The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 concluded successfully on November 30, 2025, marking a crucial milestone for thousands of management aspirants across India. Conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), this computer-based test serves as the gateway to premier business schools in the country.
CAT 2025 Exam Pattern and Difficulty Analysis
The CAT 2025 examination maintained its standard structure with three distinct sections: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Ability (QA). According to initial feedback from test-takers and coaching institutes, the overall difficulty level was moderate, with some variations across sections.
Early analysis suggests that the VARC section presented a balanced mix of reading comprehension passages and verbal ability questions. The DILR section, often considered the most challenging, featured diverse sets that tested candidates' analytical capabilities. Meanwhile, the Quantitative Ability section contained questions primarily from arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, with moderate complexity.
Important Dates and Post-Exam Timeline
The CAT 2025 answer key is expected to be released within the first week of December 2025. This provisional answer key will be available on the official CAT website: iimcat.ac.in. Candidates will have a specific window to raise objections against any discrepancies in the answer key, typically spanning 2-3 days after its release.
The final answer key and CAT 2025 results are anticipated to be declared in the second week of January 2026. The exact result date will be confirmed by the conducting IIM through official notification. Successful candidates will then proceed to the next stages of the admission process, which include Written Ability Tests (WAT), Group Discussions (GD), and Personal Interviews (PI).
How to Calculate Your CAT 2025 Score
Understanding the CAT marking scheme is crucial for score calculation. The examination follows a specific scoring pattern:
- Each correct answer awards 3 marks
- Each incorrect answer in MCQs deducts 1 mark (negative marking)
- Non-MCQ type questions do not carry negative marking
- No marks are deducted for unattempted questions
To estimate your score, count your correct and incorrect responses separately. Multiply correct answers by 3, subtract the number of wrong MCQ answers, and you'll have your raw score. Remember that the final percentile is calculated after normalization procedures to account for different session difficulties.
After the result declaration, candidates can access their scorecards through the official CAT portal using their login credentials. The scorecard will display sectional scores, overall scaled scores, and percentiles, which are crucial for admission considerations across IIMs and other participating business schools.
The CAT 2025 examination continues to be the most significant management entrance test in India, determining the academic and professional futures of countless aspirants. With careful preparation and strategic approach to the remaining admission processes, candidates can maximize their chances of securing admission to their dream B-schools.
