CAT Strategy & Insights
Data-Driven CAT Prep
In-depth analysis of CAT PYQs (2021–2025), section strategies, and study plans — all backed by verified data.
CAT 2026: Complete Guide to Dates, Pattern, Eligibility & Cut-offs
Everything you need to know about CAT 2026 — exam date, registration window, paper pattern, section-wise syllabus, IIM cut-offs, and a clear preparation framework.
CAT 2025 tied for the second-hardest paper in five years. Here's the breakdown.
204 questions from CAT 2025 tagged by section, topic, and difficulty. At 53% hard it tied 2022 as the joint second-toughest paper in five years, behind only 2023. DILR was brutal at 76% hard — every Arrangement, Scheduling and Logical Reasoning question was rated hard. VARC was the gentlest at 21% hard. QA saw Arithmetic and Algebra tied at 23 each, with Modern Math the lone easy pocket.
5 years of CAT data: how difficulty and topic composition have shifted from 2021 to 2025.
1,002 questions from CAT 2021–2025 analysed by year, section, topic, and difficulty. 2023 was hardest (66% hard). 2024 was easiest (26% hard). 2025 landed at 53%. VARC has been perfectly stable. DILR is the most volatile section. Algebra has drawn level with Arithmetic in QA.
I categorised every CAT Quant question from 2021-2025. Here's what the data says.
330 Quant questions tagged by topic and subtopic. Arithmetic is 37% of QA, bigger than most plans assume. Quadratic Equations leads Algebra, ahead of Progressions and Functions. Modern Math is just 5%, and Probability appeared once in five years.
I categorised all 360 VARC questions from CAT 2021-2025. One question type makes up 33% of the entire section.
RC Inference alone is 50% of all RC and 33% of VARC -- 119 questions across 2021-2025. The shift happened in 2022 and has held every year since. Para Jumble and Para Summary are tied at 38 questions each. Full breakdown inside.
I categorised all 312 DILR questions from CAT 2021-2025. Tables alone are 20% of the section.
DILR splits 59% DI / 41% LR + Arrangements. Tables are the single dominant format at 20% of the section. The year-on-year volatility is real: 2021 was 72% LR, 2023 was 83% DI. Neither type is safe to skip.
1,002 CAT questions tagged across all sections (2021–2025). Here's where the marks actually come from.
A cross-section analysis of all 1,002 questions from CAT 2021–2025. RC Inference (120 Qs) and Arithmetic (124 Qs) are the two biggest skill buckets. Tables-based DI is third. Most prep plans have the emphasis backwards.