: bar graphs on authors and books, a ranking puzzle, a weighted-average pollution index, a scatter plot and a musicians set.
- Slot 3: a calling-pattern puzzle, a puzzle chart, a seven-student circular arrangement, a currency-exchange set and a trade-balance set.
Success depended less on solving everything and more on choosing the right two or three sets within the first few minutes.
QA: CAT 2025 Quantitative Aptitude
Arithmetic and algebra together made up more than half the paper. Here is the topic spread by slot:
| Area | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arithmetic | 8 | 8 | 7 |
| Algebra | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Modern Math | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Geometry | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Number Systems | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| Total | 22 | 22 | 22 |
Time-speed-distance, ratios, percentages and mixtures were common on the arithmetic side. Functions, logarithms, quadratics and inequalities showed up in algebra. The CAT formula book is a handy way to revise these quickly.
CAT 2025 Good Attempts: How Many Questions Were Enough?
Good attempts are the number of questions a strong candidate could answer with high accuracy. These are expert estimates, and they varied by slot.
| Section | Slot 1 | Slot 2 | Slot 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC | 12–14 | 10–12 | 12–13 |
| DILR | About 10 | 8–9 | 8–9 |
| QA | 11–12 | 6–7 | 8–9 |
Across the paper, DILR rewarded patience while QA rewarded selection. If you attempted 7–8 DILR questions at 75–80% accuracy, you landed in the neighbourhood of the 85th percentile. Reaching 95+ typically needed around 10–11 attempts at 80–85% accuracy.
CAT 2025 Score vs Percentile (Approximate)
The official scorecard is the only authoritative source for your percentile. Still, independent analyses built on post-result data point to a consistent picture. All figures below are approximate scaled scores out of 204.
| Percentile | CAT 2025 (approx.) | CAT 2024 (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| 99 | ~85 | ~96 |
| 98 | ~76 | ~85 |
| 95 | ~62 | ~70 |
| 90 | ~51 | ~57 |
| 85 | ~44 | ~49 |
| 80 | ~38 | ~43 |
Higher up, estimates put the 99.5th percentile near 93 and the 99.9th near 111.
The gap between the two years is the key insight. It took roughly ten fewer scaled marks to reach the 99th percentile in CAT 2025. That fits a paper that was harder than the previous year’s.
Approximate sectional scores for common targets:
| Percentile | VARC | DILR | QA |
|---|---|---|---|
| 99 | ~41–44 | ~26–30 | ~28–32 |
| 95 | ~32 | ~21–22 | ~22–25 |
| 90 | ~25–26 | ~15–17 | ~17–18 |
Remember that IIMs usually apply sectional as well as overall cutoffs. A strong total with one weak section can still cost you a shortlist.
Why Normalisation Changed the CAT 2025 Slot-Wise Analysis
CAT is held in multiple slots with different papers. IIM Kozhikode used a normalisation process to make scores comparable, which is why your raw score and scaled score differ.
Exam-day estimates show this effect. For the 99th percentile, raw-score estimates were about 90 in Slot 1, 83 in Slot 2 and 86 in Slot 3. For the 95th percentile they were about 70, 65 and 65. The easier slot needed a higher raw score for the same percentile.
Don’t judge your attempt by raw marks alone. Wait for the scaled score and percentile on the scorecard.
CAT 2025 Result Highlights and Participation Trends
| Metric | CAT 2024 | CAT 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Conducting IIM | IIM Calcutta | IIM Kozhikode |
| Registered | About 3.29 lakh | About 2.95 lakh |
| Appeared | About 2.93 lakh | About 2.58 lakh |
| 100 percentilers | 14 | 12 |
Participation fell by roughly 10% in registrations and 12% in test-takers. Nine of the twelve 100 percentilers came from non-engineering backgrounds. The top scorers spread across eight states, with Delhi leading with three, followed by Haryana and Gujarat with two each.
Fewer test-takers did not make the exam easier. The 99th percentile still demanded accurate, well-chosen attempts.
What the CAT 2025 Paper Analysis Means for Your CAT 2026 Preparation
Here is how to turn this CAT 2025 exam review into a plan for the next four weeks.
- Solve the real paper first. Attempt the CAT 2025 previous year paper in one 120-minute sitting, with sectional timers. Review it only after you finish.
- Train DILR set selection. Spend the first 4–5 minutes ranking the five sets by effort. Practise with the DILR Bhandara so you see many set types before exam day.
- Build RC stamina. Read 400–450-word passages on unfamiliar themes daily. The VARC Bhandara gives you a large pool of passages.
- Prioritise arithmetic and algebra. They carry over half the QA section. Use the QA Bhandara for focused sets and the daily practice tests for consistency.
- Use mocks to simulate slot variation. Give full-length tests from a CAT mock test series, and use sectional tests to fix weak areas. Try some full-length CAT mocks under strict timing.
- Treat TITA as free marks. With no negative marking, never leave a TITA blank if you have a reasoned guess.
CAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Frequently Asked Questions
1. Was CAT 2025 difficult?
CAT 2025 was moderate to moderately difficult, and experts rated it a bit tougher than CAT 2024. DILR was the most decisive section, and Slot 3 was widely seen as the hardest slot. The approximate 99th percentile benchmark dropped to about 85 scaled marks from about 96 the year before.
2. How many good attempts were needed in CAT 2025?
It varied by slot. In VARC, 10–14 was a good range, in DILR, 8–10, in QA, 6–12 depending on the slot. Accuracy mattered as much as the count.
3. Which slot was the toughest in CAT 2025?
Slots 2 and 3 were both moderately difficult. Slot 2 was the most time-consuming, and Slot 3 had the toughest QA. Slot 1 was the most balanced.
4. What was the CAT 2025 exam pattern?
There were 68 questions across three sections: VARC (24), DILR (22) and QA (22). Each section was 40 minutes long. You got +3 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong MCQ, and TITA carried no negative marking.
5. How many students appeared in CAT 2025?
About 2.95 lakh candidates registered and about 2.58 lakh appeared.
6. What score was needed for the 99th percentile in CAT 2025?
Unofficial post-result estimates put it at roughly 85 scaled marks. Your official scorecard is the final word.
7. When was the CAT 2025 result declared, and how long is the score valid?
IIM Kozhikode declared the result on 24 December 2025. The score is valid until 31 December 2026.
8. How should I use the CAT 2025 analysis for CAT 2026?
Attempt the 2025 paper under timed conditions and compare your sectional scores with the benchmarks above. Then build your weak-area plan around that gap.
Conclusion
This CAT 2025 exam analysis shows a paper that rewarded judgment over speed. VARC offered readable but lengthy passages, DILR decided most results, and QA tested arithmetic and algebra under time pressure. The drop in the 99th percentile benchmark shows how much a harder paper reshapes the scoring curve.
Your best move for CAT 2026 is to practise the way CAT 2025 tested: choose your questions carefully, protect accuracy and respect each 40-minute clock. For the official CAT process and notices, visit the IIM Kozhikode website, and keep practising with mocks and previous-year papers on CATMOCK.
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