CAT 2026 Last 25 Days Plan: What to Do When Mock Scores Are Stuck
With about 25 days left before CAT 2026 on 29 November, you will gain more from analysing mocks carefully, fixing one or two weak question types per section and practising exam-day timing than from learning new topics. If your mock scores are stuck, the cause is usually question selection and time lost on hard sets, not missing knowledge. The plan below covers each week up to the exam. Pattern and exam-day details are taken from the official CAT 2026 website, iimcat.ac.in.
CAT 2026 Pattern: What the Official Website Confirms
The CAT 2026 press release and FAQs on iimcat.ac.in, the exam being conducted by IIM Indore, confirm the following:
- Date and sessions: Sunday, 29 November 2026, in three sessions. Your session is allotted to you, so you cannot choose it.
- Duration: 120 minutes across three sections. These are Section I, Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC); Section II, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR); and Section III, Quantitative Ability (QA).
- Sectional timing: exactly 40 minutes per section. You cannot switch between sections, and every candidate takes the sections in the same order.
- Marking: MCQs carry +3 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one. Non-MCQ (type-in, often called TITA) questions carry +3 with no negative marking. Unattempted questions score zero.
- Question count: the FAQs say the number of non-MCQs in each section “varies and cannot be disclosed”. The official documents do not state the total number of questions, so do not plan around a fixed count from coaching material.
- Calculator: you cannot bring one, but an on-screen calculator is available throughout the exam.
- Official mock: the CAT 2026 mock test link is scheduled to be available from 12 November 2026.
News reports put CAT 2026 registrations at about 2.84 lakh (see CAT 2026 registrations). The CAT Centre has not published this figure on iimcat.ac.in, so treat it as reported, not official.
Why Mock Scores Get Stuck in the Last Month
Many aspirants find their mocks stuck in a narrow band, for example 20–30 raw marks, for weeks on end. The usual causes are:
- Attempting in order rather than selecting. Spending 8–10 minutes on a DILR set you cannot crack costs you the easier set after it.
- Accuracy below about 70–75% on MCQs. With −1 for each wrong MCQ, every three wrong answers cancel the marks from one correct answer. High attempts with low accuracy often score less than fewer, cleaner attempts.
- Taking mocks without analysing them. Taking a mock and moving on teaches you the same mistakes again.
- Using a different mock series each week. Percentiles from different series are not comparable, so they make progress look random.
Stick to one main mock series plus the official CAT mock from 12 November. Track raw scores and accuracy, not the mock percentile.
Week-by-Week CAT 2026 Plan
Week 1 (4–10 November): Diagnose and Download the Admit Card
- Download your admit card as soon as it is available (the window runs from 4 November to 29 November). Check your name, photo, test centre and reporting time. See our CAT 2026 admit card update.
- Take two full mocks this week and analyse each one for 2–3 hours using the method below.
- From the last four or five mocks, list the five question types where you lose the most marks or time, for example para-jumbles, arrangement sets, time-speed-distance or inequalities.
- Spend the remaining time on short drills (30–45 minutes per question type) for those five, using previous CAT papers where possible.
Week 2 (11–17 November): Section Strategy and the Official Mock
- Take the official CAT mock as soon as it opens on 12 November. Use it to learn the interface: question palette, mark-for-review, the on-screen calculator and the TITA input box.
- Take two full mocks. In each one, fix a section plan (see below) and stick to it even when a section feels easy.
- Do one set of 2–3 RC passages every day. Our CAT 2026 reading comprehension guide explains the question types.
- For QA, revise formulas and do 20–25 mixed questions daily. The CAT 2026 quant strategy breaks down topic priorities.
Week 3 (18–24 November): Simulate the Real Slot
- Take two or three full mocks at the time of your allotted session, as printed on your admit card, so your concentration peaks at the right hours.
- Stop learning new topics. Revise from your error log and formula sheet only.
- Do one sectional test per day in your weakest section, timed at exactly 40 minutes.
Final Five Days (25–29 November): Taper
- Take your last full mock no later than 25 or 26 November. After that, do only light sectional practice of 30–40 minutes a day.
- Re-read your error log and any notes on question types you plan to skip.
- Check the route to the test centre and how long it takes at the same time of day as your session.
- On 28 November, stop studying by early evening and sleep at your normal time.
How to Analyse a Mock in 2–3 Hours
- Sort every question into four buckets: correct; wrong; skipped but solvable in under 2 minutes; and skipped correctly because it was too hard. The third bucket is your missed marks.
- Re-solve the “skipped but solvable” and “wrong” questions without a timer. If you can solve them calmly, the problem was selection or panic, not knowledge.
- Record the time spent on each question or set. Note any question where you spent over 3 minutes and still got it wrong. Those are your time traps.
