It's D-Day. November 30th, 2025. Over 3 lakh MBA aspirants across India are walking into exam centers right now, ready to take the Common Admission Test (CAT)—the gateway to India's most prestigious B-schools.
You've come to the right place. B School Buzz is your centralized hub for real-time CAT 2025 exam analysis, live updates, and detailed slot-by-slot paper breakdowns. Whether you're sitting in Slot 1 at 8:30 AM, Slot 2 at 12:30 PM, or the challenging Slot 3 at 4:30 PM, we're tracking every section, every question type, and every difficulty spike.
Bookmark this page and refresh regularly. We're updating this post live throughout the day with genuine student feedback, memory-based questions, difficulty assessments, and our expert analysis of the CAT question paper for all three slots.
| Slot | Status | Key Finding | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slot 1 (8:30–10:30 AM) | Completed | VARC: Moderate-Tough | DILR: Easy | QA: Moderate | 10:45 AM |
| Slot 2 (12:30–2:30 PM) | Underway | Real-time updates incoming | Live |
| Slot 3 (4:30–6:30 PM) | Not Started | Analysis coming at 6:45 PM | Upcoming |
The first CAT slot has concluded, and the initial reaction from students is encouraging. Contrary to the "CAT is getting tougher every year" narrative, Slot 1 delivered a moderate difficulty paper with surprising accessibility in the Quantitative Ability section.
| Section | Difficulty | Good Attempts (99%ile) | Key Topics | Student Feedback |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VARC | Moderate–Tough | 15–17 | Inference-heavy RC, grammar questions on abstract passages | "Passages were dense; comprehension questions required careful reading" |
| DILR | Easy–Moderate | 11–13 | Set theory, bar graphs, tournament-based puzzles | "Two sets were clearly doable; one caselet was tricky" |
| QA | Moderate | 13–15 | Arithmetic (40%), Algebra, P&C, Modern Math | "Arithmetic questions were straightforward; mostly formula-based" |
Total Questions: 68 (VARC: 24, DILR: 22, QA: 22)
Overall Difficulty: Moderate
Overall Good Attempts: 44–47 questions
Memory-based questions and topic distribution from the morning session:
Reading Comprehension Topics: Wildlife management, behavioral economics, cultural shifts due to technology
Arithmetic Questions: Distance-speed-time problems, profit-loss scenarios, percentage calculations
Logical Reasoning Sets: 5 DILR sets total; 2–3 were comfortably solvable within time
Paragraph Jumbles: Connector words made para-jumble questions slightly tougher than expected
Student Sentiment: "The paper was fair. Not a shock, not a breeze. The key was accuracy in time management."
Status: In Progress
The Slot 2 paper is currently being taken by candidates. Historically, Slot 2 tends to normalize difficulty—meaning if Slot 1 was easy, Slot 2 may be slightly tougher. We'll update this section by 2:45 PM IST with real-time feedback.
Early Expectations:
DILR may feature more complex puzzles
VARC inference questions likely to continue
QA algebra questions expected to increase
Check back within the hour for real-time updates!
Status: Not yet started
The graveyard shift—often the toughest slot. Based on historical trends, Slot 3 typically features:
More complex DILR puzzles and caselets
Trickier arithmetic and modern math in QA
Balanced VARC difficulty
However, the IIM uses a normalization process, meaning even if Slot 3 is harder, your percentile won't be unfairly affected. A 75 in a tough slot may scale to a higher percentile than a 75 in an easy slot.
Stay tuned for the full analysis at 6:45 PM IST.
Based on initial Slot 1 difficulty and historical trends, here's our preliminary projection:
| Raw Score | Expected Percentile |
|---|---|
| 85–88 | 99%ile |
| 75–80 | 97%ile |
| 65–70 | 93%ile |
| 55–60 | 87%ile |
| 45–50 | 78%ile |
Important Note: These are preliminary estimates. Once all three slots conclude, we'll refine these predictions based on the complete dataset. The normalization curve will be finalized only after IIM Calcutta processes all responses.
Based on previous years' trends and this year's apparent difficulty level:
| IIM | Overall Cutoff | Quantitative | VARC | DILR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IIM-A | 98%ile+ | 92%ile+ | 89%ile+ | 94%ile+ |
| IIM-B | 97%ile+ | 90%ile+ | 87%ile+ | 92%ile+ |
| IIM-C | 95%ile+ | 88%ile+ | 85%ile+ | 90%ile+ |
| IIM-L/I | 90%ile+ | 80%ile+ | 78%ile+ | 82%ile+ |
Cutoffs are subject to change based on final category (General/OBC/SC/ST) and program choice.
Real-Time Updates: We're analyzing Slot 1 as students walk out. No delays, no speculation.
Memory-Based Accuracy: Our team compiles student feedback for authentic question reconstruction.
Expert Breakdown: Each section is analyzed by CAT specialists who decode difficulty trends.
Transparent Predictions: We explain our scoring methodology and percentile calculations.
Comprehensive Coverage: From difficulty levels to good attempts to expected cutoffs—everything is here.
CAT Answer Key: Official provisional answer key released by IIM within 5–6 days
Response Sheets: Available on the official portal for objection filing
Objection Window: Typically remains open for 48 hours
Result Timeline: Final results announced by late December 2025
B School Buzz will provide unofficial answer keys and detailed solutions immediately after each slot concludes. Our solutions are vetted by CAT experts and compared against official keys.
Count your correct answers across all three sections
Deduct 1/4th of your total wrong attempts (negative marking)
Apply the difficulty-based normalization factor
Compare with our score-to-percentile table above
Formula: (Correct – Wrong/4) = Raw Score
The CAT 2025 exam is unfolding right now. Whether you're in Slot 1, 2, or 3, remember that this exam is normalized—the slot you're in won't determine your fate. What matters is your accuracy, time management, and strategic approach.
Check back to B School Buzz throughout the day. We're your live companion for every update, every analysis, and every insight about today's exam.
Refresh this page regularly to get:
✓ Real-time slot-wise analysis
✓ Memory-based question compilation
✓ Difficulty assessments
✓ Expected cutoff predictions
✓ Score vs percentile calculator updates
