7 Things to Stop Doing in the Last 5 Days Before CAT 2025 (Expert Guide by Prof. Route)

Preparing for CAT 2025 is an intense journey, and the last five days before the exam are the most crucial. This short period can significantly influence how your performance translates into your final CAT percentile. But contrary to what many aspirants believe, these five days are not about learning new shortcuts, grinding for 14 hours, or solving 15 new mocks.

According to Prof. Route from MyCollegeRoute.com, the last five days before CAT should be spent protecting your confidence, stabilizing your strategy, and maintaining your mental and physical state. What you stop doing matters more than what you start doing.

So, here are the seven things you MUST stop doing in the last 5 days before CAT 2025 to stay calm, focused, and exam-ready.

1. Stop Comparing Your Mock Scores With Others

One of the biggest mistakes aspirants make in the final days is constantly comparing their mock scores, accuracy percentages, and percentiles with peers. This creates unnecessary pressure and disturbs mental stability.

Why You Must Stop Now

• Your preparation is unique.
• Mocks vary across platforms.
• Last-minute comparisons create self-doubt.
• Confidence dips have a greater impact on performance than conceptual gaps.

According to Prof. Route, “Aspirants who obsess over others’ scores often lose their own strategy. CAT is unpredictable — your mindset matters more than your mock rank.”

What You Should Do Instead

• Focus on your last 5–7 mocks.
• Track only your personal trends — accuracy, time allocation, question selection.
• Trust your preparation strategy.

"Confidence is a bigger booster than any last-minute improvement."

2. Stop Overloading Yourself With New Topics

The biggest blunder students make in the last week is trying to finish untouched chapters: Geometry theorems, tricky RC techniques, lengthy LRDI puzzles, or new QA formulas.

But the truth is: whatever you couldn’t master in 6 months won't magically work in 5 days.

Why Overloading Is Dangerous

• New topics reduce retention.
• They cause unnecessary stress.
• They disrupt your existing strengths.
• They use up the mental energy you should preserve.

CAT rewards depth, not superficial revision of new concepts.

What You Should Do Instead

• Revise formulas you already know.
• Solve only familiar question types.
• Review your strong topics to maximize sectional efficiency.

"Last 5 days = polishing strengths, not chasing weaknesses."

3. Stop Ignoring Sleep, Diet & Self-Care

Many aspirants believe sleeping less and studying more gives an edge. Actually, the opposite is true.

Why This Hurts CAT Performance

• Sleep deprivation reduces comprehension speed.
• Accuracy drops, especially in LRDI & VARC.
• Decision-making becomes weak.
• Stress levels shoot up.

CAT demands alertness, stamina, and clarity of thought, all of which come from proper rest.

What Prof. Route Recommends

• Sleep 7–8 hours every night.
• Hydrate properly.
• Eat light meals (avoid heavy junk/oily food).
• Practice meditation or deep breathing for 10 minutes daily.

If your mind is tired, even easy questions will look difficult during the exam. "A fresh mind beats a tired genius in CAT any day."

4. Stop Changing Your Strategy Every Day

The most common mistake in the last five days:

1. Switching mock strategies
2. Changing section order
3. Trying new time splits
4. Testing new reading methods

This inconsistency prevents your brain from becoming familiar with the exam flow.

Why You Need Stability Now

• CAT rewards consistency
• Frequent changes confuse your instincts
• You lose accuracy & confidence
• Last-minute experiments usually backfire

“Your strategy should be fixed by now. Last 5 days are for stabilizing, not reinventing.” — Prof. Route

The Right Approach

• Choose one final strategy and stick to it.
• Revise your best-performing mock strategy.
• Give 2–3 light mocks following the same plan.

"Your goal is to train your brain to operate smoothly on D-Day."

5. Stop Panicking About D-Day

Stress is the biggest enemy of performance. Many aspirants sabotage their attempt because of:

• Fear of VARC passages
• Overthinking LRDI difficulty
• Worrying about time shortage
• Imagining worst-case scenarios
• Fear of surprises

Why Panic Is Dangerous

Stress reduces reading speed, disrupts logical reasoning, and leads to incorrect attempts in QA.

What You Should Do Instead

• Visualise a calm, successful attempt.
• Stick to your strong areas.
• Tell yourself: “CAT is just another mock.”
• Focus on giving your best — not on the percentile.

Prof. Route suggests: “Panic activates guesswork — and that destroys accuracy and percentile both.”

6. Stop Doubting Yourself

Imposter syndrome hits hardest during the last week:

• “My last mock went bad — I’m not ready.”
• “What if VARC becomes too tough?”
• “What if LRDI blocks don’t click?”
• “Maybe I should postpone my attempt.”

But remember — every topper has faced self-doubt and yet, they clear it because they trust their preparation.

Why Self-Doubt Is Harmful

• Reduces concentration
• Creates fear during the exam
• Leads to poor question selection
• Pushes you into negative marking traps

How to Overcome It

• Revisit your best mock scores.
• Look at the topics you mastered.
• Remind yourself: “CAT rewards composure.”
• Celebrate minor improvements.

Believe this: You are more prepared than you think.

7. Stop Solving Too Many Full-Length Mocks

Many students solve 3–4 mocks a day at the last moment — this is harmful.

Why Over-Mocking Is Counterproductive

• Mental fatigue
• Drop in accuracy
• False sense of bad performance
• Panic due to inconsistent scores

Mocks are helpful, but analysis is more important, so in the last 5 days, solving too many mocks can exhaust your brain.

The Ideal Approach

• Solve one mock every alternate day (maximum 2 in 5 days).
• Spend more time revising formulas & reviewing past mistakes.
• Practice 4–5 sectional tests ONLY in your weak sections.
• Avoid new mock platforms — stick to your regular one.

Prof. Route says: “CAT is a strategy exam, not a stamina exam. Going fresh is more important than doing more.”

Prof. Route’s Last 5-Day Checklist for CAT 2025

To make the most of the final days, focus on:

1. Light revision
2. Formula revision
3. Strengthening strong areas
4. Maintaining a calm mindset
5. Consistency over experimentation
6. Adequate rest & hydration

"Your goal now is to protect your mind, not overload it."

Final Words: CAT Is About Calm Execution

CAT 2025 will test your decision-making, selection ability, and temperament.
In the final 5 days, what matters most is not how much you study, but how stable and confident you remain.

You’ve already put in months of effort, so now trust yourself and walk into the exam with clarity and confidence.

Believe in your preparation. Believe in your strategy, you’ve got this. — Team MyCollegeRoute.com & Prof. Route