Exam Format Overview
CAT 2025 was a computer‑based test of 120 minutes (2 hours) duration, held in three fixed slots (Morning 8:30–10:30, Afternoon 12:30–14:30, Evening 16:30–18:30).
The test comprised 3 sections – Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Aptitude (QA) – each allotted 40 minutes.
In total there were 68 questions
24 in VARC
22 in DILR
22 in QA.
Question types included multiple‐choice (MCQ) and “type-in-the-answer” (TITA) items, with a marking scheme of +3 for correct MCQs, –1 for wrong MCQs, and +3 for correct TITA (0 for wrong).
The sectional order was fixed (VARC → DILR → QA) and no inter-section switching was allowed.
Slot-wise Sectional Difficulty
Each slot’s paper followed the same pattern (68 Qs, 40 min/section).:
Slot 1 (Morning 8:30–10:30)
VARC: moderate difficulty (fair mix of passages; new question types like vocabulary-in-Context).
DILR: moderate-to-difficult (five sets, including some tougher puzzles).
QA: moderate (mixed arithmetic and algebra, nothing unusually hard).
Slot 2 (Afternoon 12:30–14:30)
VARC: moderate (passages and VA questions similar to Slot 1)
DILR: moderate-to-difficult (half TITA; slightly tougher than Slot 1)
QA: moderate ( arithmetic + algebra focus).
Slot 3 (Evening 16:30–18:30)
VARC: easy-to-moderate (passages generally less dense; resumed para‑jumbles).
DILR: moderate (similar structure; overall doable).
QA: difficult (trickier arithmetic/algebra questions; highest QA difficulty across slots)
| Slot | VARC | DILR | QA |
| Slot 1 (AM) | Moderate | Moderate – Difficult | Moderate |
| Slot 2 (Noon) | Moderate | Moderate – Difficult | Moderate |
| Slot 3 (PM) | Easy – Moderate | Moderate | Difficult |
Expected Cutoff Scores by Slot and Percentile
Slot 1 (Morning) – Raw Score vs. Percentile:
| Raw Score (out of 204) | Percentile |
| 124 | 99.9 |
| 105 | 99.5 |
| 94 | 99.0 |
| 83 | 98.0 |
| 72 | 95.0 |
| 55 | 90.0 |
| 45 | 85.0 |
| 40 | 80.0 |
| 34 | 75.0 |
Slot 2 (Afternoon) – Raw Score vs. Percentile:
| Raw Score | Percentile |
| 118 | 99.9 |
| 99 | 99.5 |
| 87 | 99.0 |
| 78 | 98.0 |
| 68 | 95.0 |
| 55 | 90.0 |
| 44 | 85.0 |
| 39 | 80.0 |
| 35 | 75.0 |
Slot 3 (Evening) – Raw Score vs. Percentile:
| Raw Score | Percentile |
| 119 | 99.9 |
| 104 | 99.5 |
| 89 | 99.0 |
| 79 | 98.0 |
| 68 | 95.0 |
| 54 | 90.0 |
| 45 | 85.0 |
| 37 | 80.0 |