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CAT exam analysis is one of the most strategically valuable tools available to aspirants preparing for CAT 2026. Every question that appeared in CAT 2025 reveals something specific and authenticated about NTA's testing philosophy: which RC passage domains IIM Kozhikode selected, how difficult the DILR sets were, which QA topics dominated, and how many questions a well-prepared candidate could realistically attempt and answer correctly within the 40-minute sectional clock.
This page provides the complete, authenticated CAT 2025 exam analysis for all three slots conducted on November 30, 2025, by IIM Kozhikode: overall difficulty verdict, section-wise breakdown for VARC, DILR, and QA, good attempts benchmarks per slot and section, RC passage topics, DILR set types, QA chapter distribution, student reactions from first-hand accounts, a year-wise difficulty trend from 2022 to 2025, and how to use this analysis to refine CAT 2026 preparation.
For CAT 2026 aspirants: This page will be updated with live slot-wise analysis on November 29, 2026 within hours of each slot ending. Bookmark this page.
Visit the CAT complete guide for the full exam overview, dates, eligibility, and all resources.
The exam was conducted by IIM Kozhikode on November 30, 2025, across 3 slots. Overall, CAT 2025 was moderately difficult, with variation in difficulty across slots. VARC had readable but lengthy passages, DILR continued to be the most decisive section, and QA varied noticeably across slots.
| Parameter Data | |
| Exam Date | November 30, 2025 (Sunday) |
| Conducting IIM | IIM Kozhikode |
| Total Candidates Registered | Approximately 2.95 lakh |
| Total Candidates Appeared | 2.58 lakh |
| Exam Centres | 339 centres across 170 cities |
| Slots | 3 (Slot 1: 8:30 AM, Slot 2: 12:30 PM, Slot 3: 4:30 PM) |
| Total Questions | 68 (VARC: 24, DILR: 22, QA: 22) |
| Total Marks | 204 |
| Duration | 120 minutes (40 minutes per section) |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate to Difficult |
| Toughest Slot | Slot 2 (DILR and QA both demanding) |
| Most Balanced Slot | Slot 1 |
| Toughest Section | DILR (consistent across all 3 slots) |
| Result Released | December 24, 2025 |
| 100 Percentile Achievers | 12 candidates |
| 99.99 Percentile Achievers | 26 candidates |
The CAT 2025 examination was conducted on 30 November 2025, adhering to its long-standing tradition of being held on the last Sunday of November. Administered across three slots, this year's test was conducted by IIM Kozhikode and followed the standard CAT structure: a 120-minute exam comprising VARC, DILR, and QA, with a marking scheme of +3/–1 for MCQs and +3/0 for TITA questions. As expected, no changes were introduced to the exam pattern when compared to CAT 2024.
| Slot Timing Overall Difficulty Toughest Section Easiest Section | ||||
| Slot 1 | 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM | Moderate | DILR | QA |
| Slot 2 | 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM | Moderate to Tough | DILR and QA both demanding | VARC (slightly easier) |
| Slot 3 | 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM | Moderate to Difficult | QA (toughest of day) | VARC |
CAT 2025 showed clear variation across slots, especially in DILR (Slot 2 toughest) and QA (Slot 3 toughest). Slot 1 remained the most balanced. Normalisation will play a key role this year.
VARC was moderate across all three slots. Across all three slots, aspirants reported dense RC passages with lengthy options. A notable structural change was observed: A notable change was the introduction of two TITA-based Parajumble questions, which altered the internal distribution of the eight Verbal Ability questions. The VARC composition featured two questions each from Parajumbles, Sentence Completion, Para Summary, and Odd Sentence/Parajumbles, marking a shift from previous years.
Slot 1 VARC: CAT 2025 Slot 1 was overall moderately difficult with traps across sections and a high number of TITA questions. VARC was slightly tougher than last year due to lengthier options, the return of para jumbles, and RCs based on themes like economics, sociology, consumer behavior, and electric music; the section had 4 TITA questions and 8 VA questions, making 18-19 good attempts feasible.
| Parameter Slot 1 VARC | |
| Difficulty | Moderate (slightly tougher than 2024) |
| RC Passages | 4 passages |
| RC Passage Topics | Economics, Sociology, Consumer Behaviour, Electric Music |
| VA Questions | 8 (Para Jumbles, Para Summary, Odd Sentence, Para Completion) |
| TITA Questions | 4 |
| Good Attempts | 18 to 19 out of 24 |
Slot 2 VARC: VARC was moderate with 4 TITA questions, featuring RCs on AI/ChatGPT, astronomy, science, and a tougher literature passage, while VA included para jumbles, para summaries, para completion, and odd-one-outs, making 15-18 good attempts feasible.
