The CAT 2025 is one of the important and most awaited MBA entrance exams in India for those who are dreaming of getting into the top IIMs and B-Schools in 2026. This year IIM Kozhikode is going to conduct CAT 2025 and making more than 3 lakhs+ aspirants curious about the CAT 2025 difficulty level, overall exam pattern and question distribution.
The last time IIM Kozhikode conducted CAT in 2019 and the analysis of CAT 2019 exam paper gives some insights into what students can expect this year. By analyzing the CAT 2019 IIM Kozhikode’s paper structure, scoring trends as well as section-wise difficulty, CAT aspirants can predict potential challenges although they should not completely rely on that and have to prepare accordingly to give equal time to every section.
In this blog, we will be covering the detailed analysis of CAT 2019 paper and what exactly we can expect in CAT 2025, discussing expected exam pattern, CAT 2025 preparation strategies and how analyzing CAT 2019 paper by IIM Kozhikode gives you the competitive focus.
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CAT 2025 – Will be Conducted by IIM Kozhikode This Year
The CAT 2025 exam will be conducted by IIM Kozhikode and it is one of the top management institutes in India. Every year, different IIMs conduct CAT and this time CAT aspirants will see IIM Kozhikode again in CAT 2025. This makes it super important for students to revisit the CAT 2019 exam paper analysis as it will help in difficulty level, question distribution and more that may influence the CAT 2025 exam strategy and pattern. Mentioned below is the CAT 2025 important dates and exam pattern.
CAT 2025 Exam Pattern & Important Dates
| Mode of CAT 2025 | Computer Based Test |
| CAT 2025 Exam Duration | 120 minutes 40 minutes per section |
| CAT 2025 Slot Timings | Morning: 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM Afternoon: 12:30 PM to 2:30 PM Evening: 4:30 PM to 6:30 PM |
| Total Questions in CAT 2025 | 68 |
| Total marks in CAT 2025 | 204 |
| Language of CAT question paper 2025 | English |
| Number of Options in CAT 2025 | 4 |
| Type of Question in CAT 2025 | MCQ and non-MCQ |
CAT 2025 Exam Dates
| Events | Dates |
| CAT 2025 Official Notification | July 27, 2025 |
| CAT Registration 2025 Starts | August 01, 2025 |
| CAT 2025 Last Date to Apply | September 13, 2025 |
| CAT 2025 Application Correction Window | September 25-28, 2025 |
| CAT Admit Card 2025 (Released) | November 5, 2025 |
| CAT 2025 Exam Date | November 30, 2025 |
| CAT Answer Key 2025 | December first week, 2025 (expected) |
| CAT 2025 Result Date | First week of January, 2026 (Tentative) |
Last Time IIM Kozhikode Conducted CAT 2019 – Complete Analysis
IIM Kozhikode was the conducting body for CAT 2019 exam as it will again conduct in CAT 2025 and it was designed to test aspirants’ accuracy, speed, verbal ability as well as logical reasoning across all three sections – VARC, QA and LRDI. The CAT 2019 paper had 100 questions which were divided into 73 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and 26 Non-MCQs. VARC section had difficulty of moderate to difficult level, QA had easy to moderate level and DILR had easy to moderate level of difficulty in CAT 2019. If a candidate had to achieve 99 percentile in CAT 2019 then they required around 157 marks which comes to 52 % and that’s the competitive nature of the exam.
Mentioned below is the complete analysis of CAT 2019 paper which conducted by IIM Kozhikode.
CAT 2019 By IIM Kozhikode – What to Expect in CAT 2025?
| Section | Total Questions | Total MCQs | Total Non-MCQs | Difficulty-level |
| VARC | 34 | 27 | 7 | Moderate – Difficult |
| DILR | 32 | 24 | 8 | Easy – Moderate |
| QA | 34 | 23 | 11 | Easy – Moderate |
| Overall | 100 | 73 | 26 | Moderate |
CAT 2019 Section-Wise Analysis by IIM K & What to Expect in CAT 2025?
This section covers the section-wise CAT 2019 paper analysis conducted by IIM Kozhikode.
VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)
In CAT 2019 paper, the VARC section covered total 34 questions where 27 questions were MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) and rest 7 were Non-MCQs. Taking about the difficulty level of the particular section was moderate to difficult level.
| Section | Total Questions | Total MCQs | Total Non-MCQs | Difficulty-level |
| VARC | 34 | 27 | 7 | Moderate – Difficult |
QA (Quantitative Ability)
QA stands for Quantitative Ability and it covered overall 34 questions same as the VARC section where 22 questions were MCQs and 11 questions were Non-MCQs. Talking about the difficulty level of the QA section was easy to moderate.
| Section | Total Questions | Total MCQs | Total Non-MCQs | Difficulty-level |
| QA | 34 | 23 | 11 | Easy – Moderate |
LRDI (Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation)
LRDI is the Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation section where in CAT 2019 exam paper, it overall covered 32 questions. 24 questions were MCQs and rest 8 questions were Non-MCQs. Talking about the difficulty level of the LRDI section was easy to moderate.
| Section | Total Questions | Total MCQs | Total Non-MCQs | Difficulty-level |
| LRDI | 32 | 24 | 8 | Easy – Moderate |
Overall Difficulty Level of CAT 2019 Paper By IIM K & What to Expect in CAT 2025?
