CAT 2026 · IMS Indore
How to prepare for CAT 2026 — the IMS Indore methodology.
This page is a conversation — not a manual. I'll walk you through how the CAT-2026 programme at IMS Indore actually works. Not just what we do, but why we do it this way.
About 15 minutes, top to bottom. Read it once now, then come back to specific sections when you need them. Grab a chai.
Chapter one · the why
Why the programme is the way it is.
Before we get to logistics — deadlines, schedules, tests — let me tell you how CAT actually works, and why we've built the programme around that. Ten minutes here saves months of confusion later.
1.1 · The nature of the test
What CAT really tests.
CAT isn't a school exam. It's an aptitude test. What it measures, more than anything else, is your ability to recognize patterns and make good decisions under time pressure.
Here's what that means for your prep: the "syllabus" isn't a list of topics you need to memorise — it's the minimum set of concepts and techniques you need to recognise CAT's question patterns when they appear. Your job isn't to know more things than the next student. It's to see faster. That distinction shapes everything below.
The kid who's topped every school exam but struggles on CAT isn't stupid — they're trying to solve CAT like a school test. The kid who cracks CAT has learnt to recognise which question type is in front of them, and to pick the right tool in seconds. That's what we're training you to do.
1.2 · The order matters
Why we break it into five modules.
Concepts in CAT build on each other. You can't really tackle Profit & Loss until Percentages clicks. You can't do Geometry until you're comfortable with basic calculation. Teach things in the wrong order and students keep stumbling over prerequisites they haven't absorbed yet.
So we sequence the syllabus into five modules, run over roughly six months:
- Module Zero · Foundation. Calculation habits, geometry basics, P&C basics, reading orientation. No tests, no pressure — just the groundwork.
- Module 1 · Core Fundamentals. Numbers, equations, percentages, ratios.
- Module 2 · Building Up. Time-speed-distance, advanced algebra, logarithms, set theory.
- Module 3 · Advanced. Geometry (the heaviest module by concept-density).
- Module 4 · Final Coverage. Coordinate geometry, functions, P&C, probability, remainders.
LRDI and VARC run alongside, module by module. By the end of Module 4 — sometime around July–August — the entire syllabus is covered.
Your year, at altitude. Three phases flow into each other — the syllabus closes around mid-August, mocks ramp from April to November, past CATs fill the final weeks.
1.3 · The unit of work
What one topic actually looks like.
Every topic — all 72 of them across the three areas — goes through the same four-step shape. Let me walk you through one concretely. Take Percentages (a QA topic from Module 1):
- Step 1 · class You attend the class. — Faculty teaches the concept, solves CAT-level examples, points out the traps. Take notes. Ask questions. Don't skip.
- Step 2 · practice exercises You do the two Practice Exercises. — On myIMS3.0 — first thePractice Exercise (Easy), then thePractice Exercise. Easy first, always. Reinforces the concept, then applies it.
- Step 3 · practice test You do the Practice Test. — A timed set of CAT-level questions on this topic. For QA, one Difficult Practice Test per topic. For LRDI and VARC, the count varies.
- Step 4 · BMT You write the BMT. — The gate. Short, timed, just on this topic. 75% or more and the topic isclosed.
The gap between steps varies: a QA topic wraps up in about 4 days. An LRDI topic with lots of practice sets can take up to 14 days. Your tracker shows you the exact window per topic.
You'll do this cycle about 72 times over the next six months. That sounds like a lot — but once you've done three or four topics, it becomes muscle memory.
1.4 · The gate at the end of every topic
Why the BMT gate at 75%.
Here's the question I get most often: "Why 75%? Why not 70%? Why not 'just finish it'?"
The answer is about what happens if we don't have a gate. Without a 75% threshold, students tend to collect "completed" topics while carrying silent gaps — they sort-of understand Percentages, sort-of understand TSD. Those gaps stay invisible for months. Then when SimCATs start at Module 2 end, the gaps suddenly compound — and scores collapse. By then it's too late to fix the foundations.
