CAT 2016: Guidelines for CAT Aspirants Applying for the First Time

Preparing for CAT 2016? Are you appearing for the CAT for the first time? Have you registered yourself? If not, we are here to guide you about the registration process, CAT 2016 eligibility criteria and how to apply for CAT 2016.

First and foremost before you start with your registration process you have to check your eligibility criteria and once you confirm your eligibility, you can start with the guidelines and prepare a checklist of the documents and information required for registration.

CAT 2016 Eligibility Criteria

The candidates need to check the eligibility criteria before they start with the registration process as if they don’t fulfill any of the criteria their candidature might get cancelled–

  1. A candidate must be a graduate with a min. of 50%aggregate or equivalent CGPA. For reserved categories i.e. SC/ST/PWD/DA the aggregate should be 45% or equivalent CGPA.
  2. Students appearing in the final year of the qualifying exam can also apply.
  3. There is no restriction on age.

As we know that the CAT 2016 is scheduled to be conducted on 4th December, 2016. It is a computer based exam and will be conducted in around 138 cities all across India.

The registration process for CAT 2016 has already started from 8th August, 2016 and candidates can register till 22nd September, 2016. So, they have a window of 46 days. If you are appearing for the first time you should note that once the application form is filled you are not allowed to make changes except in a few sections as per the latest notification. If you have made any mistake in the personal details, academics section or exam city center; you will be required to re-register yourself with a new email ID and will be required to repay the fees. So, the candidates should be very careful and follow the below guidelines while filling the registration form.

All the candidates should note that if you don’t fill the required information or if the information provided is found wrong, may even result in disqualification of your candidature even if you have scored a pretty good percentile.

The Registration process for CAT 2016 involves three simple steps, which are –

  1. Firstly, Create a Profile.
  2. Then, Login using the provided User ID and Password.
  3. Fill the application form and pay the registration fees.

The candidates have to follow the above mentioned simple steps to apply for the CAT 2016 but they have to be very careful while registration. The candidates have to register themselves before they could access the CAT 2016 Application form.

The Steps for CAT 2016 Registration:-

  1. Firstly, visit the official website i.e. iimcat.ac.in.
  2. You will be directed to the home page of the site.
  3. To start with registration, create your profile by filling details like Name, Date of Birth, Email ID and Contact number.
  4. After the successful creation of profile, you will get a confirmation mail on the registered email id. This email will contain the user id and password details. Candidates will also get an SMS containing the same information.
  5. Log in to the site using the user id and password details and they will be able to access the CAT application.
  6. After log in, the candidates will be able to fill the application form.
  7. The application form has five sections i.e. Personal Details, Academic, Work Experience, Programmes and Payment.
  8. The candidates have to fill each section carefully with the correct information.
  9. The first section is Personal Details section where the candidate is required to give details like Father’s/Husband’s/Guardian Name and Gender, select their Gender, Category. Then give communication address. Here they can also provide alternate contact number and email id. They are also required to upload the images of passport size photograph and the signature of the candidate at the end of this section. Any other category certificate which is applicable is also required to be uploaded.  Note: i) The size of both the images should not exceed 80 KB each. The dimensions for the photograph should be 35 mm X 45mm and 80 mm X 35 mm for the signature image. The photograph should not be more than 6 months-old and the candidates are required to bring the same photograph at the time of interview. (if selected).
    ii) If the candidate is applying under various categories he/she must download the certificates from the CAT website and then get them signed by the concerned authorities.
  10. Next is the Academic section, in this section the candidates should fill the details about their education i.e. SSC/10th Std./Equivalent, 12th Std./Equivalent/Diploma Course, Bachelor Degree, Other Professional Degree, Master Degree programs.
  11. The third section is about the work experience. Here the candidates are required to fill the details about work experience if any after their graduation. Only a full-time paid work experience will be considered.
  12. Then comes the Program section, here the candidates are required to select the programs they want to apply for. Also, they have to select the city for test and interview.
  13. In the last the candidates have to pay the registration fees. The fees to be paid by General and OBC-NC category candidates is Rs. 1700/- and the SC/ST/PWD (DA) candidates will be required to pay Rs. 850/-

The candidates should note that there will be some transaction charges when you will be paying fees, so the final amount will vary. The fees can be paid by various methods like Debit Card, Credit Card and Internet Banking. Once the transaction is successfully done, candidates receive the transaction ID and a confirmation mail on their registered email id. Candidates should save the form and take a hard copy for the further reference.

For more information about CAT 2016 and the preparation tips and the strategy to follow stay connected.

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