| Parameter Slot 2 VARC | |
| Difficulty | Moderate |
| RC Passage Topics | AI/ChatGPT, Astronomy, Science, Literature |
| VA Types | Para Jumbles, Para Summaries, Para Completion, Odd One Out |
| TITA Questions | 4 |
| Good Attempts | 15 to 18 out of 24 |
Slot 3 VARC: Slot 3 turned out to be moderate to difficult overall. The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section was mostly easy to moderate, with reading-comprehension passages manageable and VA questions fairly doable.
CAT 2025 Slot 3 was moderate to difficult overall, maintaining the day's pattern of balanced but trap-heavy sections. VARC remained moderate with 4 TITA questions, featuring RCs across diverse themes and a VA mix of para jumbles, odd-one-outs, para completion, and para summaries, making 16-18 good attempts realistic.
DILR Became the Toughest Section: From 2020 onwards, DILR consistently emerged as the hardest section. Many students struggled to find even one fully solvable set.
The DILR section had the most variation among the three slots. Unlike CAT 2024, which featured a fixed pattern of three DI sets and two LR sets across all slots, the 2025 exam saw a variable distribution of DI and LR sets. Graph-based DI questions were fewer this year, and all slots were heavy on number-logic-driven LR questions.
Slot 1 DILR: DILR followed CAT 2024's pattern with 5 sets, two 5-question sets (Arrangement and a Quant-LR hybrid) and three 4-question sets (Graphs, Games and Tournament, and layered Tables), totaling 11 TITA questions, with a realistic attempt of 2 to 2.5 sets.
| Parameter Slot 1 DILR | |
| Difficulty | Moderate (DILR heavy; set selection critical) |
| Set Types | Arrangement, Quant-LR Hybrid, Graphs, Games and Tournament, Layered Tables |
| 5-Question Sets | 2 |
| 4-Question Sets | 3 |
| TITA Questions | 11 |
| Good Attempts | 2 to 2.5 sets (8 to 12 questions) |
Slot 2 DILR: DILR section of Slot 2 was the easiest, whereas the Slot 3 was the most challenging.
DILR maintained a moderate level with 11 TITA questions and diverse sets such as a 4-set Venn diagram, puzzles, tabular DI, a quant-heavy LRDI, and linear arrangement, enabling 10 to 12 good attempts.
| Parameter Slot 2 DILR | |
| Difficulty | Moderate (easiest DILR of the day) |
| Set Types | Venn Diagram, Puzzles, Tabular DI, Quant-heavy LRDI, Linear Arrangement |
| TITA Questions | 11 |
| Good Attempts | 10 to 12 questions |
Slot 3 DILR: The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) portion was moderate, though some sets required careful set-selection and time-management under pressure.
| Parameter Slot 3 DILR | |
| Difficulty | Moderate to Challenging (toughest DILR of day) |
| TITA Questions | 11 |
| Good Attempts | 8 to 11 questions |
The Quantitative Ability (QA) section remained consistent across slots and was slightly more challenging than CAT 2024.
Quantitative Aptitude Saw Mixed Trends: QA was toughest in 2019, became manageable in 2020 to 22, and stayed moderate in 2023 to 24 with arithmetic dominating.
Slot 1 QA: Slot 1 was challenging, especially for QA, which leaned heavily on advanced arithmetic and algebra. DILR had tricky sets that tested patience.
QA, though initially appearing tough due to traps, turned out easier than CAT 2023 and comparable to CAT 2024, dominated by Arithmetic and featuring tricky Geometry, with 7 TITA questions and 15 to 17 good attempts.
| Parameter Slot 1 QA | |
| Difficulty | Moderate (traps present but manageable) |
| Dominant Topics | Arithmetic, Tricky Geometry |
| TITA Questions | 7 |
| Good Attempts | 15 to 17 out of 22 |
Slot 2 QA: QA was the toughest section of the slot, with lengthy problems and a mix of Arithmetic (easy), Geometry (moderate tough), and Algebra + Numbers (moderate to hard), resulting in a realistic 10 to 12 good attempts.