The BMT is cheap insurance against that. 75% on a short, topic-specific test means the pattern has actually landed. Below that, we pause — your mentor decides what to do next, not you alone. There are only four things that could be going on:
- Concept gap — the idea didn't land. Fix: targeted material on the specific sub-concept, not a full topic re-study.
- Execution gap — you knew the concept but made silly mistakes or panicked. Fix: short break, then retake the BMT clean.
- Genuinely hard for you — flag for a Practice Workshop; revisit in consolidation.
- Normal variance — your section is still coming together. Move on; it'll get reinforced later.
The mentor figures out which one it is. You don't have to diagnose yourself.
1.5 · The mock track
Why we write so many full-length mocks.
Knowing concepts isn't the same as scoring on CAT day. CAT is a two-hour emotional event — you have to make dozens of question-attempt decisions, manage your section-level time, handle the panic when a set won't crack, and still stay sharp for the last section. None of that is trained by solving topic-level questions.
That's what full-length mocks — we call them SimCATs — train. Each one is a simulated CAT: three sections, 120 minutes, timed, scored, ranked. You'll write about 43 of them across the year — three Pre-SimCATs (training wheels), 20 Proctored (nationally ranked), 20 Take-Home (self-paced).
Each mock teaches you one more thing about your test-day behaviour. How you behave under pressure is itself a skill — and like any skill, you build it with reps.
1.6 · The endgame
Why we save real CAT papers for last.
Nineteen past CAT papers are available on myIMS3.0 — the real thing, from the online-era years with comparable format. They're the gold standard of calibration: nothing simulates CAT better than an actual CAT.
So why don't we use them earlier? Because there are only nineteen. If you burn through them in June, you have nothing left for October and November — the weeks when they actually matter most. So we hold them back. Once the SimCAT track closes out, you start working through them, oldest first. The most recent CAT is saved for the final rehearsal week before your actual paper.
1.7 · Beyond CAT
Why the programme includes more than just CAT.
CAT opens the IIMs, MDI, SPJIMR, and a handful of other top schools. But it's one exam, one day, and sometimes things go sideways. Writing only CAT means staking your entire year on a single morning — which is a bad idea even if you're preparing brilliantly.
So every serious aspirant also writes a subset of the ADMATs — Additional Management Entrance Tests:
| For | Exam | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| For XLRI | XAT | For XLRIXATToughest of the ADMATs. Includes a Decision Making section that needs its own prep. |
| For NMIMS | NMAT | For NMIMSNMAT120-minute adaptive test. Apply only if your NMAT mock score is consistently 200+. |
| For Symbiosis | SNAP | For SymbiosisSNAPShorter paper, different mix. Most relevant at CAT 80–90 percentile trajectory. |
| For state schools, safety | CMAT | For state schools, safetyCMATBroader format with General Awareness. A useful safety net. |
| For MICA | MICAT | For MICAMICATIncludes creative writing. Only if MICA is on your target list. |
| For IIFT | IIFT | For IIFTIIFTCloser to CAT in feel, plus General Awareness. |
You don't write all of these — you pick a portfolio. Your mentor finalises it in August–September, based on your CAT trajectory and your school wishlist. Writing too many dilutes CAT prep; writing too few leaves good interview calls on the table.
Chapter two · your questions
The worries you walked in with.
Every new student walks in with roughly the same five questions. Let's knock them out.
2.1 · Routine
"What does my day look like?"
The honest answer: it depends on your batch. Morning, evening, weekend — we run different batches and they pace differently.
What is the same for everyone is the shape of the week:
- Classes — two or three a week, depending on batch. Attend them live or catch the recording within 48 hours.
- Daily practice — one Practice Test per section per day. That's about 90 minutes of focused work, five days a week. This is non-negotiable during the modules phase.
- BMTs — as topics close out. Some weeks that's one BMT; some weeks it's three. Your tracker tells you which are due.
