Now Reading: Physicswallah director shares CAT 2026 quant score maximisation tips
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Physicswallah director shares CAT 2026 quant score maximisation tips
Physicswallah Academic Director Rahul Bath has outlined a strategy to maximise the Quantitative Aptitude score in the IIM Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026, scheduled for November 2026. He emphasised that candidates do…
Physicswallah Academic Director Rahul Bath has outlined a strategy to maximise the Quantitative Aptitude score in the IIM Common Admission Test (CAT) 2026, scheduled for November 2026. He emphasised that candidates do not need to attempt all 22 quant questions to achieve a high percentile. In the last three CAT exams, getting around 10 to 11 correct answers has been enough for a 99-plus percentile in Quant, while in CAT 2023 the threshold was as low as nine correct answers.
Bath recommended prioritising Arithmetic and Algebra, which together account for 14 to 17 questions in recent papers. Arithmetic topics such as Percentages, Ratio, Profit & Loss, and Time-Speed-Distance are interconnected and can yield up to 8 to 9 questions, while Algebra basics like Linear and Quadratic Equations contribute another 6 to 8 questions. He advised candidates to skip low-yield topics like Probability if time is limited and to focus on mock tests and analysis.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The advice reflects a broader shift in competitive exam preparation, where strategy now often outweighs raw ability under time pressure. The Indian Institutes of Management introduced the 40-minute, 22-question quant format in 2015, and since then percentile cut-offs for top IIMs have remained high despite the low number of questions needed for a 99-plus score. A candidate who masters the interconnected Arithmetic chain, Percentages through to Mixtures, can potentially secure six to seven correct answers from that section alone. The CAT 2026 exam will be conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management, and the exact test date is expected to be announced by mid-2026.
Source: hindustantimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
