CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2025 - How Many Questions to Attempt in CAT 2025
You can boost your CAT 2025 percentile by prioritising accuracy over attempts, as recent trends show 40-45 quality attempts at 85% accuracy often yield 99+ scores. Balance time wisely to hit the ideal 95-105 raw marks sweet spot without rushing.
To crack CAT 2025, you need to grasp how many questions to attempt for your target percentile, like the elite 99+ mark. With around 66 questions total, trends show you can hit 99 percentile by correctly solving 32 to 35 across sections, assuming 85-90% accuracy, rather than blindly attempting more. Recent data predicts 40-45% overall marks in the CAT 2025 exam suffice for top ranks this year.
Focus on balance and aim for 13-14 correct in VARC, 11-12 in DILR, and 10-12 in QA, per past analyses. Time your mocks wisely, prioritise precision over volume, and adapt to slot difficulty via CAT 2025 normalisation . This strategy, drawn from 2024 trends where 95 marks fetched 99 percentile, boosts your odds at IIMs.
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How CAT Percentiles Work?
Your CAT percentile reflects your performance in comparison with other aspirants. For instance, scoring in the 99th percentile means you have done better than 99% of those who took the test. Your actual marks are first converted into a scaled score through a normalisation process and then transformed into a percentile to ensure fairness across different exam slots.
For CAT 2025, the exam pattern is expected to remain similar to last year. It will likely have around 68 questions, divided across three key sections as shown below:
Sections | Expected No. of Questions in CAT 2025 |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 24 |
Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 22 |
Quantitative Aptitude (QA) | 22 |
Attempts Needed to Achieve Different Percentiles in CAT 2025
To hit top percentiles in CAT 2025, aim for 40 to 45 accurate attempts out of 68 questions, based on moderate difficulty predictions and past trends like 2024's 85 marks for 99%. You'll need around 48 to 55 attempts with 85-90% accuracy for 99+, focusing on balanced sections. These are estimates from recent analyses.
Percentile Range | Approximate Number of Questions to Attempt | Accuracy Needed |
99+ percentile | 45 to 50 | 85% to 90% |
95 to 99 percentile | 35 to 45 | 80% to 85% |
90 to 95 percentile | 30 to 35 | 75% to 80% |
Below 90 | 20 to 30 | 70%+ |
Note: To achieve a 99+ percentile in the exam, you should target 45–50 correct attempts out of 68 while keeping errors minimal. Accuracy plays a crucial role, as even a few mistakes can affect your score. Focus on precision, smart question selection, and efficient time management for top performance.
Detailed CAT 2025 Attempts vs Percentile Analysis
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The following CAT attempts vs percentile 2025 analysis provides a rough estimate to the candidates on how many questions they need to attempt to reach their goal. We have considered the previous year's trends and mathematical estimations while creating the analysis. It is also important to note that an error margin of +/- 5 marks must also be included when calculating the CAT 2025 percentile.
CAT Score for 99 Percentile & Above
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 99 percentile range and above in CAT 2025:
CAT 2025 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2025 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 85 | 14-16 | 36-40 | 45-55 | 99+ |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 85 | 12-14 | 32-34 | 44-50 | 99+ |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 14-16 | 36-40 | 46-54 | 99+ |
Overall | 85 | 42-48 | 104-114 | 135-159 | 99-99.5 |
CAT Score for 95-98 Percentile
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 95-98 percentile range in CAT 2025:
CAT 2025 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2025 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 85 | 13-15 | 34-38 | 40-45 | 95-98 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 3-30 | 8-10 | 26-30 | 32-36 | 95-98 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 14-16 | 35-40 | 40-44 | 95-98 |
Overall | 85 | 35-41 | 95-100 | 112-125 | 95-98 |
CAT Score for 90-94 Percentile
The table below shows the number of accurate CAT attempts needed to achieve the 90-94 percentile range in CAT 2025:
CAT 2025 Sections | Accuracy Level | Good Attempts | Raw Score | Scaled Score | Expected Percentile Score in CAT 2025 |
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) | 90 | 11-13 | 29-35 | 36-40 | 90 - 94 |
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) | 90 | 7-9 | 17-22 | 22-28 | 90 - 94 |
Quantitative Ability (QA) | 85 | 10-12 | 26-32 | 32-48 | 90 – 94 |
Overall | 85 | 28-34 | 72-89 | 90-116 | 90 - 94 |
Section-Wise CAT 2025 Attempts vs Percentile
Based on the information given above, here is a section-wise breakdown of the CAT attempts vs percentile 2025 analysis. The analysis for CAT 2025 will also follow a similar pattern. Candidates can use the information below to adjust their examination strategy.
With 70% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 11 | 9 | 9 | 29 |
80 %ile | 15 | 12 | 13 | 40 |
90 %ile | 22 | 18 | 20 | 60 |
99+ %ile | 30 | 29 | 29 | 88 |
With 80% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 9 | 7 | 8 | 24 |
80 %ile | 12 | 10 | 11 | 33 |
90 %ile | 18 | 16 | 17 | 51 |
99+ %ile | 25 | 23 | 24 | 72 |
With 90% Accuracy
Target Percentile | No. of Attempts | |||
VARC | DILR | QA | Total | |
70 %ile | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 |
80 %ile | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 |
90 %ile | 16 | 13 | 14 | 43 |
99+ %ile | 22 | 18 | 20 | 60 |
Role of Accuracy in CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2025
Accuracy plays a major role in deciding your percentile based on the number of your attempts. The number of attempts drops drastically with the increase in accuracy. However, one should also keep in mind that the time taken per question also increases to maintain high accuracy.
After understanding the CAT Attempts vs Percentile 2025, let us find out which is the best college for you based on the CAT 2025 cutoff by using the following tools.
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