The QA section was dominated by Arithmetic and Algebra questions. Across DILR and QA sections, candidates who began with a quick scan of the paper were able to identify several easy and moderate-level questions, helping them maintain high accuracy without unnecessary time pressure.
| Parameter Slot 2 QA | |
| Difficulty | Tough (toughest QA of day overall) |
| Dominant Topics | Arithmetic (easy), Geometry (moderate-tough), Algebra and Number Systems (moderate-hard) |
| TITA Questions | Similar to Slot 1 |
| Good Attempts | 10 to 12 out of 22 |
Slot 3 QA: The Quantitative Ability (QA) section leaned towards the tough side.
| Parameter Slot 3 QA | |
| Difficulty | Tough (toughest QA slot of the day per expert consensus) |
| Good Attempts | 10 to 12 out of 22 |
| Slot VARC Good Attempts DILR Good Attempts QA Good Attempts Total Good Attempts | ||||
| Slot 1 | 18 to 19 | 8 to 12 | 15 to 17 | 41 to 48 |
| Slot 2 | 15 to 18 | 10 to 12 | 10 to 12 | 35 to 42 |
| Slot 3 | 16 to 18 | 8 to 11 | 10 to 12 | 34 to 41 |
Based on the overall difficulty and student feedback, 41 to 46 meaningful attempts with strong accuracy were likely required to reach the 99th percentile in CAT 2025 Slot 2.
"Good attempts" means questions attempted correctly (excluding wrong answers). A candidate who attempts 50 questions but gets 12 wrong has 38 net correct, which is functionally equivalent to 38 good attempts.
Based on normalised results released on December 24, 2025:
| Scaled Score (Approx.) Percentile Range IIM Admission Prospects | ||
| 130 to 145+ | 99.9 to 100 | IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta |
| 118 to 130 | 99.5 to 99.9 | Old IIMs (BLACKI), FMS Delhi |
| 100 to 118 | 99.0 to 99.5 | IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore |
| 85 to 100 | 97.5 to 99.0 | IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, MDI, IIT B |
| 70 to 85 | 95 to 97.5 | New IIMs (Tier 1), SPJIMR, Great Lakes |
| 52 to 61 | 90 percentile approx. | New IIMs (Tier 2 and 3) |
| 40 to 52 | 85 to 90 | Second-tier B-schools |
As per experts, 122 score will convert into 99.99 percentile in CAT 2025. The CAT Score vs Percentile data of 2025 shows that the top percentile has slightly increased in 2025, indicating exam difficulty is tough, requiring 118 to 136 to secure a 99.9+ percentile.
| Year Conducting IIM Overall Difficulty Toughest Section Notable Change | ||||
| 2022 | IIM Bangalore | Moderate | DILR | Stable pattern; no structural change |
| 2023 | IIM Lucknow | Moderate | DILR | Arithmetic dominated QA; higher cutoffs due to easier paper |
| 2024 | IIM Calcutta | Moderate | DILR | Fixed pattern 3 DI + 2 LR sets; CAT 2024 DILR was very tricky |
| 2025 | IIM Kozhikode | Moderate to Difficult | DILR (all slots); QA Slot 2 and 3 | Variable DI/LR set distribution; 2 TITA Para Jumbles in VARC |
DILR has been the toughest section since 2020, making it a cut-off decider. Time management became the key differentiator. Cut-offs influenced by DILR: year after year, DILR determined cut-offs, as QA and VARC were relatively more approachable.
DILR has been the toughest section since 2020, making it a cut-off decider. Practice multiple sets daily from different difficulty levels. Learn to quickly identify solvable sets in mocks. The ability to crack even one strong set can boost your percentile significantly.
For CAT 2026 preparation: dedicate at least 30 to 45 minutes daily to DILR set practice. Include diverse set types: Venn diagrams, Games and Tournaments, Arrangement, Quant-LR hybrids, and Tabular DI. The set-selection decision (which sets to attempt and which to skip) within the first 2 minutes of viewing a set is the most important DILR skill and can only be built through volume practice.
Unlike CAT 2024, which featured a fixed pattern of three DI sets and two LR sets across all slots, the 2025 exam saw a variable distribution of DI and LR sets.
Candidates who prepared only for DI sets or only for LR sets were disadvantaged in slots where the distribution shifted. For CAT 2026: prepare equally for all DILR set types without assuming a fixed DI-to-LR ratio.
A notable change was the introduction of two TITA-based Parajumble questions, which altered the internal distribution of the eight Verbal Ability questions.
