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CAT IIM Toppers Success Strategies: Cracking the CAT 2025 exaamination is not easy. It requires both smart work and strong perseverance. The CAT exam is attempted by lakhs of candidates, and to come out on top requires a tremendous amount of skills. So, it is necessary for all the candidates who prepare for the CAT 2025 examination to heed the responses of the CAT toppers who are currently pursuing their management degrees from the various prestigious Indian Institutes of Management. While each candidate may have their own CAT preparation plan, it is very beneficial for the candidates to listen to the success stories of the candidates and make slight changes in their CAT preparation plan. The first-hand experience of the CAT toppers will prove to be of great help for the candidates in devising their CAT examination strategy. This article also lets the candidates understand how to crack CAT by the toppers, which is the best way to prepare for the CAT exam, the last-minute CAT preparation tips and many more. The CAT 2025 examination will be conducted tentatively in November 2025.
For those candidates who are planning to appear for the CAT exam, we have compiled a set of CAT preparation strategies with past years' toppers. Read below for their experiences and suggestions on how to prepare for CAT 2025.
Tanya Gupta achieved a high CAT percentile of 99.47 in CAT and secured admission to IIM Kozhikode. Tanya, who worked with JP Morgan in the Investment Banking Division before her admission into IIM, aims to become a financial market expert post her management course at IIM K. Tanya shares how she strategically prepared for the CAT exam by practising extensively for all four sections of the IIM CAT question paper.
CAT Topper Strategy: Start preparing for the CAT five months in advance. The strategy is to first solidify the basics for all four sections and then deep-dive into each one of them. Go for an exhaustive numerical practice and individual topic tests for each section.
Sectional tips: For the CAT Quantitative Aptitude section, practice numerals as much as you can. Read newspaper editorials and other online material regularly to help you with grammar and also your reading comprehension ability for the Verbal section.
Exam Day Formula: Divide time judiciously between your strengths and weaknesses. Build theoretical knowledge first, and then move on to extensive practice. Move to write CAT mock tests about 1.5-2 months before the exam, and devote at least 4-5 hours after each test to understanding your weaknesses. Practice more questions to deal with these points. During the CAT exam day, remember to keep calm, a positive frame of mind will always yield better results than a nervous one.
Know : How to Crack CAT: Strategies from Toppers
Soumik Biswas scored an admirable 99.94 percentile in the CAT examination and secured admission in one of the top B-schools of India- IIM Indore. The ex-IBM India employee shares the right strategy to be followed by the CAT aspirants, which can support them in scoring a high percentile.
Success Mantra: CAT does not require extensive study sessions as long as your basics are strong. The main concern is to develop speed, which automatically comes if you can systematise your CAT mock test. Around 140 minutes per week from your study and work schedule are enough to let individuals focus on IIM CAT preparation and achieve a great CAT score.
Section Wise Strategy: For Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, stress 3 points- speed, technique, and choices. A positive approach and reading all the questions in the stipulated time are very important for answering the questions correctly.
In Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning, students can score maximum marks. For this section, the focus should be on increasing reading and vocabulary capabilities.
Exam Day Tip: Time Management is the key. Plan your time perfectly for each section. Winning over time will let you win.
Arijit Kumar Gorai cracked IIM Calcutta PGDM admissions with his high CAT percentile of 99.87. He had worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers before joining his MBA programme at IIM Calcutta. A strong believer in practice and time management, Arijit shares his success mantra for IIM CAT.
Preparation Strategy: The primary focus should be on accuracy rather than maximising the number of attempts. Analysing the mock exams is a major help and should be meticulously done.
Sectional Tips: If your verbal section is weak, pay extra attention to topics like para-jumbles and CAT Reading Comprehension. Try to increase your speed along with accuracy. Practice reading newspapers or magazines to learn new words.
Exam Day Formula: Time management is very important in the actual CAT question paper. The focus must be on accuracy. Be sure that you spend around 2 minutes on each problem. It is important to let go of problems if you are stuck in a question. Wasting time on one question is a huge disadvantage. It is important to go through all the questions since the last 5 questions of a section might have some really simple problems that are very scoring and should not be missed.
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An Engineering graduate, Sneha Mittal prepared for the IIM CAT while working for Cognizant Technology. She cracked the CAT with 97.91 percentile and got admission to IIM Udaipur. Sneha’s entrepreneurial ambitions motivated her to join an MBA programme.