- Once SimCATs unlock — one SimCAT per week (Pre, Proctored, or Take-Home, depending on what's live). 120 minutes fresh, plus 30 minutes of analysis after.
Total weekly commitment: roughly 15–20 hours during the modules phase, rising to 18–22 hours during consolidation. That's 2–3 hours a day on average. Tight, but not brutal.
One thing worth saying upfront: consistency beats intensity. Two hours a day every day beats ten hours crammed on Saturday. The habit is the prep.
2.2 · Timeline
"Will I finish the syllabus in time?"
Yes — if you stay in the cycle. That's genuinely all the plan does.
By the end of Module 4 (sometime around July–August for a 6-month batch, earlier for a 2-year batch), you'll have closed 72 BMTs at 75%+. That's the full syllabus, locked in topic by topic. Your mentor tracks this weekly via plan.imsindore.com/academic/ — anything past-due shows up in orange so you can see drift before it becomes a problem.
A practical guideline: drifting two weeks is recoverable. Drifting two months is a career decision. If you notice things slipping, raise it with your mentor immediately — we rework the plan around genuine constraints all the time.
2.3 · Profile building
"What about the non-academic stuff?"
CAT marks get you interview calls. Your profile gets you the offer.
Profile means different things at different schools, but broadly: academic record, work experience (or college activities if you're fresh out), extracurriculars, and — crucially — your fit with a specific specialisation (finance, marketing, operations, HR, entrepreneurship). IIM-A doesn't just want a 99-percentile scorer; they want someone who clearly knows why they want an MBA and in what area.
That work runs in parallel with CAT prep, and your mentor leads it. You don't need to do anything on Day 1 beyond your FMTC — but do explore the specialisation pages when you have a few free minutes. The earlier you start thinking about fit, the better.
2.4 · Target setting
"What CAT score do I actually need?"
It depends on your school list. Very roughly:
| 99+ %ile | IIM-A / B / C — the three "old" IIMs. Always the tightest cutoffs. |
| 95–99 %ile | Other IIMs, MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR, FMS Delhi. Top-tier but wider bands. |
| 85–95 %ile | NMIMS (+NMAT), SIBM Pune (+SNAP), IIFT (+IIFT exam), MICA (+MICAT). Good schools where the respective ADMAT matters as much as CAT. |
| 75–85 %ile | Tier-2 MBA colleges — still solid outcomes, but the ADMAT portfolio (CMAT, state CETs) carries more weight here. |
For the precise current-year mapping of percentile to CAT marks — which shifts year to year — IMS India maintains a score-vs-percentile reference.
But don't fixate on a target number today. Your mentor sets a realistic target after your FMTC diagnostic — one calibrated to where you start and what you can reasonably build over your runway. "I want 99+" without a plan is a fantasy. "I'll close my BMTs at 75%+ and see where my Pre-SimCATs land" is a strategy.
2.5 · Processes
"How do the tools actually work?"
Four pieces fit together. Know what each is for:
- myIMS3.0 — the IMS India portal. Your main workspace. All classes, practice exercises, practice tests, BMTs and SimCATs live here.
- MyPlan — the support system inside myIMS3.0. Book mentoring, request doubt sessions, get SimCAT strategy reviews. The human layer of the programme.
- plan.imsindore.com — your IMS Indore tracker. Pending BMTs, week targets, SimCAT unlocks, profile-building inputs. Check it weekly.
- IMS Indore Support — your local help desk. For batch logistics, hard-copy material issues, test scheduling, or anything that needs a human at the centre. Your mentor has the contact channel; ask them at your FMTC.
One more thing: hard-copy study material is delivered from IMS India. The digital stuff on myIMS3.0 is where the practice and testing happens; the hard copies are reference. You'll use both.
The first week
Your Week 1 checklist.
Concretely, by the end of your first seven days, these five things should be done. Don't overthink beyond this list:
- Book your FMTC. myIMS3.0 → MyPlan → Mentoring. It's the door to everything else.
