CAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Slot-wise Difficulty, Section Trends & Ideal Attempts
(BestCoachingClass.com Researched Article)
CAT 2025, conducted by IIM Kozhikode in three slots on November 30, turned out to be a moderately difficult exam with noticeable variation across sections and slots. Overall, VARC was the most manageable section, DILR emerged as the main challenge, and QA was moderate but clearly tougher in Slot 3. This detailed CAT 2025 exam analysis by BestCoachingClass.com will help you understand slot‑wise difficulty, section‑wise pattern, and safe attempt benchmarks for different percentiles.
Overall CAT 2025 Pattern & Difficulty
- Total duration: 2 hours (40 minutes per section) with sectional time limits.
- Total questions: 68 (VARC – 24, DILR – 22, QA – 22) with MCQs + TITA format.
- Marking scheme: +3 for correct, –1 for wrong MCQs, no negative for TITA or unattempted questions.
Experts and coaching institutes broadly rated CAT 2025 as:
- Slightly tougher than CAT 2024 overall.
- VARC: easy to moderate;
- DILR: clearly more difficult than last year;
- QA: moderate in Slots 1–2 and difficult in Slot 3.
Slot 1 Analysis: Tricky Start to the Day
VARC – Dense Passages, Doable Questions
- 24 questions in 40 minutes, with 4 RC passages (4 questions each) and a mix of Verbal Ability tasks.
- RC topics included themes such as income inequality, electronic music, law and mental health, and noise/social order.
- Passages looked dense, but most questions focused on central ideas rather than deep inference, making the section manageable for students with good reading practice.
VA subsection highlights:
- Para Formation (return after a gap), Para Summary, Sentence Placement, and Odd One Out appeared.
- Difficulty: mostly moderate with a few tricky items.
Ideal performance (Slot 1 VARC):
-
Serious aspirants targeting high percentiles were expected to attempt around 16–18 questions with good accuracy.
DILR – Tougher than Last Year
- 22 questions, about half of them TITA, across 4–5 sets.
- Experts rated this section as marginally more difficult than CAT 2024 because of time‑consuming sets and interlinked data.
- One Spider + Bar chart set was considered the most approachable, while other sets needed heavy calculation and careful reasoning.
Ideal performance (Slot 1 DILR):
-
Around 10 serious attempts with decent accuracy were considered very strong in this slot.
QA – Numbers Dominated, Moderate Level
- 22 questions with a typical CAT mix, largely from Arithmetic and Algebra, with a few questions from Geometry, Numbers and Modern Math.
- Number‑based questions and arithmetic topics formed the core of the paper, with most questions rated doable but requiring alert calculation.
Ideal performance (Slot 1 QA):
-
10–12 good attempts could significantly boost percentile, especially with high accuracy.
Slot 2 Analysis: More Balanced and Slightly Easier
VARC – Familiar Pattern, Student‑Friendly
- Same 24‑question format with mixed RC and VA sequencing, similar to CAT 2024.
- At least two RC themes reported by coaching institutes matched pre‑exam predictions (for example, technology/ChatGPT and animal‑related content).
- Difficulty: overall moderate, with one tougher passage but generally accessible questions.
Ideal performance (Slot 2 VARC):
- 17–19 attempts for well‑prepared students were achievable and advantageous.
DILR – Still Demanding but Better Spread
- 22 questions across five sets, with themes like scheduling, routes/pathways and network‑graph puzzles.
- Section rated moderate to moderately difficult but easier than Slot 1, because more sets were solvable with systematic selection.
Ideal performance (Slot 2 DILR):
- 10–12 good attempts could place a student very competitively in this slot.
QA – Moderate with Emphasis on Arithmetic & Algebra
- 22 questions, with strong presence of Arithmetic and Algebra; some institutes noted more questions from Time & Work and Geometry.
- No major surprises in topic distribution; a few Algebra questions were lengthy but solvable for students with solid basics.
Ideal performance (Slot 2 QA):
- Around 10–11 serious attempts were considered healthy for 95+ percentile, given the moderate nature of the section.
Slot 3 Analysis: QA Turns the Toughest
VARC – Easy to Moderate, Consistent Structure
- 24 questions, same pattern as earlier slots with RC + VA mix.
- Students largely rated VARC as easy to moderate, with dense‑looking passages but manageable questions after careful reading.
Ideal performance (Slot 3 VARC):
- Around 8–9 net correct attempts have been associated with ~90 percentile, indicating a relatively forgiving scale for this section.
DILR – Moderately Difficult, Careful Selection Needed
- 22 questions with caselets that demanded time and logical depth.
