Thinking about the CAT exam strategy that will help you score a 99+ percentile? Well, you are not alone. But cracking the CAT with a 99+ percentile is not about continuous studying. It’s all about the right CAT exam strategy. More than 2 lakh candidates appear for CAT every year. But only a fraction crosses the 99 percentile mark. The reason is not high-level knowledge. Clarity, approach, and decision-making are what actually matter. If you are aiming for top IIMs and B-schools, you need a smart plan that focuses on accuracy and smart question selection. Continue reading to understand the CAT exam strategy for 99 percentile, section-wise plan and common mistakes to avoid.
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Understand the CAT Exam Pattern and 99 Percentile Benchmark
Candidates should first understand all the aspects of 99 percentile before starting preparation. CAT is a relative exam. Your percentile depends on your performance compared to other test-takers. Some of the key facts about the CAT 99 percentile score are:
- CAT exam has three sections: VARC, DILR, and QA
- Total questions: Around 68
- Total marks: 204
- Marks required for 99 percentile: Around 55 marks
- Accuracy matters more than attempts.
This means you do not need to attempt the entire paper. You just need to attempt enough questions accurately. This is the core aspect of the CAT exam strategy.
CAT Exam Strategy That Will Help You Score a 99+ Percentile
One of the biggest mistakes CAT aspirants make is solving mocks without understanding concepts. Mocks with weak concepts result in low scores and poor confidence. That’s why candidates fail to recognise conceptual gaps and weak areas. You should first cover the entire CAT syllabus with clarity. Many CAT aspirants preparing alone face a common problem. They learn and practice topics like other fellow aspirants. But they fail to assess their exam readiness or preparation level. This creates stress and affects their progress. Structured preparation programs like the iQuanta CAT 2026 course address this issue. They offer interactive classes, topic-wise practice, and application-based learning. This helps students slowly progress from basics to CAT-level questions. Below we have discussed a CAT exam strategy that will help you score a 99+ percentile:
VARC Strategy for CAT 99 Percentile
VARC is one of the highest-scoring sections for 99 percentile scorers. To excel in this section, you should adopt the right CAT exam strategy. Focus on reading comprehension practice daily. Solve unlimited VA questions to achieve mastery. You must learn how to understand tone and inference.
Many students practice regularly. Still, they don’t see any improvement in their scores. This happens because they do not review their errors properly. This is where structured courses help. For example, iQuanta offers VARC Essential modules to help candidates build concepts from scratch. iQuanta CAT Course offer VARC Essentials, which are the 500 most commonly occurring terms and themes that have appeared in the CAT Exam. It comprises 500 articles + 500 RCs + 500 videos that refine your question-solving approach. This improves performance significantly.
DILR Strategy for CAT 99 Percentile
DILR is the most unpredictable section in CAT. You should solve different types of sets. Learn set selection strategies. Solve exam-level questions under time limits. Focus more on accuracy. It is observed that many aspirants only practice easy sets. But CAT asks easy to advanced-level questions. Another major issue is the lack of quality study material. This is where structured courses help. For example, the iQuanta CAT 2026 course provides the LRDI Essentials module. This module helps you master your LRDI fundamentals from zero, with topic-wise videos. It teaches the problem-solving approach with a visual representation. It provides problem-solving shortcuts and practice sets with video solutions.
QA Strategy for CAT 99 Percentile
The QA section is all about strong concepts and smart question selection. Some important topics are Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, etc. To excel in this section, solve easy questions and skip complex ones. You should maintain high accuracy. Many students try to attempt all the questions. This reduces their overall score. CAT toppers focus on attempting the right questions. Join the iQuanta CAT 2026 course to solidify your concepts. It offers a Non-Engineer’s QA module that aims to strengthen your fundamentals from zero level. The modules cover the entire syllabus in the 70 hours of content, along with practice. It also provides 300+ important questions covering the most essential concepts.
Mock Test Strategy for CAT 99 Percentile
Mocks play a crucial role in CAT 2026 preparation. But just taking mocks is not sufficient. Mock analysis helps you improve your mistakes and weak areas. Once you get comfortable with the basics, start practising mocks. Solve one mock per week initially. You can increase frequency later. The most important part is that you must spend 2-3 hours analysing each mock. This is where iQuanta CAT 2026 course steps in. They offer 35 Full-Length + 45 Sectional Tests that match the actual difficulty level of the CAT exam. After every mock, get detailed AI insights on your accuracy, time per question, topic-wise strengths and weak spots. All these are displayed in an interactive dashboard. Every mock and sectional test of this course includes detailed video explanations.
Learn Question Selection
The major difference between the 95 and 99 percentile is question selection. Both test-takers know the fundamentals. But toppers pick easy and moderate questions first. Average students spend their time on challenging questions. CAT is not about solving all questions. CAT is about attempting the right questions. You must improve your question selection strategy to increase your percentile.
Also Read – Reality of CAT Exam
Solve Previous Year CAT Papers
Previous year CAT exam papers are extremely beneficial. It provides insights into question patterns, difficulty level, and recurring topics. Practising past papers will enhance your confidence and exam readiness. That’s why solving old papers is among the best CAT exam strategy.
Mentorship is Crucial
Mentorship plays an important role in scoring 99 percentile. CAT exam preparation without guidance leads to frequent mistakes and slow improvement. The right guidance can help in concept building and maintain consistency. This improves overall preparation. Many aspirants experience doubts and conceptual confusion during the preparation. So, they search for reliable doubt-solving and mentorship support. This is where the iQuanta CAT 2026 course helps them. It offers 24×7 doubt-clarification support. It is India’s most active CAT preparation community where a 24×7 Doubt-Solving system resolves doubts under 8 minutes. It ensures that you don’t stay stuck on any concept or question.
Common Mistakes to Avoid During CAT 2025 Preparation
Are you aiming for 99 percentile in CAT 2026? If yes, then you must avoid these mistakes:
- Starting preparation late
- Skipping mock analysis
- Random practice without any approach
- Reading too many study resources
- Not revising frequently
- Losing consistency
Scoring 99 percentile is not easy. You need the right CAT exam strategy. What you can do is focus on fundamentals. Give priority to mock analysis and the question selection strategy. You can join the iQuanta CAT 2026 course to prepare well. It offers live+application classes, section-wise modules, mocks with analysis, doubt support, etc. Enrol now and maximise your chances of scoring 99 percentile in the CAT exam.
