CAT 2026 Last 15 Days Strategy: Do’s, Don’ts & Mock Hacks to Crack 99+ Percentile

The CAT Exam, a gateway to the most prestigious business schools in India, will be conducted on 29 November 2026. Read the article below to plan your strategy for the next 15 days through our guest author, Pranav Pant.
What You Should Do and What You Should Avoid
Fifteen days before the CAT, most students find themselves in a panic situation. Having prepared for months, solved thousands of questions, taken multiple mocks, yet there is a sense that all that hasn't been sufficient. Some suddenly realize that certain topics haven't been covered. Some become frustrated with their scores in mocks not going up.
If you are in any of these situations, this is common. The coming 15 days won't turn you into someone else. The purpose of the remaining days is to ensure that you can convert your preparations into a good performance on the test day. At this point, the main task is to make the right decisions under pressure.
Don't try to cover any new syllabus
Don't try to cover any new topics now. Avoid solving questions that you never tried during the last 2-3 months. If you failed to study some topics over the past three months, then two weeks won't make you good at them. Instead, identify the areas where you already know a lot and still require practice. Optimize your existing advantages while working on your weaknesses in the 15 days left.
Importance of mocks and their analysis
You should continue taking mocks, but there is no use in taking a mock every day. Depending on your level of preparation and stamina, taking one mock every two or three days is a good frequency.
It is important to spend double as much time analysing your mock as you spend attempting it, so that you can truly learn from your mistakes and rectify them going forward.

During your mock analysis ask yourself the following questions:
• Did you miss any easy questions?
• Did you waste too much time on questions that turned out to be incorrect?
• Were there questions that you could have solved but failed to attempt because of poor question selection?
• Were your mistakes conceptual, calculation-based, or related to rushing?
• Did you get any questions right by fluke?
• Did you maintain a decent level of accuracy?
After every mock, identify the recurring issues and fix them.
Develop an Ability to Skip a Question
Another key skill is the ability to determine whether you should attempt a question. There will be questions that seem familiar but are unnecessarily long. There will be difficult questions, but with a simple approach. And there will be questions that you can't solve in the given timeframe. If you can differentiate between them, you can perform better in the exam. Don't let your ego control your question selection. If you are unable to attempt a question in a test due to any reason, just move on.

Don't Let Mock Scores Affect Your Confidence

Mock test scores of all aspirants vary a lot, as the level of mock tests keeps varying. So don’t get demotivated by low scores and get complacent with high scores. It doesn't mean that a good mock score guarantees a good CAT performance and vice versa.
More importantly, stop comparing your mock scores with the scores of other students. You know nothing about their preparation, the mocks that they are taking and the circumstances under which they attempt them.
Instead, track your own performance. Pay attention to your accuracy, question selection, consistency across the sections and recurring mistakes.
If your scores are fluctuating, try to understand why. Maybe the test was actually difficult? Maybe you've made a lot of poor decisions? Maybe you lost time on one section? Such observations are much more useful than the worry about your scores.

Make the Best Use of the Last Few Days

In the last week, gradually decrease the intensity of your preparation. Revise notes, revisit familiar questions and avoid unnecessary academic risks.
Try to keep a routine that gives you enough time to sleep and think. Eat well, do light exercise and sleep well. Don't spend the night before CAT attempting to revise the whole syllabus. No way you can compensate for several months of your preparation in a few hours.
It is quite natural that you have a feeling that you could have done more. Every serious CAT aspirant has such feelings. In the next 15 days, you should try to become a better version of yourself.
You don't have to solve every question, learn every concept or take every mock available. You have to make better decisions, not repeat mistakes and avoid throwing away marks on questions that you are fully capable of solving.
When you sit for CAT, your preparation will matter. But your judgement, composure and ability to manage the three sections will matter a lot too.

Wishing the Best to all CAT 2026 Aspirants!