- Overall difficulty moderate to difficult, comparable to earlier slots, with selection of the right sets crucial for maximizing attempts.
Ideal performance (Slot 3 DILR):
- 5–6 solid correct attempts appear enough for around the 90 percentile range because of the raised difficulty.
QA – Toughest Section of the Day
- 22 questions, clearly more demanding than the other slots with multi‑step reasoning and heavy calculations.
- Many students found QA to be the most difficult part not just of Slot 3 but of CAT 2025 overall.
Ideal performance (Slot 3 QA):
-
5–6 correct answers may still lead to around 90 percentile, showing how steep the difficulty level was.
Combined View: Section‑wise Trend Across Slots
-
VARC
- Pattern stable across all three slots.
- Difficulty: easy to moderate; slightly easier than CAT 2024 overall according to some experts.
-
DILR
- Clear jump in difficulty compared with CAT 2024.
- Slot 1 was the trickiest, Slot 2 relatively balanced, Slot 3 moderately difficult.
-
QA
- Similar structure to past years but with a noticeable spike in difficulty in Slot 3.
- Overall slightly tougher than CAT 2024, especially for students relying heavily on QA to boost scores.
Ideal Attempts & Percentile Outlook
| Section | Overall Difficulty (All Slots) | Safe Attempts for ~90%ile* | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| VARC | Easy to Moderate | 8–10 net correct (slot-dependent) | Stable pattern, dense passages but mostly direct questions. |
| DILR | Moderate to Difficult | 5–7 solid correct in tougher slots, 9–10 in balanced slot | Most challenging area vs CAT 2024; set selection was critical. |
| QA | Moderate (Slots 1–2), Difficult (Slot 3) | 6–8 correct in tough slot, 10–12 in moderate slots | Arithmetic & Algebra dominated; Slot 3 especially calculation heavy. |
*Safe attempts assume high accuracy and are indicative, not official cut-offs.
Key Takeaways for Future CAT Aspirants
- Time management and set/question selection were more important than ever in CAT 2025, especially in DILR and QA.
- VARC rewarded consistent reading practice and calm decision‑making, while DILR penalised random attempts on complex sets.
- QA showed that strong fundamentals in Arithmetic and Algebra remain essential, and students must be ready for at least one tough slot in any year.
Using this analysis, aspirants targeting CAT 2026 should focus on:
- Building speed and accuracy through timed sectionals.
- Practising diverse DILR sets to handle higher‑order puzzles.
- Strengthening core concepts to stay comfortable even when the paper turns tricky.
This BestCoachingClass.com researched breakdown of CAT 2025 is designed to give you a realistic picture of the exam and help you plan a smarter strategy for your next attempt.
FAQs on CAT 2025 Exam Analysis
Q1. What was the overall difficulty level of CAT 2025?
CAT 2025 was rated as moderate to difficult, slightly tougher than CAT 2024. VARC remained easy to moderate, DILR was the most challenging section, and QA difficulty peaked in Slot 3.
Q2. Which section was toughest in CAT 2025?
For most students and experts, DILR emerged as the toughest section across slots due to lengthy, data‑heavy sets, while QA in Slot 3 was also significantly more difficult than usual.
Q3. How many good attempts are enough for a 95+ percentile in CAT 2025?
Although the exact percentile depends on accuracy and slot normalisation, many analyses suggest that around 40–45 high‑accuracy attempts overall (with strong performance in at least two sections) can be competitive for 95+ percentile.
Q4. Was CAT 2025 Slot 1 more difficult than the other slots?
Slot 1 was considered tricky, especially in DILR, and slightly tougher overall than CAT 2024. However, Slot 3 saw the highest difficulty in QA, so each slot had its own challenging component.
Q5. How did CAT 2025 VARC compare with last year?
VARC in CAT 2025 followed a similar structure to CAT 2024 with 24 questions and a mix of RC and Verbal Ability. Passages were dense but questions were mostly direct, so the section was viewed as comparable or marginally easier.
Q6. What should CAT 2026 aspirants learn from CAT 2025 analysis?
CAT 2026 aspirants should focus on smart question selection, building stamina for tough DILR sets, and strengthening fundamentals in Arithmetic and Algebra. Regular full‑length mocks and sectional tests are essential to handle fluctuating difficulty across slots.
Q7. Where can I read a detailed CAT 2025 exam analysis?
You can read a complete, slot‑wise CAT 2025 exam analysis with section trends, difficulty level and good attempts on BestCoachingClass.com, specially prepared to help future CAT aspirants plan their strategy.