CAT 2025 Detailed Exam Analysis: Structure, Surprises, and Performance Benchmarks(SLOT 3)

CAT 2025 Detailed Exam Analysis: Structure, Surprises, and Performance Benchmarks
(SLOT 3)

The Common Admission Test (CAT) 2025 Slot 3 concluded the exam day with an overall moderate-to-difficult paper that tested stamina, adaptability, and precision. While the core pattern remained unchanged, subtle differences in section-wise difficulty meant that students who calibrated their strategy on the go, especially shifting focus between DILR and QA, were better rewarded.

Overall Structure and Key Changes

CAT 2025 Slot 3 followed the same format as the earlier slots: a 120‑minute test with three sections of 40 minutes each — VARC, DILR, and QA — and a total of 68 questions. The marking scheme also remained identical: 3 marks for every correct answer, −1 for incorrect MCQs, and no negative marking for TITA questions.​

• No structural changes were introduced in Slot 3; the same pattern of 4 RCs and a balanced VA mix continued.
• DILR in this slot was slightly more approachable than in some earlier slots owing to cleaner logic, though still demanding in terms of time management.
• QA remained concept driven with familiar topic distribution, and candidates with strong basics found this section the best place to stabilize their overall score.

Section-Wise Analysis

1. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC)

The VARC section in Slot 3 leaned towards the challenging side overall, largely because of passages that were dense in ideas and required multi‑step inference rather than direct fact‑picking. Students reported that at least one passage involved abstract or philosophy‑like reasoning, while another blended social science or tech‑context with interpretive questions, pushing up the cognitive load even when language itself was not very complex.

Ideal Attempt Strategy:

Students who attempted around 15–17 questions with 80%+ accuracy are likely to be in a strong percentile band, given the slightly trickier nature of at least two passages. Prioritizing more accessible RCs first and handling VA questions (particularly summaries and para‑completion) with deliberation rather than speed was the optimal approach.

Predicted Percentiles (VARC):

2. Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR)

DILR in Slot 3 provided some respite compared to the most demanding feedback from other slots, thanks to relatively clean and well‑structured sets. Most reports talk about a mix of arrangement and moderate‑length DI/logic hybrids where the constraints were clear, but the time taken to fully crack each set meant that over attempting was risky. There were both MCQ and TITA questions, with a typical 5‑set structure (two 5‑question sets and three 4‑question sets). There were 7-8 TITA Questions.

Ideal Attempt Strategy:

Targeting 8–10 questions with around 85% accuracy remains a solid performance benchmark in this slot as well. The key was to quickly identify 2–3 friendly sets — usually those with straightforward tabular data or single‑dimension arrangements — and avoid getting trapped in a lengthier, condition‑heavy caselet.

Predicted Percentiles (DILR):

3. Quantitative Ability (QA)

QA in Slot 3 is best described as moderate, with a familiar dominance of Arithmetic (ratios, percentages, time–work/time–speed–distance, basic CI/SI) and Algebra (linear/quadratic equations, inequalities, functions). Geometry and Mensuration had a small but visible presence with questions that were conceptually direct but could become time‑consuming without diagrams and clean visualization. Number Systems and Modern Maths contributed a handful of questions, mostly standard‑pattern but not outright sitters.​

There were several TITA questions scattered across topics, typically in arithmetic/algebra where intermediate steps could be tested without options, but the overall computation load was manageable compared to the most demanding QA slots of previous years.​

Ideal Attempt Strategy:

A realistic “good performance” band for Slot 3 QA would be around 11–13 accurate attempts for aspirants targeting high percentiles. Students who first cleared the short, single‑concept arithmetic and algebra questions, and only then moved to geometry or multi‑topic questions, would have maximized returns under the 40‑minute limit.

Predicted Percentiles (QA):

Overall Impression

Overall, CAT 2025 Slot 3 can be classified as Moderately Difficult, with VARC marginally more demanding than many candidates had anticipated, a comparatively student‑friendly but time‑bound DILR, and a balanced QA section that rewarded conceptual clarity over shortcuts. In terms of raw difficulty, Slot 3 appears broadly comparable to the earlier slots.

Overall Predicted Percentiles: