The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 was successfully conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode on November 30, 2025, in a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode. The CAT exam 2025 was held in three slots across various centres. CAT 2025 spans 120 minutes (2 hours), divided into three mandatory 40-minute sections with no option to switch between them or revisit prior sections, enforcing strict time management. For all the slots, we have brought the CAT Exam Analysis 2025 below for aspirants who are going to appear for the exam.
According to IIM Kozhikode, about 2.95 lakh candidates have registered for CAT 2025 exam. Registered candidates can download their CAT 2025 Admit Cards from iimcat.ac.in till November 30, 2025. The IIM CAT exam was conducted across three slots: morning (8:30-10:30 AM), afternoon (12:30-2:30 PM), and evening (4:30-6:30 PM). Aspirants can follow the CAT Exam Analysis 2025 Live Updates below prepared by the subject experts and leading coaching institutes.
CAT Exam Analysis 2025: Slot 3 Analysis
The slot 3 exam of CAT 2025 was comparatively tougher than the other slots. The DILR section in the CAT 2025 Slot 3 was moderately difficult. The section had 22 questions, and students were allotted 40 minutes. The overall difficulty level of CAT 2025 slot 3 is between moderate to difficult. The VARC section had a mix of easy and moderate questions, whereas the questions in QA and DILR sections ranged between moderate to difficult level. Students reported no change in the CAT 2025 pattern, with the paper closely resembling last year’s level.
CAT 2025 Response Sheet & Answer Key
The IIM Kozhikode will publish the CAT Answer Key 2025, along with the response sheet, soon on its official portal. As per the past years’ trends, the CAT 2025 response sheet will be issued in the first week of December 2025, tentatively. Candidates who appeared for the CAT 2025 exam can download their CAT answer key, once released from the official website – iimcat.ac.in, by using their registration number and password. The release of the CAT 2025 Answer Key will allow candidates to calculate their scores before the final result.
Candidates must note that correct answers earn +3 marks, incorrect MCQs deduct -1, while TITA and skips carry no penalty. The CAT 2025 scorecards will be released on the CAT website. Candidates may also be informed individually by SMS. According to the official notification, the CAT results are likely to be declared by the first week of January, 2026.
CAT Exam Pattern Overview 2025
The CAT 2025 exam pattern follows a computer-based test format lasting 120 minutes, divided into three sections with strict 40-minute sectional time limits each: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). The questions asked in the IIM CAT exam are a mix of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) non-MCQs, and candidates must proceed sequentially without revisiting prior sections.
Check below the list of some of the top colleges in CAT cut-off range 70-80 percentile.
Many CAT candidates must have applied for XAT, SNAP, and CMAT too. They must now focus on these exams. SNAP 2025 Test 1 is on December 6, Test 2 is on December 14, and Test 3 is on December 20. XAT will be held on January 4, and CMAT 2026 will be held in January third week.
CAT 2025 answer key objection fees are INR 1200 per objection. The fee amount will be refunded to only those candidates whose objections will be accepted.
As per media reports, approximately 2.58 lakh candidates appeared for the CAT 2025 exam on November 30, in various slots. The appearing percentage of candidates stands at 86%.
As per the analysis shared by the T.I.M.E. Institute, the CAT Slot 3 exam was more challenging as compared to other slots. There were two Sentence Position, two Odd One Out, two Para Formation and two Para Summary questions. The DILR remained quite challenging for the students.
Once the CAT 2025 Provisional Answer Key is released, candidates can check and download their answer key from the official website, iimcat.ac.in, using their registration number and password.
IIM Kozhikode is expected to release the CAT Provisional Answer Key 2025 in the first week of December 2025.
The expected cut-offs for top IIMs such as Indore, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, and Calcutta are as follows:
The overall difficulty level of CAT 2025 Slot 3 is between moderate to difficult. The VARC section had a mix of easy and moderate questions, whereas the questions in the QA and DILR sections ranged from moderate to difficult level.
The CAT 2025 exam across three slots featured a moderately tough challenge with VARC remaining manageable, an intensified DILR, and a slightly harder Quant section.
Also check: CAT Analysis 2025; Subject-wise Difficulty Level, Students’ Reactions
According to Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD of Career Launcher, the overall difficulty level of CAT 2025 across all three sections combined was moderately difficult compared to CAT 2024. He noted that the VARC section was similar to CAT 2024 but slightly easier, the DILR section was considerably more difficult, and the Quantitative Ability section retained a difficulty level close to CAT 2024 but leaned slightly towards the tougher side.