TITA Parajumbles carry no negative marking. The correct strategy when encountering TITA VA questions: always attempt them since the downside is zero. This was an advantage for candidates who understood the TITA-no-negative-marking rule and attempted all VA questions regardless of confidence level.
Quantitative Aptitude is mostly arithmetic, algebra, and geometry. Across all three slots, Arithmetic and Algebra together contributed the majority of QA questions. Candidates who built strong arithmetic foundations (Percentages, Ratios, Time-Speed-Distance, Time and Work) consistently managed better QA performance.
Candidates who began with a quick scan of the paper were able to identify several easy and moderate-level questions, helping them maintain high accuracy without unnecessary time pressure. The structure rewarded smart question selection over deep engagement with overly complex problems.
This is the single most important exam-day insight from CAT 2025: attempting fewer questions with higher accuracy outperforms attempting all questions with scattered accuracy. In a 40-minute section, spending 10 minutes on one impossible question costs 2 to 3 achievable questions.
Normalisation will play a key role this year. Since CAT 2025 had clear slot-wise difficulty variation (Slot 2 and 3 tougher in QA; Slot 3 toughest in QA), candidates in harder slots benefit from normalisation. This means a lower raw score in a harder slot can yield a higher percentile than a similar raw score in an easier slot.
Based on student feedback collected from 339 test centres across India on November 30, 2025:
On VARC: Students reported RC passages were lengthy with nuanced options requiring careful reading. The return of Para Jumble questions (which had been less frequent in recent years) surprised some candidates. VA questions in TITA format were generally considered approachable.
On DILR: DILR was universally described as the most stressful section. Many students reported attempting only 2 complete sets and leaving 2 to 3 sets untouched. One student from a Bengaluru centre described spending 12 minutes on a Games and Tournaments set before abandoning it and moving to an arrangement set.
On QA: Slot 1 students found QA manageable despite initial impressions of trickiness. Slot 2 students reported QA as the toughest of the day, with Algebra and Number Systems questions particularly time-consuming.
CAT 2026 is expected on November 29, 2026, conducted by IIM Indore (expected). Based on the consistent 2022 to 2025 pattern:
| Parameter CAT 2026 Expectation | |
| Overall Difficulty | Moderate to Difficult |
| DILR | Toughest section; expect diverse set types; no fixed DI-LR ratio |
| VARC | Moderate; lengthy RC passages; TITA VA questions |
| QA | Moderate; Arithmetic dominant; Geometry and Algebra secondary |
| Good Attempts (for 99 percentile) | Approximately 40 to 48 across all 3 sections |
| TITA Questions | Approximately 25 to 35 across all sections |
This forecast will be replaced with live analysis data on November 29, 2026, within hours of Slot 1 ending. Bookmark the CAT Exam Analysis page for real-time 2026 updates.
Q1. Which slot was toughest in CAT 2025? Slot 2 turned out to be the toughest of the day. Both DILR and QA were demanding, leaving little margin for error. VARC was slightly easier compared to Slot 1 but still required sharp accuracy.
Q2. How many questions should I attempt in CAT to score 99 percentile? Based on CAT 2025 Slot 2 analysis, 41 to 46 meaningful attempts with strong accuracy were likely required to reach 99th percentile. Quality of attempts matters more than quantity.
Q3. Is DILR always the toughest section? From 2020 to 2025, DILR has consistently been the toughest section. Structural changes (variable DI-LR set ratio, diverse set types) have made it increasingly unpredictable. Historically, DILR has been the primary percentile differentiator.
Q4. What RC topics appeared in CAT 2025? Across Slot 1 and Slot 2, topics included Economics, Sociology, Consumer Behaviour, Electric Music, AI/ChatGPT, Astronomy, and Science. These span diverse domains typical of CAT's deliberate selection of unfamiliar and intellectually demanding passages.
Q5. How does CAT 2025 compare to CAT 2024 in difficulty? CAT 2025 was moderately more difficult than CAT 2024 overall, particularly in DILR (variable set distribution) and QA (Slot 2 and 3 were tough). VARC was roughly comparable in difficulty.
Stay updated with the latest news and notifications about CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Slot-Wise Difficulty, VARC DILR QA Breakdown, Good Attempts and Score vs Percentile and other exams.
ExamUpdateAspirantMitraa
20 May 2026
ExamResultAspirantMitraa
20 May 2026
