CAT Previous Year Papers —
browse, attempt, review.
| Year | 99%ile Score | 95%ile Score | 90%ile Score | 85%ile Score | Total Marks | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAT 2025 | 141 | 115 | 98 | 84 | 204 | Moderate–Hard |
| CAT 2024 | 138 | 112 | 95 | 82 | 204 | Moderate–Hard |
| CAT 2023 | 135 | 109 | 92 | 79 | 198 | Moderate |
| CAT 2022 | 130 | 105 | 88 | 76 | 198 | Moderate |
| CAT 2021 | 118 | 94 | 79 | 67 | 198 | Moderate–Hard |
| CAT 2020 | 106 | 85 | 71 | 60 | 228 | Hard |
| CAT 2019 | 148 | 120 | 102 | 88 | 300 | Moderate |
| CAT 2018 | 152 | 124 | 105 | 91 | 300 | Moderate |
| CAT 2017 | 158 | 128 | 109 | 95 | 300 | Moderate–Hard |
Why Solving CAT Previous Year Papers Is Non-Negotiable
CAT previous year question papers are the single most reliable source of information about what the exam tests, how questions are framed, and what level of difficulty to expect on exam day. Unlike coaching material or mock tests that approximate the CAT, actual past papers are the exam — they reflect the exact thought process of the question setters at IIM.
Aspirants who consistently practice CAT previous year papers develop a nuanced understanding of the exam's patterns: recurring topics in Quantitative Aptitude, how Reading Comprehension passages are selected, what makes DILR sets approachable or trap-laden. This pattern recognition is what separates 99-percentilers from 85-percentilers — not raw intelligence.
Mockat provides every CAT question paper from 2017 to 2025 — all three slots per year — in two formats: an instant browser view for reading and referencing questions, and a full timed test mode that replicates the real exam environment including section-level timers, negative marking, and TITA (Type-in-the-Answer) questions.
📖 CAT Exam Pattern (2025 — Current)
CAT 2025 was conducted in three slots across November 30, 2025. Each paper had 68 questions across three sections — VARC, DILR, and QA. Each section is allotted 40 minutes with no movement between sections.
- VARC: 24 questions (RC passages + VA questions)
- DILR: 22 questions (DI sets + LR sets) — increased from 20 from CAT 2024 onwards
- QA: 22 questions (MCQ + TITA)
- Total marks: 204 · Marking: +3 correct, −1 for wrong MCQ, 0 for TITA
🎯 How to Use CAT Previous Papers Effectively
Most aspirants make one critical mistake: they solve past papers without a structured review process. Attempting is only 30% of the work. The real learning happens in the analysis.
- Attempt the full paper under strict timed conditions
- Mark every question you were uncertain about, even if correct
- Review wrong answers — identify whether it was concept, carelessness, or time pressure
- For DILR, re-solve sets you couldn't crack — the approach matters more than the answer
- Track your score against the percentile table above to benchmark progress
📊 CAT VARC: What Past Papers Reveal
Analysing CAT VARC question papers from 2017–2025 reveals consistent patterns. Reading Comprehension passages are always drawn from serious non-fiction — philosophy, economics, science, and literary criticism. The RC questions test inference and author's viewpoint far more than factual recall.
Verbal Ability questions (para-jumbles, odd sentences, paragraph summaries) test logical sequencing and the ability to identify a central argument. Practicing past VARC papers trains you to read with purpose — extracting argument structure rather than surface content.
🔢 CAT Quant: Recurring Topics in Past Papers
A thorough analysis of CAT Quantitative Aptitude papers from 2017–2025 shows that Arithmetic consistently accounts for 40–45% of all QA questions. Number Theory, Algebra, and Geometry together account for another 40%. Modern Mathematics (Permutations, Probability) makes up the remainder.
Critically, TITA questions in QA are typically harder and require complete confidence in calculation. Past papers show that aspirants who skip 6–8 TITA questions and focus on clean MCQ attempts often outperform those who attempt everything.
🧩 CAT DILR: The Most Unpredictable Section
CAT DILR is the most variable section in past papers. Unlike QA, where topics are predictable, DILR varies dramatically in structure and difficulty year to year. From CAT 2024, DILR carries 22 questions (up from 20), making it the joint-largest section alongside QA.
The key lesson from past DILR papers: set selection matters more than solving speed. A 90-second evaluation of a set before attempting it separates 95-percentilers from the rest.
🏛️ Which IIMs Use CAT Scores
CAT scores are accepted by all 20 IIMs and over 1,200 MBA programmes across India. The top IIMs — IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, and Indore — typically shortlist candidates with 99+ percentile for interview rounds.
CAT 2025 was written by approximately 3.3 lakh candidates, making it one of the most competitive management entrance tests in the world.
CAT 2025 Question Paper — Slot-wise Analysis
CAT 2025 was conducted on November 30, 2025 in three slots. All three slots had 68 questions each — the first year with the updated pattern featuring 22 DILR questions. Total marks per paper: 204. The overall difficulty was rated Moderate to Hard.
CAT 2025 Slot 1 (Morning)
The morning slot VARC had 5 RC passages with 16 questions and 8 VA questions. DILR had 5 sets across 22 questions. QA had 14 MCQ and 8 TITA questions with heavy focus on Arithmetic and Number Theory.
CAT 2025 Slot 2 (Afternoon)
Slot 2 VARC was considered slightly easier than Slot 1. QA difficulty was comparable to Slot 1, with Geometry featuring more prominently than in recent years.
CAT 2025 Slot 3 (Evening)
The evening slot had the hardest DILR across all three CAT 2025 slots. VARC was moderate and QA was considered the most approachable. Aspirants aiming for 99%ile needed approximately 141 raw marks out of 204.