CAT 2017 Registration guide: How to avoid petty mistakes and successfully submit CAT exam form

CAT 2017 Registration Process is divided in 2 parts comprising 1 page for personal details registration and other 5 pages for application details. The confusing technical problems being faced by CAT aspirants, in the application part of CAT 2017 registration and application form can be avoided with a little understanding before proceeding to complete the application form.

The small and petty mistakes not made intentionally in the CAT 2017 application form are mainly due to the reason that the CAT aspirants during their speedy or overconfidently filling up the registration and application form skip the instructions before inserting the details. If avoided, it can save them from further difficulties. Prof S K Agarwal, Expert on CAT preparation suggests that aspirants should patiently complete the entire registration process after reading and understanding the instructions on CAT 2017 site. There are ways and means not to make avoidable mistakes during the registration process by the CAT 2017 aspirants.

Important links:

• CAT 2017: 10 Application & Registration FAQs from aspirants of IIMs, FMS, MDI, answered by experts
• CAT 2017: No GST on CAT Registration fee; other exams with 18% tax - know the cheapest payment mode
• CAT 2017: 5 Registration form mistakes, you should avoid in Personal details & Academics

CAT 2017 Registration page-1: Check then proceed
CAT 2017 aspirants are facing the problems even in the first part of registration process i.e. creating the profile, although the first part of CAT 2017 Registration process is free and short.

Very short Process
On the homepage of CAT 2017 website, there is a simple icon “Registration for new user”. When you login to register click on this icon and rest assured it won’t take you more than 3 minutes to complete this process. When you complete it, please check and then click on submit as later on you won’t be able to make modifications in your name and date of birth.

After submission, you will receive the OTP, use it to further receive the necessary id and password for CAT 2017 registration immediately after a few minutes on your mobile number and your mail id. So it shouldn’t be a problem to complete the first part of registration process for CAT 2017 new applicant.

The queries & problems on very 1^st page

Your name not correct in class 12 certificate
Some of the candidates have their surnames appearing before their first names in their 12th standard certificates.  They are confused whether to write their names in the order as given in the certificate or should begin with their first name.

According to the instructions for CAT 2017 Registration process name of a candidate ‘should be the same as on your 12th/Diploma/Degree certificates’. So you are supposed to write your name as it appears on the prescribed document.

If you have a changed name, you may enter your changed name but you have to produce supporting documents for change of name at the time of examination, interview and admission.

In case of difference in writing the name with no supporting documents, you stand the risk of not being allowed to appear in CAT 2017.

Date of Birth entered wrongly
During the past years, a few candidates found that after submission of this form,  their date of birth got changed and as per the registration instructions for CAT 2017, no amendment is possible in Date of Birth after making the payment for registration and clicking the  submit button.

Please note that format for filling up the date of birth is DD/MM/YYYY in CAT 2017 registration. Besides no candidate has to write it since the calendar icon has to be used to select the correct date.  You can change it till you do not click on the submit button.  So be careful while choosing the correct date of birth.  Getting to the helpline and writing mail might help to some extent. CAT 2017 aspirants filling up the registration form must thoroughly check each and every item of information, they have filled before clicking on submit button.

Mistakes to avoid in CAT Application form
To login to next part of registration, please go to ‘Existing user login’ and use your CAT 2017 Id and password received by you from CAT Centre 2017 on your mobile and mail.

The page that opens before you contains following more pages in which you have to enter the required information

1. Personal Details   |    2. Academics    |    3. Work Experience    |     4. Programmes    |      5. Payment

No fee is to be paid till you complete your CAT 2017 registration and application form. The fee of Rs.1800/- is to be paid only after all the details are entered.

Common mistakes
A few of the CAT 2017 aspirants are facing problems in uploading their photograph and signature; a few are fighting with Captcha issue as it is not clear how and what to enter or they find it difficult to understand the ‘Captcha image’ and every time new image comes up;  some of the aspirants face the problem while filling in their academic details; some while incorporating work experience and some while making payment.

It appears that filling up all the pages of CAT 2017 application form has become difficult and one or other issue is coming up. After making an analysis to these problems to great extent, the pack of following solutions is shared to get rid of registration process difficulties. It will help the CAT 2017 aspirants to complete the registration and application process smoothly.   

Your Personal details
This part of application form will get satisfied with your parents’ name, gender, category, address. The only tricky area is uploading the photograph and signature of required size.