Gautam Puri, Co-Founder & MD, Career Launcher, noted that the Quantitative Ability (QA) section in CAT 2025 Slot 3 was comparatively the most difficult among the three sections in that slot and the entire exam day. He mentioned that five to six questions were doable.
The DILR section in the CAT 2025 Slot 3 was moderately difficult. The section had 22 questions, and students were allotted 40 minutes. Five to six questions in this section were doable, said Gautam Puri, Co-Founder & MD, Career Launcher.
In Slot 3 of CAT 2025, the VARC section was easy to moderate in the difficulty level, similar to last year and the initial two slots of the day. Students were allotted 40 minutes, and the section consisted of 24 questions. Eight to nine questions in this section were doable, according to experts.
Check the details on the section-wise difficulty level for the CAT 2025 Slot 3 paper by Gautam Puri, Co-Founder & MD, Career Launcher:
VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension): Easy to Moderate
DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning): Moderate to difficult
QA (Quantitative Ability): Difficult (toughest of the three sections)
The CAT 2025 Slot 3, the last session of the day, concluded at 6:30 PM on November 30, 2025, bringing the Common Admission Test 2025 to a close. Test-takers have described the difficulty level of this slot as moderate to difficult, closely aligning with CAT 2024 but leaning slightly towards the tougher side.
Aditya, a 2024 graduate from IIT Dhanbad, remarked that CAT 2025 Slot 3 was overall challenging. He noted that the Quant section was tougher than usual, with a strong emphasis on geometry and quadratic equations. The VARC section was moderate, although one reading comprehension passage was particularly complex. Meanwhile, the DILR section was lengthy and complicated, demanding careful and detailed analysis from the candidates.
As per Slot 3 analysis, Arithmetic continues to hold prominence in the Quantitative Ability section of CAT 2025, with students observing similar question patterns and topic distributions across all three slots.
Students reported that the CAT 2025 Slot 3 paper was comparatively more challenging than Slots 1 and 2, particularly in the Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) and Quantitative Ability (QA) sections.
VARC had a somewhat similar pattern across all exam slots, as per experts’ analysis.
As per students’ reactions, the RCs were difficult. RCs were on ethics and AI, and were about 500-550 words long.
With Slot 3 wrapped up, the CAT 2025 exam concludes for aspirants on November 30, 2025. The exam is held in three slots throughout the day with consistent patterns in timing and sectional division.
The final slot of CAT 2025 for November 30, 2025, has concluded at 6:30 PM. Candidates who appeared in Slot 3 completed their exam scheduled from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM, marking the end of the CAT 2025 exam.
This section had 22 questions focused mostly on arithmetic and algebra, with a few from geometry and modern math. The section was slightly tougher than CAT 2024, mainly due to lengthy calculations, according to Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E.
As per experts, the DILR section consisted of five sets: balls and hoops, bar chart with Venn diagram, sustainability index scatter chart, pollution index, and music gurus-students distribution. Balls and hoops were a must-attempt set; others were tricky or difficult, consuming significant time.
The VARC section had a moderate difficulty level with four RC passages on diverse topics such as tech tools, Mexican cavefish, books, and scientific instruments. Verbal Ability featured para formation, para summary, sentence placement, and para odd one out questions, with some challenging items. The analysis comes from Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director, T.I.M.E.
CAT 2025 Slot 3 is scheduled to end soon, with the exam duration set from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM today, November 30, 2025. Candidates are completing the final session of the day, marking the conclusion of the CAT 2025 examinations.
Most students opined that the difficulty level of the CAT 2025 Slot 2 paper was almost similar to the difficulty level of the first slot of the day. However, it was more difficult than CAT 2024 and somewhat similar in difficulty level to CAT 2022 and 2023. This assessment comes from Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Career Launcher, who analysed Slot 2 based on initial student feedback and exam trends.
According to Gautam Puri, Co-Founder & MD, Career Launcher, the VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) session of CAT 2025 Slot 2 showed moderate difficulty, with 10-12 questions deemed doable out of 24 in 40 minutes. The difficulty was similar to CAT 2022’s VARC.
Candidates had to attempt 68 questions across three sections (VARC, DILR, QA) within 120 minutes, maintaining a consistent structure for the exam.
CAT 2025 Slot 3 is scheduled to start soon, with the exam timing set from 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM. Candidates are expected to report by 3:00 PM, and the entry gates close by 4:00 PM, after which late entries are not allowed.
