In the last seven weeks, stop adding syllabus and start sharpening. Revise in weeks one and two, move to regular mocks with full review in the middle weeks, and keep the final week light. Adjust to your own timetable. This is a method, not a score guarantee.
Before you start
This plan is for students who are registered for CAT 2026 (reported for 29 November) and have covered most of the syllabus. If you are far from that, read the note at the end.
Take stock first. Write down your last mock score by section and the three topics that cost you most. The plan below is only useful if you pick your own targets.
The seven weeks
| Week | Dates | Focus | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 to 16 Oct | Find your gaps | One full mock. Review it with the four-cause method. List your top three weak topics per section |
| 2 | 17 to 23 Oct | Fix the biggest gaps | Study the weak topics. Daily sets in each section. One mock |
| 3 | 24 to 30 Oct | Build timing | Section-wise timed sets. Practise skipping. One or two mocks, reviewed |
| 4 | 31 Oct to 6 Nov | Mocks and review | Two mocks. Spend as long on review as on taking them |
| 5 | 7 to 13 Nov | Strengthen strengths | Keep the sections that score. Reduce careless slips. Two mocks |
| 6 | 14 to 20 Nov | Exam rehearsal | Mocks at the same time of day as your slot. Practise the 40-minute section limit |
| 7 | 21 to 27 Nov | Taper | Light revision of formulas and error log. One short mock early in the week at most. Sleep and logistics |
| Exam | 28 to 29 Nov | Rest | Check documents and centre. Light reading only. Sit the exam |
Daily shape
A day can be as simple as three blocks: one block of practice in your weakest section, one block of mixed sets, and one block of review or reading. Reading, such as editorials, matters for the verbal section and is easy to skip.
How the review fits in
Every mock gets a review within a day. Keep one error log. By week four it will show the two or three causes that cost you most. Fix those first. See how to analyse a CAT mock test.
Where this doesn’t apply
If you have covered less than half the syllabus, seven weeks may not be enough to be ready, and that is a real option to weigh against a later attempt. If you work long hours, scale the blocks to the time you have. This outline is our suggested method. We have not measured how much it raises scores, and we do not quote a figure.
The exam date and section structure are as reported by Careers360’s CAT 2026 page, citing iimcat.ac.in. The weekly outline is our own method, not drawn from a third-party study. No score improvement figure is claimed. Faculty review is pending.