CAT 2026 Slot 3 Exam Analysis: The CAT 2026 exam will be conducted on November 29, 2026. The exam will be administered in three separate shifts throughout the day. The final shift of CAT 2026 will conclude at 06:30 PM.
The CAT 2026 exam analysis will be updated here post-exam slot 3 in detail based on the data provided by CAT takers. We will revise the data to match the displayed trends, make predictions, and provide an updated comparison across all slots and expected percentiles.
The marking scheme of CAT 2026 was as follows:
The overall breakup of CAT 2026 - Slot 3 paper is to be announced with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam on the day of the CAT exam:
|
CAT Exam Sections |
Total No. of Questions |
Questions |
MCQs |
TITA (type in the answer) |
Difficulty Level |
No. of Doable Questions |
|
Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC) |
24 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR) |
22 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
Quantitative Ability (QA) |
22 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
TOTAL |
68 |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
TBA |
|
Section |
No. of questions |
Questions |
Non MCQ Questions |
Difficulty level |
Number of Doable Questions |
No of Questions |
|
VARC |
24 |
4 Passages * 4 Questions 2 Parajumbles, 2 Parasummary, 2 Paracompletion, 2 Odd one out |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
12-13 (net correct) |
24 |
|
DILR |
22 |
2 Sets * 5 Questions 3 Sets * 4 Questions |
11 |
Moderate |
8-9 (net correct) |
22 |
|
QA |
22 |
Algebra - 7, Arithmetic- 8, Geometry- 3 , Number System- 4, Modern Maths- 0 |
8 |
Difficult |
8-9 (net correct) |
22 |
|
Total |
68 |
23 |
Moderate-Difficult |
25-27 (net correct) |
68 |
|
Passage Number |
Passage – Topic/ Area |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/ Doable |
|
1 |
Artificial Intelligence (Ethics) |
4 |
Easy-Moderate |
Easy to Read but Lengthy Options |
|
2 |
Tribal Artists |
4 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Easy to Read but Tricky Inference Qs |
|
3 |
Dams |
4 |
Easy |
Easy Read, Easy Questions |
|
4 |
Forest Officials |
4 |
Moderate |
Easy Read |
|
Passage Number |
Topic/ Area |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/ Doable |
|
1 |
Para Jumble |
2 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
|
2 |
Para Summary |
2 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
|
3 |
Odd One Out |
2 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
|
4 |
Para Completion |
2 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
DILR was slightly more difficult compared to CAT 2024 but similar to CAT 2025 Slot 1. The overall difficulty level of the Slot 3 DILR section was moderate This section comprises 22 questions. Below is the breakdown of the CAT DILR section:
|
Set Number |
Set – Topic/ Area |
No of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/ Doable |
|
1 |
Export Import Trade Based(P,X,C Row ) |
5 (3 TITA) |
Moderate - Difficult |
2 |
|
2 |
Currency, Travel (4 Countries) |
5 (3 TITA) |
Difficult |
0 |
|
3 |
Step Graph |
4 |
Easy |
2-3 |
|
4 |
Table Based (6 Friends - Calls in a Math) |
4 TITA |
Moderate |
2 -3 |
|
5 |
AR Circular Arrangement (Game Passing the Back) |
4 |
Easy |
4 |
|
Total |
|
22 |
Difficult |
10 -11 |
QA was slightly more difficult than CAT 2024 and broadly similar to CAT 2025 Slot 1.
It had 22 questions to be attempted in 40 minutes.
|
Sub-section/ Module |
Description |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Description/ Doable |
|
Number System |
Digit Based -2, Calculation Based-1, |
3 |
Easy - Moderate |
2 |
|
Algebra |
Log-1, Functions-2 Max. Min. - 2, Exponent -1 |
6 |
Easy - Moderate |
2 |
|
Arithmetic |
TSD- 2, T&W-1, Ratio - 2, PLD-1, Mixture-1, Averages - 1, Pipes & Cisterns - 1 |
9 |
Moderate |
4 |
|
Modern Math |
Set Theory - 1 |
1 |
Moderate |
0 |
|
Geometry & Mensuration |
Triangle-2, Trapezium - 1 |
3 |
Moderate - Difficult |
1 |
|
Total |
|
22 |
Moderate - Difficult |
8-9 |
|
Section |
No. of Questions |
No. of non-MCQ questions |
Time (in minutes) |
Difficulty Level CAT 2025 - Slot 3 |
Difficulty Level CAT 2024 |
Ideal Score (Attempts) for CAT 2025 - Slot 3 |
Ideal Score for CAT 2024 |
Ideal Score for CAT 2023 |
|
VARC |
24 |
4 |
40 |
Easy-Moderate |
Moderate |
12-13 (net correct) |
41 |
37 |
|
DILR |
22 |
11 |
40 |
Moderate |
Moderate- Difficult |
8-9 (net correct) |
38 |
27 |
|
QA |
22 |
8 |
40 |
Difficult |
Difficult |
8-9 (net correct) |
33 |
26 |
|
Total |
68 |
22 |
120 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Moderate- Difficult |
25-27 (net correct) |
95 |
76 |
|
Section |
No. of Questions |
No. of non-MCQ questions |
Time (in minutes) |
Difficulty Level CAT 2025 (Slot-3) |
Difficulty Level CAT 2025 (Slot-2) |
Difficulty Level CAT 2025 (Slot-1) |
Ideal Score (Attempts) for CAT 2025 (Slot-3) |
Ideal Score (Attempts) for CAT 2025 (Slot-2) |
Ideal Score (Attempts) for CAT 2025 (Slot-1) |
|
VARC |
24 |
4 |
40 |
Easy-Moderate |
Moderate |
Easy - Moderate |
12-13 (net correct) |
2 RC + 4 VA (10-12) |
12 ( 5-6 VA) |
|
DILR |
22 |
11 |
40 |
Moderate |
Moderate - Difficult |
Moderate - Difficult |
8-9 (net correct) |
2-2.5 sets |
10 (2 -2.5 sets) |
|
QA |
22 |
8 |
40 |
Difficult |
Moderate |
Moderate |
8-9 (net correct) |
6-7 Qs |
11-12 |
|
Total |
68 |
23 |
120 |
Moderate-Difficult |
Moderate |
Moderate |
25-27 (net correct) |
24-28(net correct) |
25-27(net correct) |
