This is the perfect first 90 days plan for CAT 2026. If you have decided to appear for the CAT 2026, then here’s the ultimate strategic blueprint for you. In this article, we have broken down the entire strategy for the initial 90 days, which will no longer make the preparation for the CAT 2026 a daunting task for you. Whether you’re a college student or a full-time working professional, you can follow this preparation plan to start your CAT journey in the right direction. With time, you can also make slight modifications to this strategy to score 99%ile in the CAT exam.

Every section,i.e, QA, VARC and DILR, has a different preparation strategy, which we will be discussing in the upcoming sections of this article. You can commence your preparation for the CAT exam, which will tentatively take place in November 2026 and follow this strategy for the first 3 months. Utilise this time efficiently to strengthen your foundations in the QA, VARC and DILR individually. 

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What Should Be My First 90 Days Plan For CAT 2026? 

Your first 90 days plan for CAT 2026 must include focus, concentration and hard work. From the beginning, you will have to allocate equal time to every section. Apart from enhancing your theoretical knowledge, you must also practice regularly to develop an 85-90% accuracy rate. The more you practice, you will master the art of classifying good questions and solving them within the relevant timeframe. Here’s the detailed breakdown of the first 90 days plan for CAT 2026 for the Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension section first, which is then followed by the Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning section, and then Quantitative Aptitude. 

First 90 Days Plan For CAT 2026: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension

VARC is the easiest and the maximum-scoring section in the CAT exam. Your aim should be to engage in daily reading to crack the VARC section. Reading novels, multiple fiction books, is clearly not the getaway to clear the VARC section. It’s a must to read from authentic sources, which will level up your reading skills, grammar and vocabulary. A few important tips and tricks to become a master in the VARC section are as follows. 

• Start reading at least 1 editorial daily from The Hindustan Times, The Economist, The Guardian, New York Times, Mint Newspaper, etc. 
• Refer to additional reliable sources like Scientific American, Smithsonian, AEON, New Atlantic, and Philosophy Today. CAT mainly picks articles from these sources. 
• Write at least 2-3 lines summary from every editorial in a single notebook. Here, you will have to jot down pointers about what you actually understood about that editorial. 
• Identify the main idea of the passage from the first paragraph, the last paragraph, the title and tagline of the passage. 
• If you face any inconvenience while extracting the main context of the passage, you can watch the RC 100 Playlist (iQuanta’s YouTube channel). This playlist includes multiple sessions where Shabana Ma’am (VARC Expert) has shared the technique to find the passage idea, how to handle a passage and map it. Watch these videos to learn how to join the dots together. You will also learn the technique for skimming, skipping and scanning questions from the VARC section. In addition to this, you will become proficient in smart reading rather than reading every word in the passage. 
• Ensure to build a habit of reading daily for at least 30 minutes. You will start slow but will witness improvement with time. 
• Paid learners can watch “VARC Essentials” on our YouTube channel, which is a strong compilation of the important CAT-type dense concepts. 
• If you’re not a paid learner at iQuanta, you can start concept building by simply making your own list of topics. 
• Study from the “Noman Lewis Word Power Made Easy” and “Barron’s List” to improve your vocabulary. Undoubtedly, these are the two most powerful sources to develop a strong command on vocabulary. You can also refer to the dictionary for extra preparation. 
• Read all the RC passages from the CAT 2018-2024. Consider this the diamond tip of the day for the VARC section. Read every passage to understand the diversity of the topics that appear in the CAT RC passages. In every passage, you will come across unique and dense words, which will build up your vocabulary too. 
• Aim to read every passage and understand it. Break down the actual meaning of every sentence. If you encounter any complex situation, then enter that sentence in ChatGPT and ask it to explain it. 

How Can I Create a First 90 Days Plan for the CAT 2026 DILR Section?

DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) is a section to assess your problem-solving, critical thinking and decision-making skills. It mainly consists of questions on graphs, pie charts, etc. Follow this first 90 days plan for CAT 2026 to study, revise and attempt maximum questions in the DILR section while adhering to the highest accuracy and time-management skills. 

• Sharpen your brain by practising varied types of Sudoku regularly. Solve them every day to develop familiarity with numerical reasoning. 
• Start at an easy level from scratch. Pick a minimum of 6 different sets of puzzles and linear arrangements. 
• Just like the VARC Essentials, we have DILR Essentials, which contains easy-type questions, concepts and proper explanations. Every resource is simple and easy to understand for the students. 
• Solve a set. Check the solution. If you make any mistake, then you have to be persistent to attempt it with a correct approach. 
• Avoid solving questions without analysing the solution. Even if you did it right, check how much time it took. Look for a shorter approach to solve the same problem. 
• Again, you can watch the “DILR Essentials” video to solve the questions from the Circular Arrangements topic. It’s going to be your ultimate masterstroke throughout the CAT preparation and will comprise easy questions on the same topic. 
• Select 6 different combinations of tables and bar graph sets that are easy to solve. Practice them as per the actual exam sectional time limit. 
• Read and understand different types of words that are repetitively used in the Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation section. This will help you comprehend the question within a fraction of sections. 
• Create a list of DILR questions from the CAT 2018-2024. It will act as the masterstroke technique to interpret the common pattern and repetitive topics. 

