CAT 2023 Exam is expected to be held on 26th November 2023, which is just six months away. One common question among aspirants is whether this time frame is sufficient for preparing for the exam. The answer is YES; six months is a good enough time period if you have a well-structured study plan. In this article, we will provide you with an exceptional self-study plan for CAT 2023 to help you in getting into the top B-school in India.
If you stick to this CAT study plan diligently for the next six months and complete the daily tasks as prescribed, you can expect to finish the syllabus by September, thus providing you with ample time for revision.
Download and take a printout if you are interested in self-study for the CAT exam and want to prepare without coaching.
Download CAT 6 month study plan PDF
An effective way to use our CAT 6 Months Study Plan:
If you are making a study plan for the CAT exam, it is essential to ensure that you stick to it, to improve the possibility of getting a 99+ percentile and leads to getting a call from IIMs and top b-schools. Many of the aspirants make this common mistake while preparing for the CAT exam – spending more time on the topics that are too difficult. Remember that there will be easy questions in the exam, you just need to spot them. This study plan guides you with an excellent preparation strategy to ace the exam, which includes the topics that you must learn.
Having a well-crafted study plan is crucial for exam preparation, as it helps you identify your starting point and prioritize the concepts that require more focus. This six-month CAT study plan (starting from May) offers a strategic approach to exam preparation. If you’re a working professional, it’s crucial to devise a preparation strategy that optimizes your study time. By following the daily tasks outlined in this six-month study plan and taking regular mocks, you can significantly enhance your preparation. Mocks are a vital component of exam preparation, and using this study plan can yield effective results in your CAT mocks.
Have a look at the sample screenshot of the CAT 6 months study plan with day wise schedule given below. Download the PDF to view the complete daily schedule till the CAT 2023 exam.
Click on the below link to download the complete 6 month study plan for CAT 2023 PDF
6 month study plan for cat 2023 PDF
The major topics covered in this study plan from each of the sections are given below. Following are the topics mentioned in the above PDF. You can roughly allot these number of days for each topic.
CAT VARC Topic-wise Study Plan:
To prepare for the Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) section, allocate at least one hour every day for reading. This will enable you to form perspectives on diverse issues. During the early stages of your preparation, aim to solve at least one reading comprehension (RC) exercise every day. The schedule presented below can serve as a guide, but feel free to modify it according to your strengths and weaknesses, as well as the time you have available during the day.
| Topic | No. of days |
| RC’s | 12-13 |
| Para Summary | 6-7 |
| Para Completion | 6-7 |
| Para Jumbles | 6-7 |
| Odd sentence out | 6-7 |
| Grammar, Sentence Correction, Fill in the blanks, Verbal Reasoning, Facts / Inferences / Judgements. | 12 |
CAT LRDI Topic-wise Study Plan:
To prepare for the Logical Reasoning And Data Interpretation (LRDI) section, it’s crucial to practice non-traditional sets since CAT has moved away from the traditional ones. The current sets are more logic-based and relatively less data-intensive. Therefore, dedicate around one hour each day to DI/LR concepts. Additionally, aim to solve two sets daily – one DI set and one LR set.
| LR Topics | No. of days |
| Arrangements (Linear, Circular, etc) | 3 |
| Puzzles (Einstein puzzles, constraint-based etc) | 3 |
| Networks, LR based on picking coins | 5 |
| Games and tournaments | 3 |
| Scheduling | 3 |
| Blood relations, family tree, Truth-liar concept | 7 |
| Cubes | 3 |
| Others (2D Space LR’s, etc) | 5-6 |
| DI Topics | No. of days |
| Bar Graphs, Line Charts, Pie Charts, Unconventional charts (radar chart, bubble chart etc) | 12-14 |
| Tables | 4 |
| Venn Diagrams | 4 |
| Others (DI Based on growth over years, Data Sufficiency, Caselets, etc) | 9 |
CAT Quant Topic-wise Study Plan:
To excel in the Quantitative Ability (QA) section, it’s crucial to have a solid understanding of the Quant basics. Therefore, it’s recommended that aspirants devote at least 1-2 months to mastering the fundamental concepts. Unfortunately, many candidates overlook this critical aspect of preparation. The following study schedule can serve as a guide for preparing for the Quantitative Ability section, but feel free to tailor it to your strengths and weaknesses in this area.
| Topic | Number of days |
| Number Systems | 3-4 |
| Ratio and Proportion, Percentages, Averages, Alligation, Profit Loss and Discount | 12-13 |
| Simple Interest and Compound Interest | 1-2 |
| Time, Speed and Distance | 2-3 |
| Time & Work | 2 |
| Linear equations, Quadratic equations | 6 |
| Inequalities | 2 |
| Logarithms, Functions | 6 |
| Progressions and series | 3 |
| Surds and indices | 1 |
| Geometry & Mensuration | 10-11 |
| Basic trigonometry | 1-2 |
| Co-ordinate Geometry | 2 |
| Permutation and Combinations | 4 |
| Probability | 3 |
| Set Theory | 2 |
| Miscellaneous | 4-5 |
CAT Month-wise schedule / Study plan:
|
May-July |
Learning the concepts of all the three sections |
|
July/August |
Revise the concepts, Practice, Take one mock per week |
|
September |
Take sectional tests, and two mocks per week |
|
October |
Can take 2-3 mocks per week, experiment with mock strategies. Note down your mistakes, improve your question selection skills, and experiment with various strategies in the mocks. |
|
November |
Pick a strategy that suits you the most. Test it in the mocks. Revise the concepts and the common mistakes you tend to make. |
Daily routine / Time Table while preparing for CAT
The daily routine depends on whether you are a college student, a working professional or you have taken a drop. The following is a broad schedule you can follow. You can customize the schedule.
The daily routine from Monday to Saturday:
-
Watch the concept videos. Spend around 2-3 hours on understanding your weak areas.
-
Reading regularly, read what you like (can be your favourite novels also)- 30 minutes to 1 hour daily.
-
Reading diverse articles- 30 minutes.
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Solving puzzles like sudoku and doing basic mental math calculations- 30 minutes
- Sunday: Take concept tests (to test yourself on the concepts learned during the week)
- Overall try to allocate around 2-3 hours for preparation during the weekdays and more time on weekends.
- Customize your schedule that balance all three sections. And make sure to allocate more time to work on weak areas. So, This is the best time to start preparing for CAT 2023. Try to complete the syllabus within 3-4 months and do practice, take mocks and analyze them, and understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Candidates are advised to check out the CAT 2023 Syllabus PDF to know more details about the CAT 2023 syllabus with CAT previous papers slot analysis.
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