CAT 2025 Total Marks and Question Count Confirmed

Staff Writer: Sweata Maiti

Last Updated: November 14, 2025, 10:19:00 AM IST

The organising body for CAT 2025 has clarified the exam structure: candidates will tackle 68 questions and the examination will be scored out of a total of 204 marks. Each question in the test will carry +3 marks for a correct answer, while a penalty of -1 mark will apply for incorrect responses in the MCQ-type questions. Unattempted or non-MCQ questions will not carry any negative marking. 

Breakdown & Key Details

• Total number of questions: 68 
• Marks per question: 3
• Negative marking for wrong MCQs: -1 mark
• No negative marking for non-MCQ (TITA) questions or unanswered ones. 
• Exam duration: Expected to remain at 120 minutes (40 minutes each for Physical Ability & Reading Comprehension (VARC), Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning (DILR), and Quantitative Aptitude (QA)).

Section-wise Approximate Distribution

Per latest pattern updates:

• VARC: 24 questions
• DILR: 22 questions
• QA: 22 questions
  Totaling 68 questions.

Implications for Candidates

With this structure confirmed, aspirants can now finalise their strategy:

• Since each question is worth 3 marks, accuracy is key — a wrong attempt costs 1 mark, reducing net gain.
• Unanswered questions do not reduce marks, so strategic skipping of highly time-consuming or low-confidence questions may help.
• The clear breakdown helps candidates allocate practice time across sections in alignment with weightage.

As the CAT 2025 exam date approaches, candidates are encouraged to review official notifications and past year papers to familiarise themselves with this structure and optimise their preparation accordingly.