CAT 2026 Quantitative Aptitude: 90 Days Study Plan

Quantitative Aptitude is the king of the CAT exam 2026. Though there are only 22 questions but answering them still requires extensive practice, rote memorisation of important formulas, familiarity with short tricks and mental calculations. Most important is to understand concepts and apply it to practice questions from every category,i.e, basic, medium and advanced. Here are some of the major study tips for the QA section.  

• Start with the basics of the Number System. It’s an extremely important topic from the Quants section. You will come across various questions on this topic. 
• Set a target to solve 10 questions from the Natural Numbers, Whole Numbers, Rational/Irrational Numbers and Integers. If you are unable to solve 10, aim to solve 5 from each. Increase the number to 10-15 questions by February or March 2026.
• Once you start your preparation from the QA section for CAT 2026, maintain a notebook where you can jot down the important notes for every topic. For example: If you come across any topic, you can write down the formula that is essential to solve the questions that appear from that particular topic.
• Practice 10-12 questions daily from the Fractions and Multiples topic, which includes sub-topics like HCM, LCM, Prime Factorisation and Last Digits. All these questions are short, simple, and anyone can solve them quickly. 
• Be consistent with the revision. You must also solve different quizzes within the timeframe to understand topics via a simple approach. 
• CAT aspirants must solve a minimum of 20 Questions/ per day from the Divisibility Rules, Factorials, Trailing Zeros, Last Digit Problems and Remainders. Let it be a slow and gradual process. 
• During your CAT preparation timeline for the Quants, you must start to attempt 20-30 varied questions, not within a time limit. This will brush up your theoretical knowledge and will help you to make maximum correct attempts, too. 
• You can set a rough target to solve near about 12 questions/day from the Remainder Theorem (Basic Modular Arithmetic), Properties of GCD, Co-Primes. Practice questions from these Greek and Latin topics to build a strong understanding. 
• If you think you lack foundational knowledge in any topic, then seek help from your experts to strengthen it.
• Along with the preparation, you will also have to revise the basic concepts daily and attempt timed tests every 2 weeks.
• Revise the entire number system. Ensure that you don’t miss out on any topic, as it might hinder your preparation plan.  
• From the Basic Arithmetic (Percentage Basics) topic, you must target to solve at least 12 questions daily. 
• Take a topic test or marathon test with 40-50 questions. Practice this strategy at the end of every month to gauge your strong and weak concepts.  

Final Words 

Get going and start your preparation for the CAT 2026. Do remember to maintain separate repositories for every section. You will need them during October-November 2026 to create flashcards for quick revision. First-time candidates or non-engineers can use this first 90 days plan for CAT 2026 and easily score 99%ile in the CAT exam, which is expected to take place in November 2026. Always remember to start with the basics and target to complete the basic concepts in the first 90 days of the CAT exam preparation 2026. This will make your remaining journey smooth and easier. Lastly, you can also join iQuanta’s CAT 2026 early batches to stimulate your preparation under the guidance of skilled experts and the best resources. 

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Frequently Asked Questions 

What is the best time to start preparing for the CAT 2026?

It depends on your personal calibre how much time you require to prepare, revise and practice for the CAT 2026. Initially, you must curate a first 90 days plan for CAT 2026 and aim to enhance your conceptual understanding on every topic from every section. Dedicate more and more time to solidifying the weaker concepts. 

How much time should I read daily for CAT 2026?

iQuanta experts suggest that every CAT aspirant must build a habit of reading for 30 minutes every day for the first 90 days. Stretch it to 1.5 hours after 90 days. If you have a weak foundation, then read for 4-5 hours daily, and after a while, increase it to 6-7 hours. Prefer reading editorials and articles from popular resources like The Guardian, Aeon, etc. 

What is the exam pattern for the CAT 2026?

It’s most likely to be similar to the CAT 2025. It will be a 2-hour online CBT test which will consist of 68 questions. You will have to attempt the VARC section first, which will have 24 questions. The second section will be DILR with 22 questions. Lastly, there will be 22 questions in the QA, which will be the last section in the CAT exam. 

Can I access iQuanta’s YouTube channel for free to prepare for CAT 2026?

Yes, iQuanta strives to make learning resources free for every student who is willing to prepare for the CAT and other high-level management entrance exams. Students can visit our YouTube channel for free and commence their CAT 2026 preparation with free resources. We have detailed conceptual videos on every topic, past paper analysis, etc. 

What should be my first 90 days plan for CAT 2026?

For every section, you will have to implement a different preparation plan to ace the CAT 2026 with 99%ile. Access our YouTube channel to start your preparation. Start with foundational topics first and move to practice basic questions from the QA, VARC and DILR sections under a set time limit, which is relevant to the actual exam environment.