- Confirm myIMS3.0 login works. Reach out to Support immediately if it doesn't.
- Bookmark plan.imsindore.com/academic/. You'll live in this page once you're a week in.
- Start Foundation (Module Zero). Six QA classes, two LRDI classes. Recordings are available if you missed any.
- Know your Support channels. Ask at your FMTC: who do I call, and when?
Chapter three · the rhythm
How to prepare, area by area.
The three areas behave differently. Same programme architecture — but themindsetyou bring to each is different. You can skim the essentials below, or drill into any one area when you need the detail.
3.1 · Quantitative Ability
QA — the section most students worry about most.
Let me tell you why QA feels different, how we'll prepare you, and the one rule that matters most. That's enough for now — drill down below when you want specifics.
3-minute essentials
- What's being tested. Three things at once — calculation speed, conceptual depth, and pattern recognition. Not math knowledge alone.
- How we prepare you. Every topic runs Class → Practice Exercise (Easy) → Practice Exercise → Practice Test → BMT, with 4 days from class to BMT. Plus one QA practice test every day.
- The one rule. Module Zero is non-negotiable if QA is your weak area. The calculation and P&C basics there prevent downstream pain.
Want to go deeper on QA?
Three distinct things get tested:
- Calculation speed — can you crunch numbers fast, without a calculator, under time pressure?
- Conceptual depth — do you actually understand the concept, or are you reproducing a trick someone taught you?
- Pattern recognition — CAT dresses up the same underlying problem a hundred ways. Can you see past the wrapper?
How we prepare you.
Every QA topic follows the same shape — same pipeline, same BMT window:
Module Zero is non-negotiable if QA is your weak area. The calculation, geometry and P&C basics there prevent a lot of downstream pain. Don't treat it as optional "foundation" — treat it as your edge.
One QA Practice Test every day — this is the spine. Even on class days, even on slow weeks. The calculation muscle gets flabby fast.
Error log > re-reading. When you get a question wrong, don't just re-read the solution. Classify the error — did you misread the question, misapply the concept, or make an arithmetic slip? Three weeks of error-logging tells you exactly where your ceiling is.
43 classes · 5 modulesSee the full QA topic scheduleAll 43 QA topics, module by module, with their BMT due dates.
Module 0 · Foundation · 6 classes · no BMTs
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| QA 0.1 | Fun with QA | Foundation — no BMT |
| QA 0.2 | Basics of Calculations | Foundation — no BMT |
| QA 0.3 | More Basics of Calculation | Foundation — no BMT |
| QA 0.4 | Basics of Geometry | Foundation — no BMT |
| QA 0.5 | Basics of P&C | Foundation — no BMT |
| QA 0.6 | Miscellaneous Examples | Foundation — no BMT |
Module 1 · Core Fundamentals · 9 topics · BMT Class + 4 days
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| QA 1.1 | Properties of Numbers | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.2 | Divisibility & Factors | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.3 | HCF & LCM | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.4 | Linear & Quadratic Equations | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.5 | Percentages | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.6 | Ratio, Proportion & Variation | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.7 | Profit & Loss | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.8 | SI–CI | Class + 4 days |
| QA 1.9 | Means & Weighted Averages | Class + 4 days |
Module 2 · Building Up · 10 topics · BMT Class + 4 days
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| QA 2.1 | Work, Pipes & Cisterns | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.2 | Time-Speed-Distance | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.3 | TSD Applications I | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.4 | TSD Applications II | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.5 | Advanced Linear & Quadratic Eq. | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.6 | Polynomials & Algebraic Formulae | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.7 | Indices & Surds | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.8 | Logarithms | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.9 | Set Theory | Class + 4 days |
| QA 2.10 | Sequence & Series | Class + 4 days |
Module 3 · Advanced (all Geometry) · 8 topics · BMT Class + 4 days
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| QA 3.1 | Triangles I | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.2 | Triangles II | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.3 | Quadrilaterals & Polygons | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.4 | Circles I | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.5 | Circles II | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.6 | 3-D Figures & Mensuration | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.7 | Trigonometry | Class + 4 days |
| QA 3.8 | Miscellaneous Geometry | Class + 4 days |
Module 4 · Final Coverage · 10 topics · BMT Class + 4 days
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| QA 4.1 | Coordinate Geometry | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.2 | Plotting Functions & Maxima-Minima | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.3 | Functions & Graphs | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.4 | Inequalities | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.5 | Basic P&C — I | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.6 | Basic P&C — II | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.7 | Probability | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.8 | Applications of P&C & Probability | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.9 | Factorial & Base System | Class + 4 days |
| QA 4.10 | Cyclicity & Remainders | Class + 4 days |
Once the QA syllabus is complete, the 10 QA Sectional Tests become your main QA-only practice tool — timed tests on just QA, used through consolidation to build section-level pacing and question-selection without section-switching.
