{"id":91401,"date":"2025-02-19T16:25:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T10:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cracku.in\/blog\/?p=91401"},"modified":"2025-02-24T11:14:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T05:44:42","slug":"time-required-to-prepare-for-cat-exam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cracku.in\/blog\/time-required-to-prepare-for-cat-exam\/","title":{"rendered":"How much time is required to prepare for the CAT exam \ud83e\udd14"},"content":{"rendered":"

How much time is required to prepare for the CAT exam?<\/h1>\n

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is an exam that tests the basic aptitude and logical thinking skills of a candidate. Cracking CAT<\/strong> is not a tough job provided one is fairly thorough with what one has learnt during schooling, and one can also prepare for it at home (w<\/span>hile preparing from home it’s very essential to take a structured online preparation program<\/a><\/span>). In this article, we will be looking at how much time is required to prepare for the CAT examination.<\/p>\n

The actual amount of time required to prepare for CAT depends entirely on one\u2019s capabilities. It varies from person to person. If one is starting from scratch, it depends on one\u2019s ability to grasp the fundamental concepts, so there is no fixed period of time required to ace the CAT. <\/span><\/p>\n

CAT Online Coaching<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n

Aspirants can check out CAT online coaching<\/strong> as the exam is online and also online coaching would give you time to prepare. Try checking out previous year papers of CAT<\/strong><\/a> to know about the level of questions that appear in the exam. Also, taking a free CAT online mock test will help the candidates in gauging their strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n

Firstly, let\u2019s look at the CAT syllabus:<\/p>\n

The exam consists of 3 sections<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC)
\n2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)
\n3. Quantitative Ability (QA)<\/p>\n

Download the detailed CAT Syllabus PDF<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Download CAT 2021 Syllabus PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

Two to three months is enough to finish covering the fundamentals<\/strong> of the three sections, for someone starting from scratch. And overall, on average, dedicated CAT preparation takes not more than 6-7 months. If you can spend 2 hours every day on a weekday and around 6\u20138 hours over weekends that should be good enough.<\/span><\/p>\n

Below is a general strategy that will help you devise a CAT<\/strong> study plan<\/strong> as per your requirement. So, you can tweak the below strategy based on your need and the amount of time available during the day (the amount of time available differs for different people such as working professionals, final year college students etc).<\/span><\/p>\n

CAT Mock Tests<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n

How much time is required for CAT VARC?<\/h2>\n

VARC:<\/b> Candidates can cover the VARC concepts in one to one and a half month. The key area to focus on in this section is Reading Comprehension<\/strong>. Once you understand how to grasp the important aspects of a passage, you start developing a structured way of thinking. This will help you immensely in other related topics like Para Jumbles and Para Completion.<\/p>\n

Candidates must make it a habit to read regularly<\/strong>. Allocate at least an hour daily to read. Also, aspirants must try reading articles from different genres to make themselves comfortable with various writing styles. Questions on para jumbles and sentence elimination require aspirants to spot coherent ideas. Therefore, having a strong reading habit is indispensable to ace this section as well.<\/p>\n

The following is the schedule<\/strong> one can follow. You can adjust this depending on the time available during the day, and based on your strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Topic<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

No. of days<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Reading Comprehension<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

12-14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Para Summary<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

8-9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Para Completion<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

8-9<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Para Jumbles<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7-8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Odd sentence out<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7-8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Download Verbal Ability for CAT PDFs<\/a><\/p>\n

Join 30K MBA Aspirants Telegram Group<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n

How much time is required for CAT DILR?<\/h2>\n

DILR: <\/b>The fundamental concepts can be learned in 1-2 months, depending on whether the section is your strength or weakness. The types of LRDIs asked in recent years are quite different from the earlier years. Firstly, finish the fundamental concepts and start solving the past 3-4 years CAT papers thoroughly and take as many mocks as possible.<\/p>\n

CAT Previous LRDI Papers<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spend around 1-2 hours every day covering the DI \/ LR Concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

LR Topics<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

No. of days<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Arrangements (Linear, Circular, etc)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Puzzles (Einstein puzzles, constraint-based etc)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Networks, LR based on picking coins<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Games and tournaments, Scheduling, Cubes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10-12<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Blood relations, family tree, Truth-liar concept<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Others (2D Space LR\u2019s, etc)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

5-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

DI Topics<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

No. of days<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Bar Graphs, Line Charts, Pie Charts, Unconventional charts (radar chart, bubble chart etc)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Tables<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Venn Diagrams<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Others (DI Based on growth over years, Data Sufficiency, Caselets, etc)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

6-7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Just like the VARC section, practice is the key<\/strong> to cracking this section as well.<\/p>\n

Read: <\/strong>How to prepare for DI for CAT<\/a><\/p>\n

Read<\/strong>: How to prepare for LR for CAT<\/a><\/p>\n

DI Questions for CAT PDF<\/a><\/p>\n

Download LR Questions for CAT<\/a><\/p>\n

How much time is required for CAT QA?<\/h2>\n

Quant:<\/b> The quant syllabus is vast and it would take a minimum of 2-3 months to cover all the fundamental concepts thoroughly, for those starting from scratch. The key area for this is practicing regularly and knowing the important formulas. Ensure that you know the applications for each one of them.<\/p>\n

Download the important CAT formulas here. Just by downloading and understanding these formula PDFs, your Quant score will typically increase by 20% <\/b><\/i><\/p>\n

Download CAT Maths formulas PDF<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n

These are the following Quant topics<\/strong>: The days allocated for each topic will vary depending on whether a topic is your strength or weakness. Spend more time learning your weak areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/colgroup>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Topic<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Number of days<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Number Systems<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5-6<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Ratio and Proportion, Percentages, Averages, Alligation, Profit Loss and Discount, Simple Interest and Compound Interest<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

14-15<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Time, Speed and Distance, Time & Work<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

6-7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Linear equations, Quadratic equations, Inequalities<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

8-10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Logarithms, Functions<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

7<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Progressions and series, Surds and indices<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Geometry & Mensuration<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

12-14<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Co-ordinate Geometry, Basic trigonometry<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

3-4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n

Permutation and Combinations, Probability, Set Theory<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

10<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

Miscellaneous<\/td>\n5-6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Read in detail<\/strong>: How to prepare for QA for CAT<\/a><\/p>\n

Additional pointers:<\/h3>\n