Key Strategy: Regular study, practice, self-analysis, and adaptability to tricks are the main stakes for preparation. Traditional methods may seem to be easy, but always use the tricks to solve the IIM CAT questions with speed and accuracy. And lastly, practice even before the exam day.
Sectional Plan: Quant & DI: The most important point to keep in mind is to stay calm and focused. While solving the QA & DI section, browse through the entire CAT question paper once. Attempt easier questions first, and do not waste a lot of time solving the difficult ones. This strategy helped me achieve a score of 98.23 percentile in the QA&DI section.
VA & LR: For the VA & LR section, solve the LR questions first. With the VA section, if you don’t know the answer, do not mark anything. This saves you from negative markings and lets you maintain your percentile.
Exam day Tips: IIM CAT is not a difficult exam. The right strategy, paired with a lot of practice, will guarantee you a good percentile in the CAT examination.
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Gagandeep Singh Pannu achieved a high percentile of 99.97 in IIM CAT and secured admission to IIM Rohtak. An Engineer by education, Gagandeep aims to become a financial market expert post his management course at the IIM. He also talks about his Time Management strategy, which led him to crack the CAT with a high percentile despite his hectic work schedule.
Key Advice: One word: Practice. You must practice to your full capacity. At the end of the day, just practice what you have done and learned.
Sectional Strategy: Learn basic Quantitative concepts; self-preparation would suffice. The focus should be more on brushing concepts and later switching to higher-level questions. VA and LR require speed to read and answer correctly. For this section, focus on increasing your reading abilities.
Exam Day Tip: On the day of the exam, first go through the entire questions and then attempt formula-based questions first. Keep a target of 15 Questions in 15 minutes.
Check out more interviews by CAT toppers:
CAT topper Pulkit Daga | Rounak Tikmani CAT 2023 topper |
CAT topper Nishakar Kumar | Shreemant Singi CAT topper |
After deciding the right time to begin CAT 2025 preparation, candidates should start gathering their study materials without delay. There are plenty of resources available, which can make it tricky to pick the ones that suit individual needs best. To make this easier, Careers360 has reviewed and analysed the most important CAT preparation books. The recommended list is given below.
CAT Section | Book Name | Author Name |
Quantittaive Aptitude | Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | R.S. Aggarwal |
Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT | Sarvesh Verma | |
NCERT Mathematics Books (Class 9–10) | NCERT | |
How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT | Arun Sharma | |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning | How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT | Arun Sharma |
Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT | Nishit K. Sinha | |
A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning | R.S. Aggarwal | |
Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency | Ananta Ashisha | |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | How to Prepare for Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension for CAT | Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay |
Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis | |
PSC for VA for CAT | Nishit Sinha | |
High School English Grammar & Composition | Wren & Martin |
Careers360 provides a variety of resources to help with CAT 2025 preparation. These include detailed syllabus breakdowns, topic-wise study materials, mock tests, and expert strategy articles. Candidates can check out these resources through the links mentioned below.
eBook Title | Download Links |
3000+ Most Important Words - Vocabulary Builder | |
500+ Most Important Idioms and Phrases | |
300+ Most Important Phrasal Verbs | |
Permutation & Combination - Video Lectures and Practice Questions | |
Mastering DILR Questions with Expert Solutions | |
CAT 2025 Exam's High Scoring Chapters and Topics | |
Mastering CAT Exam: VARC, DILR, and Quant MCQs & Weightages | |
CAT 2025 Mastery: Chapter-wise MCQs for Success for VARC, DILR, Quant | |
CAT 2025 Quantitative Aptitude Questions with Answers | |
CAT DILR Questions with Solution, Download LRDI Questions for CAT | |
CAT 2025 Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) Study Material |
Most IIM CAT toppers preferred a self-study route supported by regular mock test practice and targeted mentoring, showing that a personalized, disciplined strategy can often outperform traditional coaching.
According to toppers like Soumik Biswas and Gagandeep Pannu, even a focused 2-3 hours per day or around 140 minutes per week can lead to a 99+ percentile, provided your basics are strong and mock tests are analysed thoroughly.