- Write down one rule per section for the next mock, for example: “In DILR, read all sets for the first 4–5 minutes and choose two before solving.”
- Track three numbers per section in a sheet: attempts, accuracy and raw score. Look for trends over five mocks, not single results.
Sectional Strategy for VARC, DILR and QA
VARC
- RC usually makes up the larger share of VARC. Our VARC weightage report discusses recent trends. Read every passage you attempt in full rather than skimming for keywords.
- Because verbal TITA questions such as para-jumbles carry no penalty, attempt them even when unsure. Keep your MCQ accuracy high.
- If a passage’s first paragraph is unclear after one reading, move to the next passage.
DILR
- Spend the first 4–5 minutes scanning all sets and ranking them by how clearly the information is laid out, not by topic.
- Aim to solve two sets fully and accurately rather than half-solving four.
- Set yourself a limit of about 12 minutes per set. If you have no foothold after 4–5 minutes, abandon it.
QA
- Do two passes. In the first, attempt everything solvable in under 2 minutes. In the second, return to marked questions.
- Use options to eliminate or back-solve in MCQs. On TITA questions, write your working on the scribble pad, because you cannot back-solve.
- Arithmetic and algebra questions are usually the most direct. Leave lengthy geometry or number-theory questions for the second pass.
Keep sectional balance in mind. Most IIMs apply sectional percentile floors and some score sections separately. A balanced score helps your shortlist chances more than one very high section, as our analysis of IIM call chances for general male engineers shows.
Exam-Day Logistics From the Official FAQs
- Admit card and photo ID: carry the printed admit card and the photo ID specified on it. The CAT FAQs say admit cards, photo IDs, candidate photos and biometric information will be verified.
- Rough work: you get one scribble pad and pen, and no extra pad is given. Writing anywhere else, including on the admit card, counts as unfair means. The pad is collected at the end.
- Calculator: do not bring one. Use the on-screen calculator.
- Bio-breaks: these are not allowed except in an emergency or for a medical condition. Time lost is not compensated, and you are frisked again when you return.
- Technical issues: tell the invigilator immediately. The FAQs say the system will be locked and you will be moved to a new one.
- Screen brightness: only the invigilator can change it, so ask if you need to.
- Medicines: essential medicines may be allowed as an exception. Read the admit card instructions for the process.
Follow the reporting time printed on your admit card. Plan to reach the centre early, because frisking and biometric checks take time.
Slot Normalisation: What Is and Is Not Known
Many aspirants worry that their session will have a harder paper. CAT runs in three sessions with different question papers. CAT reports a scaled score, and IIM admission policies, such as IIM Calcutta’s and IIM Kozhikode’s, use these scaled scores. In past editions, the CAT Centre has used scaling to make sessions comparable before calculating percentiles. The CAT 2026 FAQs published so far do not describe the method for this year. The CAT 2026 scorecard is expected by the first week of January 2027, and the official explanation will come with it. Until then, ignore claims about which session is “easier”. You cannot choose your session, and a hard session is hard for everyone in it.
Managing Stress and Sleep
- Fix your sleep timing now. If your session is in the morning, your body needs a week or more to adjust to waking early.
- Limit mock-score discussions. Comparing scores in groups every day adds anxiety without helping you prepare.
- Keep one non-study activity daily, such as a walk, exercise or a call with family, for 30–45 minutes.
- Plan for a bad mock. Decide in advance that a poor mock means one extra hour of analysis, not a change of strategy.
More ideas are in CAT 2026 stress management strategies. Register for one or two exams after CAT as well, so CAT does not feel like your only chance. Our guide to MBA entrance exams after CAT 2026 lists the deadlines, including SNAP on 25 November.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many mocks should I take in the last 25 days before CAT 2026?
Six to eight full mocks is a reasonable range, including the official CAT mock from 12 November. Spend at least as long analysing each one as taking it. Taking more mocks without analysis rarely improves scores.
Is there negative marking for TITA questions in CAT 2026?
No. The official FAQs state that non-MCQ questions carry 3 marks for a correct answer and no negative marking. MCQs carry +3 for a correct answer and −1 for a wrong one.
How many questions will CAT 2026 have?
The CAT 2026 official documents do not state the total number of questions. The FAQs say the number of non-MCQs per section varies and cannot be disclosed. Plan by section time (40 minutes each), not by question count.
My mocks are stuck at a low percentile. Should I still take CAT?
Yes. Mock percentiles come from a different pool than the actual exam. Focus on accuracy and question selection this month, and register for a second exam such as SNAP, NMAT or XAT as a backup.
When will the CAT 2026 result be declared?
The CAT 2026 Information Bulletin says results are likely by the first week of January 2027. The score is valid until 31 December 2027. See CAT score validity.
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