This section covers the overall difficulty level of CAT 2019 paper which was conducted by IIM Kozhikode. The difficulty level of each section according to the CAT 2019 paper is mentioned in the table below.
Are We Expecting Same in CAT 2025?
| CAT 2019 Exam Sections | Overall CAT 2019 Difficulty Level |
| VARC (Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning) | Moderate – Difficult |
| QA (Quantitative Aptitude) | Easy – Moderate |
| LRDI (Logical Reasoning & Data Interpretation) | Easy – Moderate |
What We Can Expect in CAT 2025 from CAT 2019 Analysis?
Looking at the CAT 2019 paper conducted by the IIM Kozhikode helps aspirants so that they can expect CAT 2025 to follow a similar difficulty level with a mix of MCQs and Non-MCQs across all the sections although we cannot completely rely on the previous analysis. Just like in the CAT 2019 exam paper, the focus in CAT 2025 exam is likely to be covering accuracy, time management as well as logical reasoning rather than attempting maximum questions.
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CAT 2025: Expected Difficulty Level
This section covers the expected difficulty level of CAT 2025 and it is mentioned in the table below.
Expected Difficulty level of CAT 2025 – Section-Wise
| Section | Expected Difficulty Level (CAT 2025) | Remarks |
| VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension) | Moderate – Difficult | 1. Reading comprehension likely to dominate 2. Accuracy will matter more than attempts. |
| DILR (Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning) | Easy – Moderate | 1. Mixed sets expected 2. Smart selection of sets can maximize score. |
| Quantitative Aptitude | Easy – Moderate | 1. Arithmetic and Algebra may carry more weight 2. Speed + accuracy will be important. |
| Overall | Moderate | 1. Balanced paper 2. Strong time management and question selection will decide percentile. |
CAT 2025 Preparation Strategy Based on IIM Kozhikode’s Previous Analysis
Preparing for the CAT 2025 exam requires a proper focus, strategy and especially since IIM Kozhikode will be conducting the CAT 2025 exam this year. Analyzing the previous CAT 2019 paper conducted by the IIM Kozhikode itself provides the insights for difficulty levels as well as time management strategies. So, CAT aspirants can understand the past analysis to optimize the CAT preparation, also strengthen the weak sections as well as practice well to maximize the percentile.
- Focus well on the DILR as well as QA section and prioritize questions practice consistently for CAT 2025.
- Allocate time equally to all the sections, practice mock papers that help to improve both speed as well as accuracy.
- It is important to revise the fundamental concepts or basics across all the sections that will definitely help in CAT 2025.
Why Analyzing CAT 2019 Helps For CAT 2025?
Analyzing the CAT 2019 paper is important for CAT 2025 aspirants because it provides some important insights to the difficulty levels, question types that IIM Kozhikode tends to follow. So, by studying the previous trends from CAT 2019, students can easily identify what all topics will be covered, how the questions are well distributed across sections and the strategic approach helps to maximize both the accuracy as well as speed. The past trend analysis helps in predicting patterns for CAT 2025 and although it is not important that candidates should completely rely on that. This builds confidence in tackling the challenging and important questions under the given time distribution.
Conclusion: What to Expect in CAT 2025?
As per the analysis of the previous CAT paper of IIM Kozhikode, students will able to prepare themselves for CAT 2025 across sections whether it is VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension), QA (Quantitative Ability) as well as DILR (Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning) but they should completely rely on the previous difficulty level. So, it is important for CAT 2025 aspirants to prepare well so that whatever difficulty level they will face in CAT 2025 becomes success for them.
iQuanta’s CAT 2025 Crash Course
iQuanta’s CAT 2025 Crash Course is a smart way to prepare and revise your final concepts for CAT 2025. This covers all sections and teaches easy tricks and shortcuts that help in improving accuracy as well as speed. There are some very important features of iQuanta’s CAT Crash Course 2025 which are mentioned below.
Key Features of iQuanta’s Crash Course 2025 –
- Get Access of Night Classes
- QA, VARC & LRDI Mega Marathons
- iQuanta QA 250 Series
- Genre-Wise RCs (Reading Comprehensions)
- Rigorous Practice
- 24*7 Doubt Solving Support in the Doubt Group
- LRDI 70 Initiative by Indra
- 9 Workshops in total across QA, LRDI and VARC
- Pre Recorded Foundation & Advanced Modules
- 35 Mocks and 45 Sectional Test
FAQs – What to Expect in CAT 2025?
The expected difficulty of VARC section in CAT 2025 is Moderate – Difficult.
The overall difficulty level of CAT 2025 will expected to be moderate.
Yes, IIM Kozhikode will going to conduct CAT 2025 and for the same student should visit the official website of CAT 2025.
