- Pick your track from the average of your last three mock percentiles: below 80, 80 to 95, or above 95. Each track has a different main job.
- Below 80, fix the base and accuracy before speed. From 80 to 95, convert near misses. Above 95, protect accuracy and lift the weakest section.
- CAT 2026 sections are exactly 40 minutes each with no switching, so plan the pacing of each section on its own.
- No source supports a promise of 99 percentile in 60 days. CAT 2026 is 23 days from 6 November 2026, so its 60-day mark has passed.
CAT last 60 days preparation should depend on where your mocks stand now: below 80 percentile, between 80 and 95, or above 95. Each track has a different main job, and one plan for all three wastes weeks. Take the average of your last three full mocks from one provider, find your track, and follow its weekly rhythm.
CAT 2026 is on 29 November 2026, which is 23 days after 6 November, so its 60-day mark was 30 September. If you are in the final weeks, go straight to the pacing, weekly rhythm and last-15-days sections. For a later exam, count back 60 days from the official date. This post does not promise a percentile.
CAT last 60 days preparation: find your track from the last three mocks
| Track | Average of last three mocks | Main job |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Below 80 | Repair the base and lift accuracy before speed |
| 2 | 80 to 95 | Convert near misses into marks |
| 3 | Above 95 | Protect accuracy and fix the weakest section |
Use one provider's mocks, taken under CAT conditions. If your average sits within 2 points of a boundary, choose by your biggest error type from the mock reviews, not by the number. A mock percentile is a band, not a point, so treat the boundaries as soft.
Track 1: below 80, fix the base before speed
At this level, marks are lost on topics you have not fully learned and on questions you attempt carelessly. Speed work comes later.
- QA: go back to the core arithmetic and algebra chapters and drill them until accuracy is steady, using the formula sheet.
- VARC: read daily and work on reading-comprehension accuracy before you worry about timing.
- DILR: solve easier sets completely, untimed at first, so that you learn how a set resolves.
- Target accuracy above 70% on what you attempt. Attempts are a second concern.
Track 2: 80 to 95, convert near misses
You know most of the material. The marks are in questions you skipped but could have solved, questions you solved too slowly, and questions lost to calculation slips. Your error log will show which.
- Value of one attempt = 4 × 0.75 - 1 = 2 marks.
- 6 × 2 = 12 marks.
Answer: About 12 marks, from changing selection and time ceilings, not from learning new topics.
Review every mock within 24 hours using the mock analysis guide, and tag each lost mark with its error type.
Track 3: above 95, protect accuracy and the weakest section
At this level, one weak section is the most expensive gap. IIM Ahmedabad's CAT 2026 policy sets 95 overall and 85 in each section for General and EWS candidates, so a section below 85 can end a shortlist however high the overall is. See the IIM CAT cutoff 2026 page for the numbers.
- Spend the first 20 days on the weakest section.
- Do not learn new shortcuts late. Rehearse selection and abandon rules you already use.
- Watch variance. Three mocks within 3 points of each other are worth more than a single high one.
Section pacing inside a 40-minute locked section
CAT 2026 gives exactly 40 minutes per section and does not allow switching between sections, so time unused in one section cannot be moved to another. The starting values below are suggestions to test in mocks, not rules.
| Section | First 5 minutes | Ceiling | Last 5 minutes |
|---|---|---|---|
| QA | Scan and mark the easy questions | About 2 to 2.5 minutes a question | Attempt every non-MCQ you have a method for, since wrong answers cost nothing |
| DILR | Read all sets, rank them, commit to one | Drop a set that has not moved after about 6 to 8 minutes | Pick off the easiest unanswered questions in sets you started |
| VARC | Choose the passage order | Fix a time cap per passage and keep to it | Finish the shortest question types left |
Weekly mock and analysis rhythm
Counts are approximate for about eight weeks, with the last few days given to the final routine.
| Track | Weeks 1 to 4 | Weeks 5 to 8 | Full mocks in total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 full mock, 1 sectional a week | 1 full mock, 2 sectionals a week | About 8 |
| 2 | 1 full mock, 1 sectional a week | 2 full mocks, 1 sectional a week | About 12 |
| 3 | 1 full mock, 1 sectional on the weakest section | 2 full mocks a week until week 7 | About 10 |
A mock plus its review is about 3.5 hours. Our 90-day plan budgets 34 hours a week for students and 27 for working aspirants in its mock-heavy weeks, so two mock cycles take 7 hours of that. Space full mocks at least two days apart.
What to cut in the last 15 days
- New chapters and new topics. Our 90-day plan allows none from 30 days out.
- New mock providers, whose different style can rattle your pacing.
- Very hard sets and puzzles chosen for the challenge.
- Late-night sessions that cost sleep.
Keep the error log, the formula sheet and one easy DILR set a day. Take no mock in the last two days, as the 90-day plan advises.
How to use the 90-day note if you started earlier
The CAT 90-day study plan has a table that maps days left to the week you join. With 60 days left you join at week 5, revise weeks 1 to 4 from the formula sheet and take a diagnostic mock. With 23 days left, as on 6 November 2026, you join at week 10: two full mocks a week plus the error-log topics.
If you need a diagnostic mock this week, the free CAT Compass gives a score, a percentile band and a topic report. It is shorter than the real CAT and lets you switch between sections, so use it to find topics to fix.