Churchill Jain, is a CAT Topper who scored 99.38 percentile overall and 99.99 percentile with only 5 months of preparation. Here’s what he said when we asked if 5 months is enough for CAT preparation- “Yeah, I definitely feel it is more than sufficient because CAT generally tests our basic knowledge of all three sections and how we can manage our stress on the D-day. It’s not about reading all the books or completing all the material; it’s just about the basic concepts we follow and how we manage our time and stress on the D-day.” Now, if you are appearing for CAT 2026, you have more than one and half year to begin your preparation. This article talks about the ‘right time for CAT preparation’. Let’s begin –
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Right Time for CAT Preparation 2026
The right time for CAT 2026 preparation is NOW! Time is never a factor if you have the right strategy, the right resources and the right mentors. Nevertheless, it also depends on how strong you are in all the three sections – VARC, DILR and Quant. Just completing the syllabus is not enough. You need to apply the concepts that you have learnt in all types of problems that can be asked from a topic. How do you do this? You practice, give mocks and analyse your results.
CAT is not an easy exam. You can let loose a bit in your initial preparation days but consistency must be worshipped from the very beginning. If you feel like you get stressed or distracted quite often, we advise you to enroll in the CAT 2026 course offered by many top coaching institutes. CAT courses by iQuanta are highly recommended by CAT qualifiers. In 2024, 500+ aspirants from iQuanta secured 99+ percentile. The numbers justify the growing demand of iQuanta’s CAT courses. Before we jump into the best CAT 2026 courses for you, let’s look at the strategy on how to proceed with your CAT preparation for 2026:
What Should Your CAT 2026 Preparation Strategy Be?
CAT is a serious exam where you need to get your concepts clear and master the art of applying these concepts into a given problem. If we analyse the previous year difficulty level of the CAT exam, it is said to be on the ‘moderate to difficult’. Have a look at the CAT difficult level for the past 10 years in the table below:
| Year | CAT Exam Difficulty Level |
| 2024 | Moderate |
| 2023 | Moderate to difficult |
| 2022 | Moderate |
| 2021 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2020 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2019 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2018 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2017 | Moderate |
| 2016 | Moderate to Difficult |
| 2015 | Moderate to Difficult |
CAT 2026 Preparation Strategy
Step 1: Know the Exam
Understand the CAT 3026 syllabus, exam pattern, marking scheme, and post-MBA packages.
Step 2: Make a Strategy
Set clear goals and build a timeline. Meanwhile, you can refer to the CAT 2025 preparation timetable shared by iQuanta.
Step 3: Begin Subject-Wise Preparation
For QA, start with Number System then Arithmetic, PNC, Algebra, and Geometry. Enroll in iQuanta CAT 2026 course and go through the 100+ concept videos. There is also a Basic NCERT package for those who are from non-engineering background.
For Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), iQuanta has free study material that consists of over 250 genre-wise articles. Solve previous years reading comprehension questions asked in CAT. iQuanta newly launched Engineers’ VARC Module is a perfect resource for those who are weak in VARC.
There is no one perfect resource material in the market as expressed by the CAT topper’s for DILR. So, to start your preparation for CAT 2026 for this section you need to understand the set-solving approaches by attempting the past 15 year PYQs. The live concept classes and the live application classes by iQuanta is more than enough to guarantee you a 99+ percentile in this section.
Step 4: Build the Right Mindset
Believe in yourself. If aspirants like you can, so do you. Don’t stress about profile/internships, getting a 99+ percentile ile can change your life. If you want more motivation here it is – By qualifying CAT you can land on a package as high as 20+ LPA. Watch the concept videos by iQuanta twice and practice ‘n’ number of times till the day before your CAT 2026. Success in CAT 2026 needs a smart mix: 20% theory, 50% focused practice, and 30% mock tests with in-depth analysis.