CAT 2025 Slot 2, conducted by IIM Kozhikode, concluded at 2:30 PM and is considered moderate in difficulty. Most students found it comparable to Slot 1 of the day, but slightly tougher than CAT 2024. Difficulty levels resembled those of CAT 2022 and 2023, as per reports.
Students reported that the VARC section in CAT 2025 ranged from easy to moderate difficulty.
Aryan Akhouri noted that the English section in CAT 2025 was designed to confuse students by changing the typical question format. Instead of straightforwardly asking “which of the following is true?”, the questions required candidates to identify “which of the following inferences is false or contradicts the passage?” This subtle but tricky shift demanded greater attention to detail and inference skills in the VARC section.
Reports from CAT 2025 Slot 2 indicate a notable absence of probability questions in the Quantitative Ability section. Candidates observed that topics like arithmetic, algebra, and geometry dominated the paper, while probability, usually considered a staple topic, was surprisingly missing.
As per reports, CAT 2025 Slot 2 saw a strong dominance of arithmetic questions in the Quantitative Ability section.
Aryan Akhouri, an engineering background candidate from BIT Mesra, shared that in the Quant section of CAT 2025, most questions were from arithmetic and geometry. He mentioned that there were one to two questions on time and work, and one to two questions on profit and loss. However, he pointed out that there were no questions on probability in this slot.
Aryan Akhouri, an engineering background candidate, shared with The Indian Express Education that he found the VARC and Quant sections of CAT 2025 comparatively easy. However, he described the DILR section as lengthy and quite difficult, highlighting the challenge it posed despite his strengths in the other areas.
According to CATKing, IIM Kozhikode conducted a fair exam along the same lines as IIM Calcutta in 2023. The reading comprehension and question patterns showed similarities, particularly in Quant and DILR, signalling consistency in the difficulty and content of the paper.
The Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) section in CAT 2025 Slot 1 included Spider charts, routes and networks, and caselet-based questions.
The CAT 2025 Slot 2 exam concluded, running from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM as per schedule.
The Quantitative Ability section was dominated by Arithmetic and Algebra, with an increase in Geometry questions in Slot 1 of the CAT 2025 exam.
The Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) section in the CAT 2025 exam featured the return of parajumbles, while the reading comprehension was lengthy but manageable.
According to Sumit Singh Gandhi, CEO of CATKing Educare, the overall difficulty level of the CAT 2025 Slot 1 was moderate and fell between the levels seen in 2023 and 2024, though it was lengthier.
There were 22 questions across 5 sets in the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section, similar to last year’s pattern.
There was a Data Interpretation (DI) Spider + Bar set with 4 questions, four Logical Reasoning (LR) sets: a Seating Arrangement set with 4 questions, a Quant-Based Reasoning set on Train tickets with 5 questions, another Quant-Based Reasoning set focusing on Feet tapping containing 4 questions, and a Distribution Puzzle plus Rank Arrangement set centered on Employee rating with 5 questions.
Ramnath Kanakadandi, Senior Course Director at T.I.M.E., highlights that the Spider+Bar caselet was a must-try for CAT 2025 students. He advises candidates to identify this set upfront and solve it to manage time efficiently, noting that other caselets were trickier and more time-consuming.
Read more: Subject-wise Analysis for Slot 1,2,3, Difficulty Level, Weightage
Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD of Career Launcher, observed that the CAT 2025 Slot 1 paper was overall quite tricky and more difficult compared to the previous year’s exam.
CAT 2025 Slot 2 is all set to kick off soon, scheduled from 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM today, November 30. Candidates assigned to this afternoon slot should ensure they are well-prepared, having a nutritious meal beforehand to maintain energy and focus throughout the intensive two-hour exam.
Reporting at the exam centre is expected by 11:00 AM, with last entry by 12:00 PM, allowing ample time for biometric verification and document checks. As the momentum from Slot 1 continues, Slot 2 test-takers must stay calm, confident, and strategically ready to tackle the exam sections.
This is the perfect time to gather your essentials and mentally prepare for a strong performance.
Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD of Career Launcher, stated that the Quantitative Ability (QA) section of CAT 2025 was similar to last year’s paper. The section featured many number-based questions, with more than 10 questions viewed as doable out of the total 22. He noted that attempting 11-12 questions could be a game-changer for candidates aiming for a high percentile.
According to Gautam Puri, Co-Founder and MD of Career Launcher, the DILR section of CAT 2025 in the first slot was slightly more difficult compared to the previous year. This section consisted of 22 questions to be attempted within a 40-minute timeframe, including 11-12 Type-In-The-Answer (TITA) questions. He suggests that overall, attempting around 10 questions in DILR can be considered a good performance.
