CAT Application Process

IIMs conduct the Common Admission Test (CAT) to for admissions to its various management programmes. To apply for CAT exam, students can follow the steps mentioned below:Step 1: Visit the official website of CAT i.e., iimcat. ac. in and register yourself by clicking on the "New Candidate Registration".Step 2: Duly fill in the form by providing details, such as your name, phone number, email, etc.Step 3: Upload the required documents, including, scanned signature and passport-size photograph. Step 4: Pay the registration fee to complete the application.For further information, students can visit the official website of CAT. 

The Common Admission Test (CAT) is a national-level entrance exam for admission to postgraduate management programs in India. The exam is conducted by the IIMs once a year. The 2024 CAT exam will be held on November 24, 2024.  The CAT exam is held in 155 cities across India. The exam is conducted once a year.  The Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Lucknow, conducted the CAT 2023 entrance test on November 26, 2023. The exam was conducted in multiple test centers across 155 cities in India.  When filling out the CAT application form, candidates can choose up to six exam centers based on their preferences. The examination body allots a CAT test center the closest to the candidate's home address. The exact location of the CAT exam center will be mentioned on the admit card.  Some of the CAT 2023 exam cities include: Chandigarh, Bhilai, Raipur, Delhi, New Delhi, Faridabad, Gurugram, Noida, Panipat, Ghaziabad. 

CAT fee is non-refundable. Candidates must note that under no circumstances will the CAT fee be refunded to any candidate. The fee amount of INR 2400 (INR 1200 for Reserved category students) once paid cannot be claimed for refund.However, if the money has been deducted from your account but the payment process is interrupted, the bank will refund the amount and credit it to your account.Since, the CAT fee is non-refundable, candidates must make no mistakes in filling the form. There is no option to edit the CAT application form apart from a few fields like – photo, signature and test city. If you have entered a personal or academic information that is incorrect or invalid and submitted the form, you cannot edit it. You will have to fill a fresh form and pay the fees again.

There are over 170 cities where CAT exam is held. These 170 cities are spread across India consist of metropolitan cities, capital cities, Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Candidate can select up to five cities for allotment of test centre. The process of test city selection is a part of CAT application process. In the CAT application form, there is a field in which candidates have to select the cities. They need to select the city of preference in order of 1 to 5. The examination authorities will try to allot the test centre in the city of first preference. Thus, candidates must fill all the five cities carefully. They must choose their home city of city of current residence as the first preference. The test city option can only be changed during the form correction window. After that, the request for change of the city will not be accepted by the exam authorities.

The CAT shortlisting process begins in the first or the second week of January after the result has been announced. The IIM shortlisting process starts with every IIM releasing the shortlist cut off and inviting candidates to fill the PI shortlist form. The candidates have to fill the Personal Interview form if they meet the eligibility criteria. It is reflected in the application form dashboard when they login with their CAT ID. In the PI form, candidates have to fill the following details:
1. Candidate details
2. CAT ID
3. CAT score
4. Academic details/work experience etc. The shortlist panel analyses every form and select candidates for the What-PI round. Those who are selected for the What-PI round, are informed via an email. The Iims conduct their What-PI round in March-April and announce the final selection list in May.

CAT 2024 application form will be released on the official website - iimcat.ac.in. on August 1, 2024. Candidates will be able to fill the CAT form and pay the application fee online by creating a log ID. The application process for CAT 2024 exam registration window will remain open until September 13, 2024. The CAT exam date and registration schedule was announced on July 30, 2024. Given below is the brief description of how to fill the CAT application form:Step 1. Go to iimcat. ac. in websiteStep 2. Click on 'new registration' Step3. Enter name, date of birth, nationality, country, phone number and email ID Step 4. Click on submit and use OTP received to generate CAT IDStep 5. The ID and password will be shared in emailStep 6. Use the CAT ID and password to login and fill the application formStep 7. In the application form, fill personal details, academic details, work experience, test city preference, courses and Iims.Step 8. Upload recent passport size photo and signatureStep 9. Pay application fee via debit/credit card, net banking or UPI wallet to complete the form submission process.