Every year's IPMAT paper tells the next year's aspirants something. 2025's lesson was about discipline, not difficulty: an easier paper at Rohtak pushed the cutoff to 381 out of 480, and a tougher paper at Indore rewarded selective, high-confidence attempts over volume.
Indore 2025 tested multi-step Quant
Indore's Quant, both MCQ and short-answer, leaned noticeably more application-heavy than the previous two years, without becoming a calculus-dominant paper. The harder questions were multi-step, drawing on arithmetic, algebra and modern math together rather than a single formula. The persistent myth that Indore is a "calculus exam" was, once again, not what the paper actually tested. Verbal Ability was not conceptually harder, but ran longer, with three dense reading passages on themes like social media, economics and business that rewarded stamina and structured elimination over passive reading.
In the short-answer section, where there are no options to fall back on, the margin for approximation shrank compared to a normal MCQ. Students who over-attempted short-answer questions without full confidence lost more than they gained; a smaller number of high-confidence attempts outperformed volume.
Rohtak 2025 cutoff reached 381 out of 480
Rohtak's Quant and Logical Reasoning sections were noticeably easier than recent years. That made the paper feel more comfortable, and that is exactly what made it more dangerous: when a paper gets easier for everyone, the cutoff rises sharply, and small errors matter proportionally more. The General Category cutoff reached 381 out of 480 in 2025, a level that leaves almost no room for careless mistakes once a paper is this accessible.
How the Indore and Rohtak papers differ
| IIM Indore 2025 | IIM Rohtak 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Quant difficulty | Tougher, more application-driven | Easier than recent years |
| Verbal | Lengthier, three dense passages | Moderate |
| Cutoff pressure | Balanced by the harder paper | Extremely high, given how accessible the paper was |
| Main risk | Overthinking and over-attempting short-answer | Time mismanagement under an easy, fast paper |
Indore rewarded disciplined, selective attempts. Rohtak punished hesitation, since speed with accuracy became the only way to stay competitive once the paper let almost everyone perform well.
What the 2025 papers rewarded
| Indore | Rohtak | |
|---|---|---|
| Attempt range | Selective, high-confidence MCQ attempts plus a handful of certain short-answer questions | Around 95 to 105 of 120 questions, with high accuracy |
| What mattered most | Knowing when to skip a short-answer question rather than guessing | Speed maintained without letting accuracy slip |
What to practise for the next attempt
- For Indore: build arithmetic and algebra strength together, practise application-based Quant rather than formula recall, and train Verbal reading stamina for longer passages.
- For Rohtak: practise at speed deliberately, since an easy paper rewards volume with accuracy far more than careful perfectionism.
- For both: a realistic mock test plan, with structured review after every mock, matters more than which coaching material is used.
IPMAT 2025 was not primarily a difficulty story. It was a discipline story: Indore tested depth, Rohtak tested speed, and both punished students who prepared emotionally rather than strategically.
AptiGuide's IPMAT coaching in Jalandhar builds its mock test calibration and attempt-strategy sessions directly around patterns like these, updated every year the papers change.