CAT 2025 Tricks for Quant, DI & LR, VRC: Insider Tips from 99 Percentilers

Can You Score 99 Percentile in CAT 2025

Only 1 or 2% of the CAT aspirants achieve this milestone with the right preparation strategy, consistency, and exam-day execution. It requires mastering high-weightage topics in Quantitative Aptitude, VARC, and DILR, while balancing speed and accuracy. Regular mock tests, detailed performance analysis, and focused improvement on weak areas are essential. Time management plays a critical role, as does staying calm under pressure. With disciplined study, targeted practice, and a strategic approach, aspirants can significantly boost their chances of securing a 99 percentile and admission to top IIMs and B-schools. CAT-2025 is very near, and to achieve 99 percentile, you need to brush up all the basic concepts, all the related formulas, tips, and tricks.

CAT Exam Tips and Tricks for Quantitative Aptitude Section

The quant is often the most challenging section for the CAT aspirants. Also, this section has the largest number of questions. Let us see what past toppers have to say about acing this section.

Soumyajeet Ghosh, a CAT topper, emphasizes the importance of practice. He says, "This requires a lot of consistent practice. Speed is very important for it, and candidates can improve their speed by practising more and more. One should adopt all small and simple tactics to increase their practice and reduce their errors.”

Rahul Gupta, another topper, says, "I was not good at Quant. But practicing with the CAT mock test, I eventually got better and had a strong grasp on this section. And I scored better in this section."

Shikhar Mathur, 99.68 percentiler, says – one should note down the weak areas in each topic (say it’s Permutations and Combinations, or DI) after two to three tests. Pinpoint the errors made and also what kind of errors they were. Sometimes, many errors in the same topic are because of a pre-held mental fallacy that will be cleared after one reading, but sometimes it’s a conceptual roadblock.

Ankit Desai got 99.91 percentile in CAT, he shared his experience handling the Quant section and said, "I was weak in Geometry and Numbers. So, first, I revised all the formulas and wrote them down. After that, I solved around 50 more questions on these topics to understand the concepts better."

Key Highlights of toppers' view:

1. Improve speed through more practice.
2. A strong foundation is required.
3. Practice mock tests.
4. Revised formulas regularly.
5. Make an error log through mocks and regularly update it.

Check out the complete CAT Toppers List here

Candidates can utilise these Quant preparation tips for the CAT 2025 exam and achieve the aim of scoring well in this section.

Most Important MCQs for CAT Quant Syllabus 2025

Practising MCQs from the CAT Quantitative Aptitude syllabus is crucial for mastering concepts and improving speed. The most important MCQs that we have decided by analyzing previous years' CAT question papers are listed below:

Best Books for Quant, DI & LR, and VARC by Experts

Selecting the right study material is essential for effective CAT 2025 preparation. For Quantitative Aptitude, opt for books that provide a strong conceptual foundation, ample solved examples, and graded practice exercises. For Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DI & LR), choose resources that focus on analytical thinking, data sets, and time-based problem solving. For VARC, pick books that enhance vocabulary, grammar, comprehension skills, and critical reasoning through targeted practice and mock tests

CAT Exam Tips and Tricks for DI & LR by 99 Percentilers

The Data Interpretation (DI) and Logical Reasoning (LR) section in the CAT exam is there to test your decision–making ability within the given time. To ace this section, 99 percentiler Kumar advises, “You must bound your time for solving the questions of this section. I did not give more than 8 minutes to any puzzle questions, irrespective of the fact that I got stuck in some questions that seemed to be easier."

CAT 100 Percentiler Rahul Gupta shares his DI & LR preparation strategy. He quoted - "I used to practice many questions from particular topics and focused a lot on them while taking the mock test."

Key Highlights of toppers' view:

1. Do not spend much time on a particular question, whether it is easy, moderate, or difficult.
2. One should spend some minutes at the start of the test to categorize the questions as easy, moderate, and difficult.
3. Aspirants should spend most of their time on the analysis of mock tests, as it will lead them to land at any management school of their choice.

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CAT Exam Tips and Tricks for VARC Section

The VARC sections may prove to be the easiest section to improve the sectional and overall score, says CAT topper Madhur Gupta. Further, while sharing his preparation strategy, he says – “this was not the area I was good at and consequently, I landed up in a conundrum about how I should deal with this section. Then I decided to look for some simple tactics to ace this section. I adopted the strategy of eliminating the wrong options to help me decide on the right one. This helped me later.”