Successful candidates suggest mastering Quant through concept revision and intensive practice, handling VARC by reading editorials and improving vocabulary, and approaching DILR with speed-focused puzzle-solving techniques.
Toppers emphasise switching to full-length mock tests, analysing each one for weak areas, and dedicating 4–5 hours post-mock for review, while maintaining calm and strategic time management on the exam day.
Most toppers build their foundation using NCERT Mathematics (Class 9–10), and then progress to advanced-level books like Arun Sharma’s series for all sections, A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal, and Nishit K. Sinha’s CAT-specific guides to sharpen both conceptual clarity and problem-solving speed.
Hello aspirant,
The question papers for CAT MGU University can be found on their official website, or you can also visit careers360 website for the same.
The link of which, I am attaching here,
https://university.careers360.com/articles/mgu-cat-2025
Regards
Hello Anshuman!!!
You have gotten 86% in 10th, which is a good score. 70% in graduation is not the best but decent. But the main problem is your 12th score which is 62%.
You would be already aware that the Top IIMs (BLACKI) give a big emphasis on your academic score. Let me tell you one example of IIM Ahmedabad,
According to a research i read a few days ago, in IIM Ahmedabad,
70.8%
of students has 90+ percent in 12th,
25.8%
has 80-90 percent and around
3.8%
has less than 80% with the bracket of 60-69 having only
0.26%
students of the total batch. Nearly same is the case of the other top IIMs like IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode and IIM Indore.
Statistically, getting into these TOP IIMs is possible with 62% in 12th is possible (0.26% has done it) but practically you cannot get into these TOP IIMs unless you top the CAT exam.
See, I don't wish to dishearten or demotivate you but I wish to tell you the truth. Although the probability of you getting into these TOP IIMs is very less, but trying is better than doing nothing. You have a good score in 10th which will certainly help you. The least you could do is try your best.
My advice would be that you should not focus on these things like "Will I get top IIM" or negative talk like " I got low marks I won't qualify" etc.
The main focus should be on your preparation.
Give 100% in your preparation because that's the only thing in your hand. You can't change your 10th/12th/Graduation scores but you can put some more effort in your preparation which would certainly help to get better percentile.
Keep working hard and give your best. You might surprise yourself!!! And if not BLACKI, there are many other good colleges like FMS, MDI, newer IIMs etc.
Hello,
Yes, with a 622 rank in IPU CET for MBA and being a Delhi candidate, you have a good chance of getting admission in MAIT (Maharaja Agrasen Institute of Technology).
You don’t need to worry about not giving the CAT exam. IPU CET rank is enough for admission in MAIT under the CET quota.
Just make sure to keep MAIT high in your preference list during counselling.
Hope it helps !
Hello,
A NEET 2025 score of 333 marks, an All India Rank (AIR) near 3,56,000, and belonging to the SC category from Andhra Pradesh suggest a fair possibility of obtaining an MBBS seat within the state quota, especially in private medical colleges under Category A (government quota seats in private institutions).
In Andhra Pradesh, SC category cut-offs for Category A seats in private institutions generally vary from 320 to 370, influenced by the college and the counselling round. Government medical colleges tend to be more competitive, with the SC cut-off for MBBS frequently rising, often exceeding 400 marks.
Although obtaining a government MBBS seat is improbable, you stand a feasible opportunity in private medical colleges within A category (which offer lower tuition than B and C categories). In Round 2 or the Mop-Up round, you can anticipate improved opportunities, since cut-offs generally decrease when other students move to superior colleges or vacate seats.
Colleges such as NRI Medical College (Guntur), Katuri Medical College (Guntur), Great Eastern Medical School (Srikakulam), Alluri Sitarama Raju Academy of Medical Sciences (Eluru), and Fathima Institute of Medical Sciences (Kadapa) are among those where seats could become available for SC students in subsequent rounds under Category A.
Hope this helps. All the best!
Yes, candidates who qualify in CUSAT CAT can gain admission to various participating institutes based on their rank. These include engineering colleges associated with CUSAT, such as its own School of Engineering in Kochi, Model Engineering College, and over 20 government and private engineering colleges across Kerala like College of Engineering Thrikkaripur, Co-operative Institute of Technology Vadakara, and MG College of Engineering Thiruvallam. The final seat allotment is based on your rank and your choice of program during the counselling process.
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