Questions a QA-weak student usually has.
3.2 · Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation
LRDI — where most students' prep goes to die, if they're afraid of it.
LRDI is the most unpredictable section on CAT. The mindset that works here is completely different from QA.
3-minute essentials
- What's different. No fixed syllabus — any set type possible. Set-selection on CAT day matters more than raw solving ability. Fear paralyzes more students than difficulty does.
- How we prepare you. Volume is the medicine — work through every practice set, always Easy → Moderate → Difficult. BMT windows span 3 to 14 days per topic.
- The one rule. The 7-minute rule — if you're stuck on a set for seven minutes with no clear progress, move on. Sunk-cost bias kills more LRDI scores than difficulty.
Want to go deeper on LRDI?
Three things make LRDI different:
- There's no fixed syllabus. CAT can throw any set type — arrangements, puzzles, DI, deductive logic, games. You can't "cover" LRDI the way you cover QA.
- Set selection matters more than raw ability. On CAT day, you'll see 4 sets. You'll attempt 2–3. The difference between 80 and 99 percentile is usually which 3 you chose, not how well you solved them.
- Fear paralyzes more students than difficulty does. An unfamiliar set type makes students freeze — they spend 15 minutes staring at one set, finish nothing.
How we prepare you.
The LRDI pipeline is the same shape as QA but with more practice sets per topic:
Volume is medicine. By the time you've worked through every practice set in order, you'll have solved 100+ CAT-level sets. That's enough exposure that no set type on CAT day will feel genuinely unfamiliar.
Always Easy → Moderate → Difficult. Skipping Easy doesn't "save time" — it starves your pattern library. Students who jump to Difficult before doing Easy are the ones who freeze on CAT day.
The 7-minute rule. If you're stuck on a set for seven minutes with no clear progress, move to the next one. You can come back. Getting fixated on a difficult set is how LRDI scores collapse.
BMT cadences vary per topic — from 3 days to a 14-day cap for the heaviest topics (Deductive Reasoning and LR Misc Sets II). Your tracker has the exact window for each.
18 classes · 5 modulesSee the full LRDI topic scheduleAll 15 LRDI topics with per-topic practice-test counts and BMT cadences.
