How to Prepare For CAT Exam in 2 Months: A Comprehensive Guide

With the CAT exam date fixed for November 30, 2025, it’s time to map out a focused plan. You’ve got less than two months till the CAT exam, and every day counts. If you’re wondering how to prepare for CAT in 2 months — the answer is yes, if you prepare smartly.

This blog helps you with a 60 days CAT exam preparation strategy, covering the exam pattern, mock tests, and speed techniques. There are a few steps that you need to take in a disciplined manner to complete your CAT preparation in 2 months. Broadly speaking, these are the milestones you will need to achieve to get into the institute of your choice:

1. Understand where you are now and have a prep plan ready
2. Set a goal of the institutes and tests you wish to target
   

How to Prepare for CAT in 2 Months: Best Strategy

Almost more than 20% of successful CAT candidates prepares in less than 3 months. According to them, only a strategic preparation during the last 2 months can get you through the CAT exam with flying colours. Let’s go through a week-by-week roadmap to optimize your CAT preparation. That’s what top scorers do.

Assess Your Starting Point

Begin by gauging where you stand. If you are someone who has taken CAT earlier and is decently good in terms of your math and verbal basics, you should not have a lot of issues in completing your CAT preparation in two months.

Here, your focus should mostly be on taking CAT mock tests. SimCATs by IMS help you track your current preparation and analyze the progress thoroughly.

Pro tips:

• Take one full mock test to identify your strong sections and weak spots in Verbal, RC, DILR, and Quant.
• Once you find minor conceptual gaps, you can plug those through the courseware, the pre-class concept videos playlist, or the live sessions. 

You should ideally devote the month of September 2025 to understand the concepts primarily from these areas:

• Reading Comprehension: Reasoning-based questions that involve strengthening/weakening an argument and identifying the tone of a passage.
• Verbal Ability: Understanding how to unscramble jumbled paragraphs.
• Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning: 2/3/4 factor Venn diagrams, critical path, chart-based sets, mathematical reasoning, and arrangement-based sets.
• Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic (percentages, profit & loss, simple & compound interest, ratios, time, speed & distance, time & work, and averages), algebra (linear & quadratic equations, basics of polynomials).

Pro Tips:

• Revise the key concepts in each section
• Make notes for your quick revision in the last month.
• Learn the formulas, rules, and important concepts to be recalled just before the exam.

Set Clear Goals & Target Institutes

If you decide early on your desired IIMs or B-schools, you will be able to set your target scores based on their past cutoffs. Your target scores will help you focus on sections and improve on your weaknesses. For example, if you lack on speed in DILR section, accuracy in Verbal, or concepts in Quant, you can work on it to improve your scores.

Read More: CAT Exam: Date, Registration, Eligibility, Pattern, Syllabus, Preparation Tips, Cut Off

Is 2 Months Enough for CAT Preparation?

You can crack CAT in 2 months only if you prepare with discipline and practice with CAT mock tests. Here is a week by week structured plan to prepare for CAT exam in 2 months days!

Weeks 1–2: Prioritize High-Weightage Topics & Concepts

• Understand the Exam Pattern: Go through the CAT syllabus and exam pattern to know the weightage of all topics and concepts.

• Verbal & RC: Reading comprehension, weakening/strengthening arguments, jumbled paragraphs. Strengthen your basics of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Reading newspapers, like The Hindu, Economic Times, and The Guardian with magazines, like The Caravan, Forbes, and Times will help you a lot.

• DILR: Practice charts, Venn diagrams, arrangements, and reasoning sets.
• Quant: Arithmetic, Algebra, Percentages, and Ratios & Averages. These topics can make up for more than 60% of your Quant score. Devote at least 2 weeks to the quant section to practice with the course modules. Watch concept videos, live classes and practice the number systems, simple equations, and basic algebra.

Weeks 3-4: Mock Analysis and Time Management

• Time Management: Clearing the CAT exam is all about time management. The total time to attempt the CAT exam is only 2 hours which requires you to attempt all range of questions from verbal ability, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and quant. Hence taking mock tests will allow you to measure the time taken and be swift in solving the papers.
• Attempt Mocks: Never leave them for later. Start taking CAT mock tests from at least 5 weeks prior to the CAT exam. Take the mock tests profusely during the last month of preparation as it will make you confident enough and exam-ready. Attempt 3 full-length mocks per week for checking on your speed and accuracy.
• Analyze the Mocks: Post mock tests, analyze your time taken and compare it with the accuracy. Build a target for the next mocks based on your performance in each mock.

Weeks 5–7: Practice and Apply Your Learning

Start applying what you’ve learned. Begin with 2–3 mocks per week and solve previous years’ CAT papers. review your responses with video solutions. Analyze your mistakes which will allow you to understand what did you missed. You can accordingly adjust your strategy. Follow the below mentioned steps to improve the section-wise performance:

• Section-wise breakdown of the content and allocate the time per section
• Focus on pacing, question selection, and sectional performance.
• Categorize the mistakes under Conceptual/Careless/Speed-based.
• Check for accuracy vs attempts optimization. It stands for how much attempts were taken to improve the accuracy.

