Roughly ten weeks to 29 November. Enough, if you stop trying to cover everything and start prioritising by marks per hour.
With roughly ten weeks to CAT on 29 November, three months is enough — but only if you prioritise by marks per hour rather than trying to cover the whole syllabus. Fundamentals in weeks one to three, timed sectional practice in weeks four to seven, full mocks with proper review from week eight. Three to four focused hours a day on weekdays, more at weekends, spent on your weakest section first.
Panic produces a predictable pattern: buy a mock series, take three mocks in the first week, score badly, conclude the exam is impossible. The mocks were never the problem. They were measuring a preparation that had not happened yet.
A late start does not change the sequence. It compresses it. The phases stay in the same order — they just get shorter, and you become much more selective about what goes into each.
One diagnostic mock, then no mocks. Arithmetic and algebra in QA, daily reading for VARC, standard set types in DILR. Untimed. Accuracy over speed.
Timed section tests, one section a day in rotation. One full mock a week. Every mock reviewed the same day.
Two full mocks a week, each followed by a review longer than the mock itself. No new topics. Consolidate, do not expand.
The syllabus is wide and the exam is not uniform across it. Some topics appear every year in volume. Others appear rarely and take disproportionate time to learn. A full-year candidate can afford both. You cannot.
Three to four focused hours on weekdays is realistic for someone working or in final year. Six to eight at weekends. That is around 270 hours across ten weeks, which is a respectable total if it is spent well.
"Spent well" means on your weakest section. Almost everyone drifts towards the section they enjoy, because progress feels good. Sectional cutoffs mean a strong section cannot rescue a failed one, so the drift is expensive. Decide your weakest section from the diagnostic mock and put it first in every study day.
A plan requiring five hours every single day will collapse in the second week, and the collapse costs more than the shortfall would have. Plan for the hours you will actually do, then protect them. Consistency beats intensity across ten weeks by a wide margin.
This post is the timeline. The section-specific method is in the dedicated guides: quant, VARC and DILR. If you are self-preparing, CAT without coaching covers what you need to replace. And when the mock phase starts, how to actually use mocks is worth reading before the first one.
Yes, for most candidates with a reasonable base in school-level maths and English. The constraint is not total hours but sequencing: fundamentals first, timed sectionals second, full mocks with review third. Late starters fail by beginning with mocks and never fixing the basics underneath.
Three to four focused hours on weekdays and six to eight at weekends is a realistic target for someone working or in college. The number matters less than consistency and whether the hours are spent on your weakest section rather than your most comfortable one.
Low-frequency topics with high learning cost. In quant, that usually means the rarer number theory and higher geometry; in DILR, the most exotic puzzle formats. Cover arithmetic, algebra, reading practice and standard set types thoroughly before touching anything rare.
One diagnostic mock in week one, then none until fundamentals are in place - typically three to four weeks. After that, one a week rising to two. Mocks measure preparation; they do not substitute for it.
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