Module 0 · Foundation · 2 classes · no BMTs
| Code | Topic | BMT |
|---|---|---|
| DI 0.1 | Introduction to Data Interpretation | Foundation — no BMT |
| LR 0.1 | Introduction to Logical Reasoning | Foundation — no BMT |
Module 1 · 4 topics · 22 E + 14 M + 2 D practice tests
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| DI 1.1 | Basics of Data Interpretation | 4 E | Class + 4 days |
| DI 1.2 | Calculation-based DI | 9 E · 6 M | Class + 8 days |
| LR 1.1 | Types of Arrangements | 7 E · 7 M | Class + 9 days |
| LR 1.2 | Conditionalities & Grouping | 2 E · 1 M · 2 D | Class + 6 days |
Module 2 · 5 topics · 3 E + 15 M + 11 D practice tests
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| DI 2.1 | Deductive Reasoning 1 | 1 E · 6 M · 3 D | Class + 14 days cap |
| DI 2.2 | Deductive Reasoning 2 | 1 E · 5 M · 3 D | Class + 14 days cap |
| DI 2.3 | Venn Diagrams | 1 E · 1 D | Class + 4 days |
| LR 2.1 | Relationships, Coding & Logical Statements | 1 M | Class + 3 days |
| LR 2.2 | Tournaments | 3 M · 4 D | Class + 8 days |
Module 3 · 4 topics · 3 E + 20 M + 5 D practice tests
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| DI 3.1 | Observation & Calculation Based Sets | 1 E · 2 M | Class + 4 days |
| DI 3.2 | DI Miscellaneous Sets | 5 M · 1 D | Class + 6 days |
| LR 3.1 | Puzzles | 4 M · 2 D | Class + 6 days |
| LR 3.2 | LR Miscellaneous Sets | 2 E · 9 M · 2 D | Class + 10 days |
Module 4 · 3 topics · 2 E + 19 M + 12 D practice tests
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| DI 4.1 | DI Miscellaneous Sets II | 1 E · 7 M · 3 D | Class + 10 days |
| LR 4.1 | LR Miscellaneous Sets II | 1 E · 11 M · 9 D | Class + 14 days cap |
| LR 4.2 | Cubes — Cutting & Painting | 1 M | Class + 3 days |
After the syllabus closes, the 10 LRDI Sectional Tests become your tool for training the set-selection decision: which 2–3 sets do I pick, and which do I skip? That judgment call is the difference between a 90 and 99 percentile LRDI score — and it can only be trained under simulation.
Questions about LRDI.
3.3 · Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension
VARC — not an English test. A reading test.
The biggest mistake in VARC prep is treating it like an English exam. It's a reading exam — and reading is a trainable skill.
3-minute essentials
- What's being tested. Reading for purpose, inference, and sustained attention. Not vocabulary, not grammar, not English-degree stuff.
- How we prepare you. Pipeline is Class → RC/CR sets → Exercise → BMT. Topic cadences sit mostly at Class + 7 days, with a 12-day window for the heaviest RC topics. One RC set a day, every day.
- The one rule. Accuracy first, speed follows. 6 questions at 100% accuracy outscores 16 at 50% every single time.
Want to go deeper on VARC?
Vocabulary, grammar, literature — none of that's being tested directly. What's being tested is:
- Reading for purpose — can you identify the author's argument, not just the words on the page?
- Inference — can you figure out what follows from what was said, without reading in what wasn't said?
- Sustained attention — can you stay sharp through all four RC passages? Most students' accuracy drops visibly by passage 3.
How we prepare you.
The VARC pipeline is simpler than QA or LRDI, because the practice material is pooled RC and CR sets rather than per-topic exercises:
One RC set a day. This is the single most important habit in VARC prep. Not two, not three — just one, every day, without fail. The daily habit builds reading stamina the way jogging builds physical stamina.
Read widely outside the programme. Economics, philosophy, science, history, literature. CAT passages come from all these disciplines. The more genres you're comfortable with, the less you freeze when an unfamiliar topic shows up.
Accuracy first. Speed follows. A student who solves 6 questions at 100% accuracy outscores one who solves 16 at 50%, every single time. Early in your prep, aggressively skip questions you're unsure of. Build accuracy first; speed will catch up.
20 classes · 4 modulesSee the full VARC topic scheduleAll 20 VARC topics with shared RC/CR pools and BMT cadences.
