Day 001 — I don't know shit about CAT

CAT 2026 · 29 Nov 2026 · T–90 days

I don’t know shit about CAT. Bro xD.

The constraints:

• Job: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm, daily.
• Gym: 1 hour, daily.
• Why I’m giving this: bored of tech, and no upskilling until January. Doesn’t mean I’m taking it lightly.

The hours:

That’s roughly 370 hours, split as:

• VARC — 100 hrs 120 hrs
• DILR — 110 hrs
• Quant — 70 hrs
• Mocks + analysis — 70 hrs

At office, just listening to word-related stuff.

The syllabus

Exam pattern

3 sections, 40 minutes each — a 2 hour exam.

• Question types: Objective, TITA (no negative)
• Marking: +3 correct / −1 incorrect / 0 skipped

Quant

Arithmetic & Algebra carry the higher weightage (~12–13 questions).

• Arithmetic — percentages, PNL, SI & CI, ratio & proportion, averages, mixture & alligation, time & work, pipes & cisterns, time–speed–distance, races, trains & boats
• Geometry — triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons, circles, mensuration 3D, coordinate geometry
• Modern Math — set theory, probability, PnC
• Algebra — linear equations, quadratic equations, polynomials, indices & surds, logarithms, inequalities, sequence & series, functions, graphs, modulus
• Number System — properties of integers, divisibility, remainder theorem, factors, LCM & HCF, factorial, trailing zeroes, last digits

DILR

Line & bar graphs, pie charts, DI tables, cubes, quant-based DI, circular arrangements, Venn diagrams, distribution, selection, quant-based LR, linear arrangement, binary logic, games & tournaments, network flow diagrams, caselets.

VARC

Reading comprehension, para summary, para jumbles, odd one out, para completion, fill in the blanks.

The strategy

• Goal: 30 questions right, attempting only 35. Attempt more and you’re fucked.
• Maximum attempts come from Quant — minimum 13 attempted.
• That gives 40/13 ≈ 3 minutes per question. I need to come up with this.
• Every weekend: one mock + one sectional.

DILR plan

• 5 questions per set. Goal: 20 sets per week — PYQ sets only, 2017–2025.
  • Weekdays → 1–2 sets (30–60 min)
  • Saturdays → 4–5 sets (60–120 min)
  • Sundays → 3–5 sets (60–90 min)
• Must cover:
  1. Matrix & multi-variable arrangements
  2. Games & tournaments
  3. Quant-based LR / maxima–minima
  4. Routes, networks & flow diagrams

Reading comprehension

• RC = 16 questions.
• Comprehension (understanding) first → then speed reading + option elimination.
• They keep talking about something called Aeon essays — no idea what that is, btw.

Today was all YouTube videos, and this is the last day of watching them. Lol xD.

Honestly this is like my semester exams — I used to prepare one day before, now I’m preparing from 90 days out. Lol.

Rules I’m carrying forward

1. Attempt the questions every time. The goal is to open your brain, motherfucker.
2. Mocks daily/weekly. Mocks are learning & revision too. VARC + DILR don’t require syllabus completion — mock-taking is a separate skill: question selection.
3. Deadlines — take them seriously.
4. Don’t dismiss questions as too easy or too difficult.
5. PYQs deserve maximum priority. Don’t chase new questions.
6. Take accountability. Brother told me not to do everything alone — mf, I will be doing it alone. Who are you to tell me I can’t do it alone.
7. Don’t aim for mastery, don’t aim for readiness.

The target

• 670 questions across the prep — that’s what the tracker counts.
• Overall 99.1 %ile → 85–90 marks out of 204:
  • VARC: 14 net correct (out of 44)
  • DILR: 10 net correct (30 marks)
  • QA: 9 net correct (27 marks)
• No idea which colleges are which, what percentile gets what — and I’m not watching any of that pre-result.
• Mock tests are your best friend. That’s what he’s saying.