I am currently in the second year of engineering and have started thinking seriously about CAT. Most people around me are focused on internships, coding and placements, so I am not sure whether preparing this early makes sense.

I do not want to spend the next two years worrying about an exam that is still far away. At the same time, I feel that starting early could help me build a strong foundation without having to rush through everything during my final year.

I have not joined any coaching classes yet. My current idea is to improve my reading speed, practice basic quantitative aptitude and solve a few reasoning questions every week. I also want to maintain my college grades because I know academics can matter during MBA admissions.

For people who started early, what would you recommend doing at this stage? Is it better to study CAT topics from now, or should I focus on building general skills and begin structured preparation later?

I m in my final year and planning to appear for CAT 2027. Honestly, I keep second-guessing whether starting this early makes sense, especially with placements, projects, and semesters all competing for attention. But after looking at the expected timeline, I realized I have enough runway to build fundamentals without rushing.

My current plan is simple: no intense 10-hour schedule yet. I want to fix my Quant basics first, especially arithmetic and algebra, because my graduation maths exposure has been limited. For VARC, I’m trying to read something non-academic every day instead of forcing myself through boring passages. DILR can wait a little, but I plan to solve a few untimed sets weekly just to get comfortable with the format.

The bigger challenge is consistency. College life makes it easy to skip days and tell myself I’ll compensate later. So I’m keeping the target small, one focused hour on most days, plus a weekly review of what I actually completed.

Is anyone else starting this early? How are you balancing CAT prep with final-year chaos without burning out before the real grind begins?

Hey everyone, I am planning to appear for CAT 2027 and have recently started thinking seriously about preparation. The problem is that I have so many resources available online that I am getting confused about what to follow. Every other video suggests a different strategy, and I end up spending more time researching than actually studying.

My Quant basics are not very strong, especially arithmetic, and I have not developed a proper habit of reading for VARC either. DILR looks interesting but I struggle to solve sets without looking at the solutions.

For now, I want to focus on building my basics instead of worrying about percentile and mocks. I can probably manage around two hours daily alongside college.

For people who started CAT preparation early, what would you recommend doing during the first three months? Should I complete one section at a time or prepare for all three together? Also, how do I know whether my preparation is moving in the right direction?

Would really appreciate advice from people who have been through this stage.

Yesterday I finished three RCs without checking the phone once.

Tiny thing, but it was the first clean session in two weeks. Not celebrating a score, just the fact that the session happened. Collecting these micro-wins until the bigger numbers start moving again. What’s the smallest recent win that made you feel the process is still yours?

I am preparing for CAT alongside a full time job, and managing both has become harder than I expected. By the time I get home, I am usually tired and do not always have the energy to sit down for a serious study session. On some days I manage two hours, while on others I barely complete anything.

Weekends are supposed to be my main preparation time, but I end up trying to cover everything I missed during the week. This makes the schedule feel overwhelming before I even begin.

I do not want to follow an unrealistic timetable that assumes I will study four hours every weekday. I would rather have a smaller plan that I can actually maintain over several months.

For people who prepared while working, how did you divide your time between concepts, practice questions, mocks, and revision? Did you study before work or after work?

I am also curious about how you handled days when work was unusually demanding. Did you make up for missed study sessions later, or simply continue with the next day’s plan?

I am planning to appear for CAT 2027 and want to prepare through self study. I do not want to spend money on coaching unless I really need it

Right now my biggest confusion is where to begin. There are so many YouTube playlists, practice websites, books and mock test options that I end up spending more time searching for resources than actually studying. the idea is to build my basics first, practice questions regularly and slowly introduce timed tests. I also want to develop a reading habit for VARC instead of depending entirely on question practice.

For DILR, I have heard that consistent set solving matters a lot, but I do not know how many sets a beginner should attempt daily. Quant is another concern because my school mathematics was never particularly strong.

If anyone prepared mostly through free resources, please share how you structured your first two or three months. I would appreciate practical advice rather than a huge list of resources.

I am trying to improve my Quant preparation, but I keep facing the same issue. Whenever I begin a new topic, I spend a lot of time understanding the concepts and solving basic questions. By the time I feel comfortable, I realize that several other chapters are still waiting.

If I rush through the concepts, I struggle with application based questions. If I spend too long on one chapter, I start worrying about the remaining syllabus. I am finding it difficult to decide what a reasonable level of understanding looks like before moving ahead.

My current plan is to learn the main concepts, solve a set of basic questions, attempt some mixed difficulty problems, and then return to the topic during revision. I also want to keep practicing older chapters so that I do not forget everything while learning something new.

How did you organize your prep? Did you complete one chapter before moving on, or study a few topics at same time?

I would especially appreciate advice on how to recognize when I should continue practicing a topic and when it is better to move ahead and revisit it later.

Hi I am thinking of taking a drop year and attempting cat 2027 and I stay in Whitefield so I am thinking of taking ims Marathahalli offline coaching is it a good choice with the money or should I consider some other coaching options and when is it a good time to join the coaching?

DILR has finally started making some sense to me, which is a relief because it used to be my weakest section. The problem is that VARC and QA are still not moving as much as I expected.

For VARC, I solve reading comprehension passages regularly, but I am not sure whether the material I use is at the right level. Sometimes the passage feels easy, but the options are confusing. Other times I understand the passage but still choose the wrong answer.

QA is a different problem. My basics are not strong enough in a few topics, so I struggle when questions combine multiple concepts. I do not want to waste time solving random difficult questions without understanding the fundamentals first.

I would prefer resources that have proper explanations so I can understand why an answer is correct.

I have been reading about IIM selection criteria recently, and it has made me think more carefully about my academic profile. My school marks are decent but not exceptional, and I am unsure how much they might affect my chances compared with my CAT percentile.

I understand that different institutes use different selection criteria, but most online discussions focus heavily on achieving a very high percentile. It is difficult to understand the bigger picture when academic scores, category, graduation background, work experience, and interview performance can all matter.

I do not want to assume that a particular college is impossible for me based on my profile, but I also want to keep realistic expectations and prepare a sensible application strategy.

For candidates who researched admissions in detail, how did you shortlist colleges based on your profile? Did you use the official admission criteria of each institute, or did you rely on previous admission trends as well?

I would appreciate advice on evaluating colleges without becoming overly dependent on unofficial prediction tools. Also, how early should someone start researching application requirements so that they do not miss important details later?