Module 1 · 5 topics · 50 RC sets shared (33 E + 17 M)
| Code | Topic | RC sets (shared) | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA 1.1 | Introduction to VA-RC | orientation | no BMT |
| VA 1.2 | Reading for Purpose | ≈8 E · ≈4 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 1.3 | Summary Questions | ≈8 E · ≈4 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 1.4 | Source, Style & Tone | ≈8 E · ≈4 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 1.5 | Specific Questions | ≈9 E · ≈5 M | Class + 7 days |
Module 2 · 5 topics · all BMT Class + 7 days · 46 CR/RC sets shared
| Code | Topic | CR/RC sets | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA 2.1 | Argument Structure | ≈2 E · ≈7 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 2.2 | Strengthen / Weaken / Paradox | ≈2 E · ≈7 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 2.3 | Inference & Logical Structure | ≈2 E · ≈7 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 2.4 | RC Practice 1 | ≈2 E · ≈7 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 2.5 | Critical Reasoning Practice | ≈2 E · ≈8 M | Class + 7 days |
Module 3 · 5 topics · 14 M VR tests + VA practice sessions
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA 3.1 | Essential VA Skills | practice session | Class + 5 days |
| VA 3.2 | Jumbled Paragraphs | 10 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 3.3 | Odd Sentences | 2 M | Class + 3 days |
| VA 3.4 | Summary Questions (VR) | 2 M | Class + 3 days |
| VA 3.5 | VA Practice 1 | practice session | Class + 5 days |
Module 4 · 5 topics · 50 M tests (heaviest RC load)
| Code | Topic | Practice tests | BMT |
|---|---|---|---|
| VA 4.1 | Abstract Passages | 20 M RC | Class + 12 days |
| VA 4.2 | Complex Questions / CAT-like RC | 20 M RC | Class + 12 days |
| VA 4.3 | Paragraph Completion | 10 M | Class + 7 days |
| VA 4.4 | VA Practice 2 | practice session | Class + 5 days |
| VA 4.5 | RC Practice 2 | practice session | Class + 5 days |
Once the VARC syllabus is complete, the 10 VARC Sectional Tests become your tool for building sustained-attention stamina — timed section-length tests on just VARC, with three RCs and VR questions in the same format as CAT day. This is where you find and fix the passage-3 accuracy drop that most students have.
Questions about VARC.
Chapter four · after the syllabus
Once the material is done, the real prep begins.
Module 4 closes sometime around July–August. That's not the end — that's the start of mock season. Let me explain what happens next.
4.1 · What a SimCAT is
A SimCAT is a simulated CAT.
120 minutes. Three sections — VARC, LRDI, QA — in that order, each 40 minutes. Sectional time limits enforced. Same question mix and difficulty distribution as real CAT. Scored, percentile'd, ranked nationally against everyone else writing the same SimCAT.
In plain terms: every SimCAT is a full dress rehearsal for CAT day. Not because the questions are the same — they aren't — but because the experience is. The two-hour stretch. The timing pressure. The emotional wobble when a set doesn't crack. The decision-making about which questions to skip.
4.2 · Why so many
43 mocks isn't a mistake.
I know — 43 mocks sounds like overkill. Here's the thing, though: every mock teaches you something different.
Mock 1 teaches you what 120 minutes of focus actually feels like. Mock 5 teaches you that your QA accuracy drops when you're rushed. Mock 10 teaches you that you spend too long on the first RC. Mock 20 teaches you how to handle a section going badly without panicking. Mock 35 teaches you what your real attempt-count ceiling is.
You can't learn these things from solving topic-level questions. You can only learn them by being in the simulated situation, many times, until the behaviour becomes automatic. CAT day isn't a test of knowledge — it's a test of behaviour. And behaviour is built through reps.
4.3 · The progression
Four stages, roughly in order.
Not every mock is the same. There are three SimCAT types plus Past CAT Papers, and each serves a specific purpose:
- Pre-SimCATs (3 tests) — training-wheels mocks. Strictly easier than the main series. Run in April, one per week, to get you comfortable with the 120-minute format before the real SimCAT series starts. Timed approximately to ~25%, ~35%, ~45% syllabus coverage.