Category documents: Need to get it signed from Authorities
The required category certificates are available on the site. Download the Certificate from the CAT 2017 Website, fill, and get signatures of appropriate authorities, self-attest and scan as PDF document to upload. This is the prescribed process. Now the CAT 2017 aspirants are unable to find the appropriate authorities to get the same signed. What to do now?

The problem could be due to varying reasons prevailing in our country.  The very first thing is to co-ordinate with the respective authority and a future manager should get this work done without wasting much of his/her time.

However, if you already have a certificate that fulfils the following prescribed criteria, you may upload the same. Please cross check the details given in your certificate and the certificate on CAT 2017 site

a) The certificate should have been issued by competent authority.
b) The name of the caste and caste number should appear in the certificate
c) The Ministry's resolution/order number should be available
d) The certificate should be in Hindi or English only

Problem in uploading the photograph
If you have the scanned digital photograph of larger than required size, it will be difficult to upload the same. Hence first of all please check that photo resolution is of minimum 150px.  Your photograph should be the recent one, not more than 6 months’ old. Please also note that the ambiguous uploaded digital images will be rejected

Size of Photograph
CAT 2017 registration form wants you to upload your recent passport size photograph not larger than 80KB. Please also note that only .JPEG, .JPG formats can be uploaded. The photograph should have dimension of 35mm X 45mm.

If your photo size is larger than the prescribed size, please get it reduced to the required size. In case there is any issue in uploading the digital photograph, please check whether all above has been complied with.

Upload the signature of required size
The scanned image of your signature should be with the dimensions of 80mm X 35mm. The documents file format should be a .jpg or .jpeg and the file size should not be more than 80KB.

The best way is to put your signature on a plain white piece of paper in black ink. Scan the signature part only and get to the required size and then upload. It shouldn’t be a difficulty.

How to avoid mistakes on Academics page
This part of CAT 2017 registration form is more mistake hungry than other parts. You need to be careful while completing the details in this part.

Simple way in calculation of percentage
Number of institutes/universities award grades although they specify the range of percentage of marks in award of grades.  For example A and A+ may have percentage range 75 to 90 and 90 to 100 respectively. Now the problem is what to write 75 or 90; 90 or 100.  A difficulty unresolved by CAT 2017 also.

But there is a solution to it also as CAT Centre 2017 suggests “If any Board/ Institute/ University awards only letter grades without providing an equivalent percentage of marks on the grade sheet, the candidate should obtain a certificate from the Board/Institute/University specifying the equivalent marks which should be used for filling the online CAT 2017 application form. The original equivalence certificate needs to be submitted at the time of interview, if shortlisted for the same.”  So even if you are given the range in percentage without exact equivalent percentage, nothing to lose and write the same. It can be anywhere between the specified range.   

How to fill up the Work Experience
The working professional finds it difficult to enter the relevant work experience for the relevant field. If you are working in the marketing section of an Automobile company, you should write the relevant area – Marketing, finance, sales as the case may be.  But since the company is Automobile one, so choose the company type as Automobile.

Problems in making Payment

Payment gone but indicates failure. How to recover?
It’s possible that at the material time of making payment some internet issue might have come up or some wrong details were entered. Your money then will come back to you, the only thing is that you will have to connect to your Bank.  The best is to make the payment again with correct details.

Captcha - every time I enter new image comes up!
Check that all the letters and numbers are properly entered without any confusion. Check for the ‘Caps lock’ on/off. Check for the ‘numlock’. Leave no space between two words and letters, It will solve your problem.

Above are the most prominent queries being received from the CAT 2017 aspirants. The solutions provided are already there. Aspirants have to be little patient and careful while filling up the registration and application for CAT 2017.

IIM Lucknow opened the CAT 2017 online registration process at 10AM on August 9, 2017. Since the CAT 2017 registration and application form is slightly changed, the CAT Centre 2017 has suggested the CAT aspirants to go through the important instructions before proceeding to fill up the CAT 2017 registration form without making any mistake and lose the CAT 2017 registration fee of Rs.1800/-.

Common Admission Test (CAT) 2017 is the mandatory exam conducted by IIM Lucknow for admission to management programmes in all the 20 IIMs – old and new. CAT 2017 will also offer the admission opportunity to PGDM/MBA programme in other top management institutes in India like FMS Delhi, IMI Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, JBIMS Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, NITIE Mumbai, Management departments of IITs, SPJIMR Mumbai, TAPMI Manipal and other more than 500 B-schools.

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on CAT 2017

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• CAT 2017: How did this IIM topper crack CAT in 4 months? An eye opener for CAT aspirants
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• How to choose amongst CAT 2017, XAT 2018, NMAT 2017, SNAP 2017, IIFT 2017