99 percentiler in CAT, Naman Singhal, while sharing his preparation tips, stated that he solved RCs and Para jumbles as much as he could during his preparation for CAT and used them to analyse the VARC section after taking mock tests. He used to practice the questions of Verbal Ability (VA) and Reading Comprehension (RC) from the modules of different coaching institutions.

Topper Mayank Raj, while sharing his strategy, says, “I faced major challenges in this section. So, to improve my verbal ability, I started reading newspapers, novels, etc. This helped me increase my reading speed and also develop an understanding of the passages I was reading”.

CAT topper, Lakshya Kumar, shares his experience of the VARC section with us, quoted “My approach was building up my reading speed and that was achieved by reading newspapers daily, as it contains articles from various fields of life, ranging from psychology to biology, which is similar to the Reading Comprehension section of CAT. The verbal ability section was a tough nut to crack for me, but thinking about the question from an examiner's perspective and allocating it a greater percentage of time during the actual exam (feasible due to fast reading pace) did help me a lot.

Key Highlights of toppers' view:

1. Use the method of elimination of wrong options.
2. Read newspapers to build vocabulary, to understand the use of adjectives, idioms, and phrases etc.
3. Analyzing mock tests.

Last Minute Preparation Tips for CAT

In the final days before the CAT 2025 exam, focus on consolidating your preparation rather than learning new concepts. The key points for last-minute preparation are listed here:

1. Revise Key Concepts: Quickly review important formulas, concepts, and shortcuts for Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation, and Verbal Ability. Focus on areas where you feel less confident.

2. Practice Mock Tests: Take a few full-length mock tests to gauge your readiness and practice time management. Analyze your performance to identify and correct any remaining weaknesses.

3. Focus on Accuracy: Prioritize accuracy over attempting too many questions. Avoid making random guesses and focus on solving questions you are confident about.

3. Review Mistakes: Go over previous mock test errors and ensure you understand where you went wrong. Avoid repeating these mistakes in the actual exam.

4. Stay Calm and Confident: Maintain a positive mindset and avoid last-minute stress. Practice relaxation techniques to stay calm and focused during the exam.

5. Plan Your Exam Day: Ensure you know the exam location, required documents, and exam time. Plan your journey and get everything ready a day before to avoid any last-minute hassles.

6. Healthy Routine: Get adequate rest, eat a balanced meal, and stay hydrated. Avoid cramming late into the night and ensure you get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

Common Mistakes to Avoid in the CAT Exam

Many CAT aspirants lose valuable marks due to common yet avoidable mistakes during the exam. Here is a list of common mistakes that should be avoided during the CAT exam to boost your percentile in CAT-2025.

Mistake 1: Spending Excessive Time on a Single Question
Many candidates get stuck on tricky problems, wasting valuable minutes. Since CAT is time-bound, it’s important to quickly decide whether to attempt or skip a question.

Mistake 2: Neglecting Easy Questions
In a rush to solve difficult problems, test-takers sometimes skip or overlook easier ones. This results in lost marks that could have been scored quickly. Scanning the paper first to spot low-hanging fruit is a smart approach.

Mistake 3: Poor Time Management
Attempting questions without a section-wise time allocation can lead to incomplete sections. Allocate fixed time blocks for Quantitative Aptitude, VARC, and DILR, and stick to them strictly to maximise attempts in all areas.

Mistake 4: Ignoring Negative Marking
Random guessing often leads to a drop in percentile due to CAT’s negative marking scheme. Only attempt questions when reasonably confident in the answer to avoid unnecessary penalty.

Mistake 5: Not Practicing Under Exam Conditions
Practising without time limits or in a distraction-free environment fails to replicate the actual exam stress. Simulating real CAT conditions through timed mocks helps build mental endurance and adaptability.

Mistake 6: Failing to Review Mistakes
Many aspirants take mocks but don’t analyse them thoroughly. Reviewing incorrect and skipped questions helps identify conceptual gaps and recurring errors, which can then be corrected before the final exam.

CAT 2025 Ebooks by Careers360

CAT 2025 eBooks by Careers360 offer comprehensive preparation resources for MBA aspirants aiming for top scores. These expertly curated eBooks cover the entire CAT syllabus, including Quantitative Aptitude, VARC, and DILR, with detailed concepts, solved examples, and practice questions.