- Proctored SimCATs (20 tests) — the main series. National calendar, fixed 4-day windows roughly fortnightly from April, accelerating to weekly through Sep–Nov. Write inside the window to get All-India Rank + percentile + analytics. Miss the window and the test reverts to Take-Home mode (no AIR).
- Take-Home SimCATs (20 tests) — self-paced full-length mocks. Released in batches of 5 through the year. Fill the weeks between Proctored windows. Same difficulty as Proctored; just no live national ranking.
- Past CAT Papers (19 tests) — the endgame. Real past CAT papers from the online-era years. Unlock after the SimCAT series closes out. Oldest first, most recent saved for the final rehearsal week.
The published Proctored SimCAT calendar lives on IMS India — see the IMS test availability schedule for the exact 4-day windows. Proctored dates are fixed; Take-Homes fit around them.
One thing that surprises students: the programme doesn't prescribe a fixed mock day. Proctored windows are fixed; Take-Homes are flexible. Write when you can give 120 unbroken minutes, fresh. What matters is keeping the rhythm continuous once you've started — skipping a week because "nothing's scheduled" is how SimCAT scores stall.
4.4 · The mock protocol
How to actually write a SimCAT.
There's a way to do this that works, and a dozen ways that don't. Here's the one that works:
- Night before. Sleep properly. No new material. No "one last revision". Your prep is done for the day.
- Morning of. 120 minutes, fresh, phone off, no breaks. Treat it like real CAT. No "let me just check one thing" mid-mock.
- During. Stick to a pre-decided attempt strategy. Know going in: target attempts per section, skip threshold, review buffer. Don't invent strategy on the fly.
- Afterward. 30 minutes of analysis, same day. Look at your wrong answers, classify why you got each wrong, write one sentence on what to change next mock. That's it.
Your mock day. 120 minutes fresh, then a break, then 30 minutes of focused analysis — one sentence on what to change. Then stop.
Don't spend four hours analysing. The learning happens in next week's practice, not in mourning today's mock. Past mock 5 or so, diminishing returns on analysis kick in hard.
4.5 · Mock to mock
How to actually improve.
The goal from one mock to the next is simple:
+1 correct question per section, while holding accuracy steady.
That's it. That's the whole improvement target. Three sections × one more correct per mock × twenty mocks = sixty more correct questions by CAT day. That's roughly 40 marks of lift. That's the difference between 85 percentile and 99 percentile.
What you don't do: chase attempts. Attempting 30 questions with 60% accuracy scores worse than attempting 22 with 90%. Accuracy first, attempts second. Always.
Book a mentor strategy session every 5 mocks or so. The mentor looks at your last five mocks, identifies where you're stuck, and adjusts the plan. 30 minutes saves 3 weeks of stuck scores.
4.6 · The last stretch
The final weeks before CAT.
In the last six weeks, the work changes character. No new material. No new topics. The job now is to lock in what you already know and freeze your test-day strategy.
- Weeks 6–3 before CAT. Close out the last Proctored SimCATs. Start Past CAT Papers, one or two per week. Revisit wrong questions from every SimCAT — not to re-solve them, but to understand why you got them wrong.
- Weeks 2 and 1. Past CAT Papers only. One per week. Freeze your attempt strategy — don't experiment now. Sleep more, study less.
- Week of CAT. One final Past CAT as a dress rehearsal. Otherwise, rest. No new practice. No last-minute panic study.
- Day of CAT. Eat normally. Arrive early. Don't discuss the paper with anyone between sections. Write your paper, walk out, forget about it.
That's the whole programme.
Now go do.
- 1Haven't done your FMTC yet? Book it this week. Open MyPlan →
- 2Already done your FMTC? Open the tracker, check this week's targets. Open your Academic Plan →
- 3A question this page didn't answer? Book a mentor session. Don't sit with confusion.
- 4Want the milestone-by-milestone detail — Area Review, Test Strategy, SimCATs, ADMATs, Final Mile, GDPI? Read the Prep Guide. Open the Prep Guide →