30 Days to CAT 2026: The Exact Plan I'd Follow All Over Again

Summary

Hemant Tulsan’s central message is that the final 30 days before CAT should focus on revision, timed practice, mock analysis, and a clearly defined exam strategy—not on trying to learn everything from scratch. He emphasizes consistency and staying composed rather than chasing scores or comparing yourself with others.

Mindset and Ground Rules

• Aim to finish without regret. The exam may or may not go as hoped, but students should be able to say they gave their best effort.
• Don’t use familiar PYQs as your main measure of ability. Scores may be inflated because many questions have already been taught or practiced. Use PYQs for practice and confidence, not as a reliable comparison with mock scores.
• Practice under time pressure. Treat practice as exam practice rather than spending 40–60 minutes casually solving a single DILR set.
• Do something every day. If a full study session feels impossible, take a daily test or complete a small minimum—such as five or ten questions—instead of taking the day completely off.
• Use the formula: Marks = attempts × accuracy. If accuracy has plateaued, work on increasing attempts; if attempts have plateaued, focus on accuracy.
• Prioritize revision and practice over new topics. Tulsan advises against starting major new areas in the final stretch.
• Avoid unnecessarily difficult mocks and demotivating material. Don’t let a hard test, a friend’s score, or study-group comparisons derail your confidence.

Simulate Exam Conditions

• Practice sitting in front of a blank screen for 30 minutes before a mock. Tulsan says this can help prepare students—especially first-time test-takers—for the wait before the exam begins.
• Practice Quant at night. Since Quant is the final CAT section, working on it when tired can help prepare you for the mental state required later in the exam.
• Get used to background noise. Tulsan says he played a long mouse-clicking sound while taking mocks so clicks in the exam hall would be less distracting.
• Learn to use the on-screen calculator and become familiar with the exam interface.
• Finalize your approach to VARC, DILR, and Quant, then rehearse it in timed sectionals and mocks.

Section-by-Section Plan

Quant

• Focus especially on arithmetic and algebra. Based on his experience, Tulsan estimates that these account for around 12–14 of the 22 questions.
• If these areas still need work, prioritize them over trying to master a broad topic such as geometry for the possibility of gaining only one or two extra questions.
• Use revision marathons and revisit formulas consistently.
• Take timed Quant sectionals to test and refine your approach.
• Analyze errors carefully, particularly misread questions, calculation mistakes, and other avoidable errors.
• Practice Quant at night to rehearse solving it while tired.

DILR

• Work on set selection as well as solving. Choosing the right sets is presented as a major part of the section.
• Aim to solve four sets every day, using timed practice and material such as previously attempted mock sets.
• Take DILR sectionals and keep practice time-bound.
• Review how you approach and present each set, rather than merely counting completed sets.

VARC

• Keep reading and continue practicing RC and verbal ability.
• Take one VARC sectional every day, then analyze it.
• Expect score fluctuations and don’t panic over them. Tulsan says they were also a feature of his own mock performance.

Mocks and Analysis

• Use the remaining full-length mocks selectively and analyze them closely. Tulsan specifically stresses putting serious effort into the next five mocks. He says weaknesses identified very late—around November 17–18—may be difficult to address, and advises completing useful mock-based diagnosis by November 15.
• Don’t take a mock just to record a score. Note what went wrong, identify recurring weaknesses, and use the findings to refine your strategy.
• Practice PYQs as part of preparation, but treat them as familiar practice rather than a dependable mock-score benchmark.

Resources Mentioned

Tulsan promotes an Aarambh Academy CAT crash course priced at ₹11 and attributes the following materials to it:

• Lokesh Sharma: 17 critical-reasoning tests, 22 verbal-ability tests, 50 RC practice sets, and five live sectionals.
• Raman Tiwari: Quant one-shot lessons for important chapters and 15 Quant sectionals.
• Sameer Sardana: 100 LRDI practice sets.

He describes the course as offering 45 sectionals overall. He also mentions using or borrowing access to mocks from IMS, Career Launcher (rendered unclearly in the captions), and TIME. These are presented as resources for timed practice, including DILR sets.

Overall Takeaway

The final month is about consistent daily work, targeted revision, timed practice, mock analysis, and a practiced exam strategy. Tulsan’s advice is to protect your confidence, avoid distractions and demoralizing comparisons, and focus effort on the areas most likely to improve performance.

Speakers and Sources Mentioned

• Hemant Tulsan — the video’s speaker and source of the preparation advice and personal score anecdotes.
• Lokesh Sharma — mentioned as a VARC instructor associated with the promoted course.
• Raman Tiwari — mentioned as a Quant instructor associated with the promoted course.
• Sameer Sardana — mentioned as the source of LRDI practice sets in the promoted course.
• Virat Kohli — mentioned in reference to an innings on October 23; not a speaker.
• Aarambh Academy — promoted as the provider of the crash course.
• IMS, Career Launcher, and TIME — mock-test providers mentioned as sources of practice material.
• PYQs and mock tests — discussed as practice sources; Tulsan cautions against using familiar PYQs as the main measure of performance.
• “Mouse Link” YouTube video — mentioned as a source of mouse-clicking audio for exam-condition practice.