CAT 2025 Do’s and Don’ts: The last few days before CAT 2025 are not meant for aggressive studying. They are meant for clarity, balance, and mental readiness. After months of preparation, what truly matters now is how you manage your energy, mindset, and revision in this final stretch.
To help you navigate the crucial days leading up to the exam, here is a fully detailed list of the CAT 2025 Do’s and Don’ts that every aspirant must follow to stay focused and perform their best on exam day.
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Table of Contents
DO’s Before CAT 2025
1. Stop Taking Mocks – Your Mock Phase Is Over
At this stage, the smartest step is to stop taking mock tests completely. Mocks demand high mental energy, involve intense concentration, and often trigger stress if the score doesn’t match expectations. A slightly low percentile now can disturb your confidence right when you need it the most.
What you should do instead:
- Spend time analysing past mocks if needed.
- Revise the serious mistakes you usually make.
- Go through your best-performing sections to refresh confidence.
Stopping mocks isn’t about avoiding challenges; it’s about protecting your mental calm, which matters more than any last-minute score.
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2. Go Through Your Formula Notebook Thoroughly
Your formula notebook is your final revision companion. It contains everything you’ve collected over months- shortcuts, tricks, important formulas, patterns, and learnings from mocks. Now is the perfect time to revisit it carefully.
What should you revise from it?
- Arithmetic & Algebra formulas
- Geometry basics, ratios, and standard figures
- Number system rules
- Calculation shortcuts (LCM, HCF, percentages, averages)
- QA question types you tend to forget
- DI calculation tricks
- Common mistakes you noted after mocks
Spend 45-60 minutes each day going through these notes. This refreshes your brain, strengthens memory recall, and helps you avoid forgetting the basics during the exam.
You can also check CAT 2025 Important QA formulas for last-minute preparation.
3. Check Your Exam Centre Location One Day Before
This is a simple step that saves massive anxiety. One day before the exam:
- Visit the centre physically if possible
- Check the exact building, gate, and exam block
- Identify traffic-prone zones
- Understand how long the travel will take
- Note alternate routes or metro/bus options
If you check the location only on exam day, even a minor delay can create panic. Knowing the route beforehand ensures you walk into the exam hall composed and stress-free.
Also read: CAT 2025 Question Paper PDF
4. Keep Adequate Buffer Time on Exam Day
A route that normally takes just 30 minutes can easily stretch to an hour on exam day because morning traffic is heavier, last-minute road diversions are common, and long queues often form outside the exam centre gate. Many campuses also have confusing layouts, and finding parking can take extra time- all of which can add unexpected delays if you don’t plan ahead.
Arriving early gives you enough time to:
- Settle your breathing
- Organise your belongings
- Mentally centre yourself before entering the hall
5. Prepare All Exam-Day Essentials in Advance
Failing to carry something small can create unnecessary panic. Keep everything ready in one folder the night before.
Carry:
- CAT Admit Card (multiple printouts)
- Valid Government ID
- Passport-size photograph (same as the application form)
- Transparent water bottle (if allowed)
- Medical essentials (inhalers, meds, etc.)
- Comfortable clothing without metal parts
- Backup pens for rough work use outside (not inside the hall)
Avoid:
- Smartwatches
- Phones inside the testing area
- Bags (unless your centre provides storage)
- Jackets with metal zippers
Organising your essentials beforehand ensures a smooth, calm exam morning.
Also read: CAT 2025 Exam Day Tips
Don’ts Before CAT 2025
1. Don’t Start New Topics or Concepts
This is the time to strengthen what you already know, not experiment with something new. Starting fresh concepts in the last week usually leads to confusion and unnecessary stress. You may feel you’re “adding more,” but in reality it only creates panic and self-doubt.
If you really want to improve now, revise the topics you’re already comfortable with.
They’ll give you far more marks than half-baked new chapters.
Why to avoid new topics now:
- They create mental clutter
- Increase overthinking
- Lower confidence
- Disrupt your revision flow
Stick to the familiar- that’s where your accuracy lies.
2. Don’t Compare Your Preparation With Others
It’s natural to look at what others are doing, but this late in the journey it only adds pressure. Every student has a different starting point and a different pace. Some take many mocks, some take few. Some are strong in quant, others in verbal.
Your score on exam day will come from your preparation, not someone else’s study routine. Comparison only drains mental energy you need to save right now.
3. Don’t Change Your Strategy at the Last Minute
Your brain is trained around a certain flow, how you pick questions, how you pace yourself, when you skip, when you push. Suddenly switching to a new strategy now can disrupt everything.
Even if someone claims a “better method,” avoid the temptation. Follow the same plan that worked consistently for you during stable mocks.
Last-minute strategy changes can lead to:
- Confusion in the first 5-6 minutes
- Poor question selection
- Wasted time
- Falling behind in sectional flow
Stay with what your mind already recognises.
4. Don’t Stay Up Late the Night Before
CAT is not just a knowledge test, it’s a clarity test. And clarity only comes with rest. When you are sleep-deprived, you misread questions, panic faster, and your RC comprehension drops sharply.
A tired brain tends to:
- Make silly errors
- Lose focus mid-section
- Struggle with calculations
- Blank out under pressure
So the night before, keep everything light and calm. Sleep early, sleep well, and let your mind reset.
Also read: CAT 2025 expected difficulty level based on previous years.
Conclusion
The days leading up to CAT 2025 should be focused on clarity, stability, and smart revision.
Stop mocks, revise your formulas, refresh DILR basics, continue reading, check your centre, carry all essentials, and reach early with buffer time. Avoid new topics, comparison, panic, and guesswork.
And before winding up your preparation, you can also check out Career Launcher’s Free CAT Mock Tests to understand the exam pattern and benchmark your performance.
