CAT Preparation From June – How to Plan?

It has been a while since we published a blog post apart from weekly reading list rewind. So here goes the next post. This is going to be a series of questions, and how we tackle them and make a solid preparation strategy from now until CAT 2025.

How far away from CAT are we?

We have about 6 months from now until CAT 2025. Let us dive deep to understand how to make the most out of this time available. Some want a month wise preparation strategy, some need a section wise strategy to begin with. We have elaborated both in this blog. Read ahead to know the basics of how to strategize your preparation for CAT 2025.

6 Months to CAT 2025? Start NOW! (June Ultimate Plan for 99%ile) 🚀 | 2IIM

Month wise Preparation Strategy?

June

VARC

Read A Lot, Read extensively, Read with no holds barred, Read fiction, Read Non Fiction, Read articles, Read self help. Any good quality reading helps. 

Try to clock about 60+ hours of reading in this month. If you need a great starting point, head out to this link, and bookmark it, and then watch the video below.

Best Books to Read to Improve CAT Verbal score | By 4 Time CAT 100 Percentiler – Rajesh

DILR

Solve loads of sudoku, basic DILR puzzles, understand the language used in DILR puzzles, and get to the right First step while solving. Nothing fancy. Nothing new.

If possible complete arithmetic in Math before you jump into DILR learning and solving.

The ULTIMATE DILR Strategy! 99%ile in Logical Reasoning (Proven Method) | 2IIM

Quantitative Aptitude

Complete Arithmetic, thoroughly, including revision of all topics under arithmetic. Do not worry about anything else in Quant.

How to Conquer CAT Arithmetic? (200 Days Topic-wise Plan)

Mocks

CAT Mocks: Syllabus vs Taking Mocks? – The 2025 Dilemma

Start giving mocks. Do not wait for SYLLABUS COMPLETION to start giving mocks. You can keep waiting for that day, when you will feel satisfied and alright, let me start taking mocks. That day, honestly, will never come. So do not wait for that day. Start taking mocks. The idea is to get used to a 2hr exam setting, the interface etc, and not just the percentile outcome.

Check out this fabulous answer to Is 49 a terrible score for my first CAT mock? https://qr.ae/TWIYRN

July and August

VARC

Start solving Reading Comprehension passages, and sentence rearrangement questions. Pick the odd sentence is a natural (but a tougher) extension from sentence rearrangement (para jumble) questions. Do not forget to read. Keep spending at least an hour reading if you are decent, and much more if you are struggling with RC.

DILR

Start solving CAT level puzzles, and if possible actual CAT level puzzles. Look at solutions that take you through the pitfalls, make you think twice, and guide you well (like these), rather than a solution that assumes that you know why something is filled in a very specific way.

For all CAT level puzzles with detailed video solutions, head out here: https://online.2iim.com/CAT-question-paper/

Quantitative Aptitude

Learn the next two important topics, viz. Algebra and Geometry. These two form the next two biggest chunks of topics that are tested in the CAT exam, and thereby require your undivided attention. Geometry includes Circles, Triangles, Quadrilaterals, Polygons, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Mensuration.

Algebra includes Linear Quadratic, APGP, Inequalities, Functions, Log, Exponents and Set theory.

How to Conquer CAT Algebra? (200 Days Topic-wise Plan) | Learn from a 100 Percentiler

Revision

Use these two months to learn Geometry and Algebra, while continuously revising Arithmetic and topics from Geometry and Algebra that you have covered so far. Watch this video to learn to optimize your study schedule, master mock tests, and boost scores.

Time Management: Mastering CAT Revision-Effective Revision Strategies for CAT 2025

Mocks

You should be taking at least one mock a week by this time, and should spend about 2 hours analysing every mock.

Taking a large number of mocks does not add any value unless you spend enough time agonising over every small and silly mistake made and how to improve upon your current performance.

September and October

VARC

Solve RC’s and other parts only while taking mocks. Analyze each and every question to death. Do not NOT analyse a question because you have gotten it right already. 

Resist the temptation to skip over questions, and analyse every single question and compare your thought process of arriving at the right answer vs the thought process of the question setter. This critical comparison will help you skyrocket your VARC score. Goes without saying that, do not stop reading daily.

DILR

Solve high quality puzzles. You can get such high quality puzzles present in the fabulous DILR Course or in the Test Dojo bundle of 2IIM.

Once you are done with this, please go ahead and solve actual CAT Puzzles from here.

Quantitative Aptitude

Keep revising Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. Keep taking value from analysing your mocks. 

Definitely learn Permutation and Combination and Number theory as well. My kind suggestion would be to keep these two topics to the fag end of your learning of Quant so as to not get frustrated with Quant preparation.

How a 100%iler Prepares CAT Number Systems? (200 Days Left!) | 2IIM

Mocks

You should be taking at least 2 mocks a week by this time. To remind you again, taking mocks is completely insufficient, if you do not analyse them completely.

November

Keep taking loads of mocks. Analyse them. Go back to basics, to fix gaps that you find from analysing mocks.

The last week before the exam, relax and chill out. Do mild revision if needed. Find ways to prevent yourself from getting agitated.

How to customize preparation strategy to suit me?

If you are beginning your CAT preparation from June, go to online.2iim.com/schedule and download a strategy that is created with YOU in mind, be it fresher or experienced, strong at math or weak at math, good at verbal or bad. We have it all.

How to Master the 3 sections of CAT?

Watch the following three short videos to know how to master the 3 sections of CAT. This might be an eye opening experience if you did not know about these small things/factors about the sections until now.

Quant

200 Days to CAT? Follow THIS to Ace Quant (Zero to Hero!) from 100 percentiler | 2IIM

DILR

The ULTIMATE DILR Strategy! 99%ile in Logical Reasoning (Proven Method) | 2IIM

VARC

CAT 2025 VARC Plan | Only video required to score 99+ percentile in VARC CAT 2025 | 2IIM CAT Prep

If you are yet to discover a great Companion for CAT Prep, now will be the right time to signup as a trial user at 2iim.com and check out our fabulous CAT Courses, created and curated by experts who take this exam every year.

Rajesh Balasubramanian takes the CAT every year and is a 4-time CAT 100 percentiler. He likes few things more than teaching Math and insists to this day that he is a better teacher than exam-taker.