CAT 2026 exam on November 29: How to prepare for VARC, DILR and Quant in the final 15 days

To excel in the Common Admission Test (CAT), a student must have conceptual clarity in each test area and apply common sense during the exam. It is the right combination of knowledge, skill and approach that can help a student do well in the exam. "If you are a working professional, you may need to slightly tweak your preparation strategy due to a paucity of time as focus and self-discipline help," says Supratim Chakraborty, Sr Quant Faculty at Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E.).

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore will conduct CAT on November 29. MBA entrance test will be conducted for a duration of 120 minutes for non-PwBD candidates, with 40 minutes for each section. PwBD candidates will receive an additional 40 minutes of extra time. The admit cards are already out and available for download on official website iimcat.ac.in.

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With 15 days left for the exam, aspirants can follow these tips to master all sections.

VARC section: Expert suggests to pick easier passages first

Solving passages, para jumbles, para completions, summaries, and critical reasoning with reasonably good accuracy is the key to success. There is no fixed distribution of RC topics, so one cannot neglect any topic or area during the exam. The passages and paras can be from areas like philosophy, politics, psychology, sociology, history, biology, economics, anthropology, literature, etc.

RC requires accuracy along with speed. If you achieve reading speed but do not understand the passage, there is no benefit. Pick easier passages first and solve tough passages later.

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DILR section: Step-wise approach can help

Your focus should be to solve 3 to 4 sets every day by keeping the following strategy in mind-
The DILR section is less knowledge-oriented and more skill-oriented, so it is an equaliser in the true sense. The latest pattern suggests that the majority of the question sets are an amalgamation of both DI and LR. Finding the right set to navigate the DILR section is the key to success, and test takers are advised to remain calm.

DILR ability is closely correlated with general intelligence. Sets are normally tough to tackle and time-consuming, but a stepwise approach may help the candidate crack them in less time.

I: Comprehend each statement carefully and patiently,
II: Then find connectors so that you can correlate statements,
III: Do case analysis for the maximum number of possibilities to reach the conclusions

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Students who maintain their balance and know the techniques to segregate the doable ones will certainly excel. Remember, puzzles test your stamina and thinking ability within a time limit. They should first scan the section and identify the sets that seem like the first choice for round one. In the first round, all relatively easy and doable sets should be targeted, and then in the second round, moderately difficult sets should be targeted.

QA section: Solve easy questions first

In CAT, you will find a few absolutely easy questions that even school students can solve. You may also find extremely tough questions in a time-bound scenario. Questions are normally cleverly framed to test conceptual clarity and smartness in approach. But, given your time constraint, you must pick the lowest-hanging fruit (easy questions). Your percentile score depends entirely on your ability to segregate doable questions according to your strength while optimising speed and accuracy.

Focus on solving 20 to 25 questions daily. Taking online sectional tests first and then revisiting the concepts from booklets may save time if you are already familiar with the topic. You will learn time management from the start.

Also read CAT 2026: Focus on clarity, time management; tips to prepare for VARC, DILR, Quant sections

Solving a CAT quant question is a step-wise process:
I: Comprehension of the question,
II: Interpretation, i.e. what is given and what is asked for,
III: Problem solving

Revise formulas and concepts topic-wise so that you can apply them in the exam.

No subsequent changes will be effective for CAT 2026 and any subsequent selection process of the IIMs.

Each IIM can set their own eligibility criteria (including academic cutoffs and relative weights) and follow different selection processes. Performance in CAT 2026 examination is an important component for consideration in selection process. IIMs may also use the previous academic performance of the candidates, relevant work experience and other similar inputs in shortlisting candidates at various stages of the selection process.