Last Week: Final Week Strategy

During the last week, just prior to the exam day, take a full-length mock test prepared by IMS for exam-like situation. Avoid learning the new topics now; instead, revise important formulas, sharpen speed, and strengthen weaker sections. Plan your test-day routine—rest, materials, mindset.

Can I Prepare for the CAT Exam in the Last 2 Months?

Yes, one can prepare for the CAT exam in just 2 months, if one prepare with the CAT mocks. CAT is not a test of just remembering facts and formulae and then plugging in the gaps but is a test of the application of said concepts. 

It is highly recommended that you take mocks regularly if you are trying to crack CAT in 2 months, as they will help you at two broad levels:

1. Mocks will help you build deeper conceptual clarity through video solutions and AI-enabled adaptive practice, understand where you are in terms of the test-taking population through sectional and overall percentiles, and focus on specific areas of improvement.
2. Mocks will also help you get used to the whole experience of attempting a test by sitting in one place for 2 hours without access to your phone, social media, food, or any other breaks. This aspect is especially important for first-time test-takers.

Sample this actual question that appeared at CAT 22

Pinky is standing in a queue at a ticket counter. Suppose the ratio of the number of persons standing ahead of Pinky to the number of persons standing behind her in the queue is 3:5. If the total number of persons in the queue is less than 300, then the maximum possible number of persons standing ahead of Pinky is: 

This simple question tests your knowledge of ratios, division, and, most importantly, attention to detail. I am sure a few of you would have marked 297 as the answer, considering that there were no options to this question. That is what makes CAT tricky, and it is almost mandatory to find the quickest method on the first try during the test so that you have sufficient time left over to answer other, more difficult questions. 

That’s why, once you are done with understanding the concepts, you will need to know how to apply the said concepts while taking a test. You will have to go through resources, including benchmarking tests, module tests, sectional tests, masterclasses, maximiser workshops, and past CAT papers, to get better at the application of concepts. This should ideally happen from the third week of October till the mid of November.

In October, you should ideally plan for 2 SimCATs every week at the very least and in November, you should plan for 3 SimCATs every week. That will ensure that you have taken 15 SimCATs before the actual test, and so are mentally prepared to deal with all scenarios that you may encounter on the day of the test.

Tests and Institutes Applications

Studying is just one part of the story of CAT preparation in 2 months. You will also need to figure out the other tests that you intend to take and prepare for them accordingly. If you plan to take the NMAT or the SNAP, then you will need to work on your speed. If you plan to take TISSNET or the MICAT, you will need to prepare for the GK section. For the XAT, you will need to work on the Decision Making section. We have got these bases covered at IMS through our ADMAT Workshops and GK zone, so these resources should take care of the additional preparation.

You will also need to keep an eye on the tests and B-school application deadlines.

To sum it up, preparing for the CAT exam 2025 in 2 months is possible with serious, well-planned preparation. Just make sure that you are in the right frame of mind and are peaking at the right time to be able to crack the CAT in 2 months. Wishing you all the best with your CAT prep!

FAQs

Should I study new topics in the last 30 days before CAT?

Absolutely not. With 30 days to go, focus only on revision and practice of topics you already know. Starting new concepts now will create confusion and reduce confidence. Stick to high-weightage topics you’re comfortable with.

Can working professionals crack CAT in 30 days?

Yes, if you’re a working professionals and an aspiring MBA aspirant, you can significantly improve your CAT scores in 30 days. Focus on weekend intensive preparation (8-10 hours) and utilize 2-3 hours on weekdays efficiently. Leverage your work skills – analytical thinking helps in DILR, report-writing experience helps in VARC.

What should I focus on in the last month preparation for CAT exam?

Strengthen your strong areas first. In CAT, excelling in 2 sections and clearing cutoff in the third is better than being average in all three. However, ensure you’re above minimum sectional cutoffs (typically 75-80 percentile per section for top IIMs).

How much time does it take to prepare for cat?

Ideally, 6 to 8 months of structured preparation is required to score high percentiles in CAT exam. There are timeframes for exam preparation based on the candidates capacity. For beginners, 12+ months are recommended to prepare well on quant and DILR sections. Candidates with average academic background require at least 6-8 months to practice and attempt mocks.

Can I prepare for CAT in 6 months?

Definitely yes! If you have time constraints due to your work, other studies, or any other reason, you can still prepare for the CAT exam within 6 months with the help of a strategy. Begin with understanding the exam pattern of CAT and syllabus. Afterwards, dedicate a certain time every day to your studies and cover each section every alternate day.

Also, take mock tests every month once you have prepared for a section or a topic. Mock tests will help you understand your progress better.