THE BEST AND EASY WAY –
Enroll in a course that helps you practice quality problems, provide the updated and the best study material as well as guide you throughout your CAT preparation journey. Here are a few courses from iQuanta that you can take a shot at for guaranteed success with 99+ percentile. Starting with the new course launched for CAT 2026 aspirants:
iQuanta CAT 2026 Course
In this course by iQuanta you will get 100+ assignments – around 40 for Quant and around 60 for DLRI and Quant sections. Moreover, iQuanta’s Dual Pedagogy is the highly recognised learning methodology among the aspirants. After every conceptual class you get to attend the live application classes where you solve the problems using the concepts learned in the previous class. Your doubts are no longer a trouble-maker. The 24/7 doubt clearing initiative, where you can get your doubts solved within 8 minutes on an average. Through the live sessions, the experts in iQuanta solve your doubts in just 15 seconds and within 20 minutes in private groups. To personalize your preparation strategy as per your preparation, iQuanta can assign you an expert mentor exclusively for you.
Here are few other highlights of iQuanta CAT 2026 course:
- Get your CAT syllabus completed twice
- Multiple sections-wise module
| Sections | Modules | Highlights |
| QA | Non-Engineers’ QA Module | Beginner-friendly videos that simplify Quant fundamentals, specially designed for those who struggle with math. |
| VARC | Engineers VARC Module for Engineers | Master how engineers ace the CAT VARC section with 100 in-depth videos covering essential concepts, strategies, and genre-wise RC practice. |
| VARC Essentials | Covers the most important Reading Comprehension (RC) topics, essential vocabulary, and frequently asked passage types in the CAT exam. | |
| DLRI | LRDI Inception | A curated set of 50 high-quality LRDI questions that every serious CAT aspirant should solve. |
| LRDI Essentials | Master LRDI fundamentals, charts, graphs, and tables, through a clear, step-by-step learning approach. |
- Mocks and Tests
Strengthen your preparation with AI-based mock tests after every class and full-length CAT-level tests (CAT Marathon) after each topic to assess your progress. All the CAT Mocks are redesigned based on the latest CAT pattern.
| Types of Mocks/ Practice Questions | Number of Mocks |
| Full Syllabus Mocks with Video Solution | 35 |
| Unproctored Mocks (Time-based with Peer-Performance Comparison) with Video Solution | 15 |
| Sectional Mocks with Video Solution | 45 |
| Practice Questions per Topic | 50 |
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You’ll also get free quality mocks for other MBA exams like NMAT, XAT, CMAT, MHCET, so that, in case, you have a backup plan you can be on the track for the same as well. The mocks available for other MBA exams with these course is tabulated below:
| Mocks | Total Count |
| NMAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| XAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| CMAT Full Mocks | 2 |
| MHCET Full Mocks | 2 |
Other CAT 2026 Courses by iQuanta
If you are looking for more alternatives for your CAT 2026 preparation, iQuanta has introduced several other courses as well. Each course is crafted keeping in account the various issues faced by aspirants. Have a look at these and you may exactly find what you are looking for:
| Course Name | Link |
| CAT 2026 Full Course | https://www.iquanta.in/details/cat-full-course-2026 |
| CAT 2026 Full Course + Hard Copy | https://www.iquanta.in/details/cat-full-course-2026-and-books |
| CAT 2026 Full Course Pro | https://www.iquanta.in/details/CAT-2026-full-course-pro |
| CAT 2026 + IIM ABC Batch | https://www.iquanta.in/details/cat-2026-full-course-iim-abc-practice-batch |
| Maha MBA 2026 Course | https://www.iquanta.in/details/maha-mba-2026-course |
| IIM ABC Practice Batch 2026 | https://www.iquanta.in/details/iim-abc-practice-batch-2026 |
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Right Time for CAT Preparation 2026 FAQs
The best time to start preparing for CAT 2026 is now. With over a year in hand, you can build strong concepts, practice enough, and take multiple mock tests. Starting early also gives you time to manage stress and improve weak areas.
Yes, it’s possible. Many toppers like Churchill Jain have cracked CAT with 5 months of focused preparation. What matters more than time is your strategy, consistency, and mock test analysis.
Start by understanding the syllabus and exam pattern. Then, move to topic-wise preparation for Quant, VARC, and DILR. Enroll in a course like iQuanta’s CAT 2026 course to get expert guidance, live classes, mock tests, and 24×7 doubt-solving support.