CAT 2026 Last 30 Days Checklist: Daily Schedule, Score vs Percentile Roadmap and Section Strategy

CATKing is a Mumbai-based MBA entrance exam coaching company founded by Sumit Singh, offering preparation for CAT, XAT, NMAT, SNAP, CET, GMAT, and GRE through online and offline classes. CAT 2026 is on November 29, 2026, and the final month decides your result. This CATKing guide gives you the last 30 days checklist: the exam pattern, the score vs percentile roadmap, a daily schedule and the strategy for each section.

Key Takeaways

•       Mindset: the effort of the next 30 days affects the next 30 to 40 years of your career.

•       Daily target: 4 RCs and 4 DILR sets every day.

•       Why: VARC RCs and DILR together make up 38 of the 68 questions, more than half the paper.

•       Quant: focus on Arithmetic and Algebra and find the 8 to 10 easiest questions.

•       Mocks: take them consistently and spend 2 to 3 hours analysing each.

•       Percentile: 33 correct questions, 11 in each section, are about the 99th percentile.

How Should You Shift Your Mindset in the Last 30 Days?

•       Leave celebration mode: get back into a disciplined routine now.

•       Think long term: the effort you put into the next 30 days will affect the next 30 to 40 years of your career.

•       Keep your target in sight: picture the B school you want to be in next year, whether an IIM, XLRI, SPJIMR, NMIMS or SIBM.

What Is the CAT 2026 Exam Pattern?

Section	Questions	Time
VARC	24	40 minutes
DILR	22	40 minutes
Quant	22	40 minutes
Total	68	120 minutes

 

•       Easy questions: roughly 33% of the CAT paper consists of easy questions that every candidate should identify and solve.

•       Crucial time blocks: pay strict attention to the first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of each 40-minute section, to maximise accuracy and paper strategy.

How Many Correct Questions Do You Need for Each CAT Percentile?

Correct Questions	Target Percentile	What It Means
12 to 15	75 to 80	Limited options
18 (6 in each section)	85	Decent options, such as GIM, TAPMI, Welingkar, FORE and K J Somaiya
21	90	About 10 good colleges, such as IMT Ghaziabad and IMI Delhi
24 (8 in each section)	95	About 20 good colleges
27 (9 in each section)	97	High-tier calls across premier institutes
33 (11 in each section)	99	Top IIM calls and premier B schools

 

What does it take to move from the 85th to the 95th percentile?

Just one additional Reading Comprehension passage and one additional DILR set solved accurately. That is why your last 30 days should go into RCs and DILR sets first.

What Is the Daily Checklist for the Last 30 Days?

Section	Daily Target	Why
VARC	Solve 4 RCs every day	RC is 16 of the 24 VARC questions, which makes it more critical than any individual Quant topic
DILR	Solve 4 DILR sets every day	Together with 16 RC questions, DILR's 22 questions make up 38 of 68 questions, more than 50% of the paper
Quant	Arithmetic and Algebra	Avoid silly mistakes and find the 8 to 10 easiest questions
Mocks	Take mocks consistently and analyse for 2 to 3 hours	Work on eliminating mistakes

How Should You Prepare Each Section in the Last 30 Days?

How should you prepare VARC?

Solve 4 RCs every day. Reading Comprehension accounts for 16 of the 24 VARC questions, so it matters more than any single Quant topic.

How should you prepare DILR?

Solve 4 DILR sets every day. VARC and DILR together hold 38 of the 68 questions, which is more than half of the entire paper.

How should you prepare Quant?

Focus heavily on Arithmetic and Algebra. Avoid silly mistakes, and aim to identify and solve the 8 to 10 easiest questions in the section.

How should you use mocks in the last 30 days?

Take mocks consistently and dedicate 2 to 3 hours to a thorough analysis of each. Work on eliminating mistakes instead of trying to learn brand-new complex topics from scratch at this stage.

CAT 2026 Last 30 Days: Quick-Reference

Question	Answer
RCs per day?	4
DILR sets per day?	4
Total questions in CAT?	68 (VARC 24, DILR 22, Quant 22)
Share of paper in RCs and DILR?	38 of 68 questions
Quant focus?	Arithmetic and Algebra
Easiest Quant questions to find?	8 to 10
Analysis time per mock?	2 to 3 hours
99 percentile?	About 33 correct questions

 

What Should CAT 2026 Aspirants Do Now?

•       Today: set your daily plan of 4 RCs and 4 DILR sets.

•       In Quant: revise Arithmetic and Algebra and pick out the easiest questions.

•       Every mock: analyse it for 2 to 3 hours and remove repeat mistakes.

•       In every section: plan the first and last 5 minutes.

•       Stay on track: join CATKing's mentor-led preparation, including Real CAT Mocks.

Frequently Asked Questions About the Last 30 Days of CAT Preparation

How should I prepare in the last 30 days before CAT 2026?

Follow a daily checklist: solve 4 RCs and 4 DILR sets every day, focus on Arithmetic and Algebra in Quant, take mocks consistently and spend 2 to 3 hours analysing each one. Work on eliminating mistakes instead of learning brand-new complex topics from scratch.

What is the CAT 2026 exam pattern?

CAT is a 120-minute exam divided into three sections of 40 minutes each: VARC with 24 questions, DILR with 22 questions and Quant with 22 questions, which makes 68 questions in all.

How many Reading Comprehension questions are there in CAT?

VARC has 24 questions, of which 16 are Reading Comprehension questions.

How many RCs and DILR sets should I solve daily in the last 30 days?

Solve 4 RCs and 4 DILR sets every day.

How many questions do I need to get right for the 99th percentile in CAT?

CATKing's roadmap puts the 99th percentile at about 33 correct questions, which is 11 in each section.

How many correct questions give a 95th percentile in CAT?

About 24 correct questions, which is 8 in each section, as per CATKing's roadmap.

How many correct questions give a 90th percentile in CAT?

About 21 correct questions. For the 85th percentile, you need about 18 correct questions, which is 6 in each section.

What does it take to move from the 85th to the 95th percentile?

Just one additional Reading Comprehension passage and one additional DILR set solved accurately.

How many easy questions are there in the CAT paper?

Roughly 33% of the CAT paper consists of easy questions that every candidate should identify and solve. In Quant, aim to identify and solve the 8 to 10 easiest questions.

Which minutes of a CAT section matter most?

The first 5 minutes and the last 5 minutes of each 40-minute section. Pay strict attention to them to maximise accuracy and plan your paper.