CAT 2024 Errors to Avoid on Exam Day - Check Here

CAT 2024 Errors to Avoid on Exam Day - Check Here

Himanshu ShekharUpdated on 23 Nov 2024, 11:36 AM IST

Errors to Avoid on CAT 2024 Exam Day - To ace CAT, just the exam preparation is not enough. Sometimes students tend to commit the same errors repetitively. Getting admission in top MBA colleges comes with many hours of toil and burdensome work. Hence it is pertinent to avoid common errors on CAT 2024 exam day.

LiveIIM CAT 2025 Result (OUT) LIVE: MBA admission criteria for IIMs; CAT score weightage, cut-offsDec 26, 2025 | 11:01 PM IST

IIM Kozhikode will retain its three-stage admission process for the MBA (PGP) 2026–28 batch, with CAT 2025 scores carrying a final weightage of 35 percent. The minimum overall CAT cut-off for general category candidates remains at 85 percentile, with sectional qualifying scores required in VARC, DILR, and QA. Shortlisting of candidates will be based on CAT performance, academic record, and personal interview rounds.

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CAT 2024 Errors to Avoid on Exam Day - Check Here
Errors to avoid on CAT exam day

It is generally observed that despite impeccable CAT preparation, feelings of nervousness, over-thinking, or over-excitement could lead one to make some easily avoidable mistakes. This might just prove fatal and one might end up being at the receiving end. Here are some tips that would help a CAT aspirant to avoid mistakes on the CAT exam day such as carrying important documents to the CAT test centre, having a sound sleep a day before the exam, reporting at the test centre well ahead of the scheduled time, guidelines and instructions that need to be followed inside the exam hall so on and so forth.

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Errors to avoid on the CAT exam day

Following are the mistakes that you should try to avoid for CAT 2024:

Assemble all the important documents for the CAT exam

To avoid any disorganized situation on exam day, aspirants should assemble all their necessary documents for the CAT 2024 at least three to four days before the exam. These necessary documents generally include - CAT Admit card and a valid identity proof for the exam. On the exam day, aspirants should remain calm and should not get anxious.

Sound sleep before the exam day

It is generally seen that owing to anxiousness, candidates are not able to sleep a day before the exam. Most of the aspirants try to grasp many things just before a night before the exam thereby resulting in a lack of sleep. The absence of sound sleep slows down the active mind on exam day. So, it is highly recommended even by the experts that candidates must have a sound sleep so that their mind remains alert on CAT exam day.
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Reach the CAT examination centre on time

To remain calm and composed at the time of examination, it is necessary to reach the CAT exam centre on time. One should leave from their home as per their suitability and according to the distance between their home and CAT 2024 exam centre. Reaching late at the centre may prove to be detrimental as one may not be allowed to appear for the exam. Most of the time it is seen that latecomers had to face the brunt as they were disallowed from appearing in the exam.

Complete the procedure of document verification

Before the candidate enters the test hall, he or she needs to get their documents verified at the entry gate. This includes getting the CAT 2024 admit card and valid photo identity proof being checked at the test centre of CAT 2024. The documents should be presented in original at the test centre so that there is no kind of impersonation. Candidates cannot afford to commit an error at the time of document verification. If due to some reason, the candidate commits an error of not getting his documents checked, then must quickly get it done so as to avoid any disqualification at a later stage.

The procedure of Biometric Verification

After completing the document verification process, candidates have to complete the procedure of biometric verification. This is the last step that has to be completed before one proceeds to sit for the exam in the test hall. At the time of the biometric verification, candidates left thumb impression and photograph would be captured and they would be required to sign the attendance sheet. Here what the female candidates must remember that they should not apply henna on their hand as it will pose difficulty at the time of biometric verification. This is one very important error to avoid on exam day of CAT 2024.
Must Read:- What after CAT? Shift Focus on MBA Admission

CAT 2024 - Errors to avoid on exam day while inside the hall

Focus on your system only

Sometimes, it happens out of curiosity, aspirants try to look around at others to see how they are dealing with the exam because of which they not only lose their own time but also focus. Hence, one should focus on his or her system only.

Understand the game of time

Along with the completion of the exam, there is one more challenge that faces and that is to complete the given section within the stipulated time as there is no coming back to the section when one has already completed it. So, candidates, while attempting the paper must understand the game of time and how they are going to manage the same. Therefore this is another error to avoid on CAT 2024 exam day.
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Do not get stuck on a difficult question

Sometimes, candidates invest so much of their time on a single question and expect that they will get the right answer but they end up losing time only. Therefore, it is suggested that if one is investing time more than required, on a question, they should leave that question right there and move onto answering the one which is easier.

Read questions carefully

Before attempting the question, candidates must read the question carefully. It has been seen among the candidates that either they do not read the questions carefully or because of over excitement for attempting it, they have the tendency to skip a particular part, thereby changing the complete meaning. So, to avoid this error, aspirants should keep in mind that they have to read between the lines when attending the paper in order to score more.

Avoid guesswork

There are very minimal cases and chances where ‘guesswork’ works. Though, candidates can eliminate the options to get the right option but should strictly avoid the guesswork in the exam as there are very rare chances of getting the guessed choice correct. It would be the biggest error among all the errors made by the students while taking the exam. This error does not take place by mistake but is deliberately committed by the candidates.

Stay cool and calm and don’t panic

One should stay composed, cool and calm and should not get panic throughout the hours of examination because the moment you start getting panic, you start losing your focus which makes you want to go out of the track. So, it is recommended that one should calmly deal with the exam even if the major part of the paper is difficult to understand.
Also Read:- How to utilize a calculator in CAT

These were the foremost common mistakes that CAT aspirants create and find themselves reducing their preparation effectiveness. It’s necessary to avoid these mistakes whereas making ready to be ready to have correct preparation and develop the boldness to tackle the examination queries simply. Finally, understudies should make a technique to ace each subject that comes in the CAT test. Additionally, one should practice sample CAT papers to evaluate the trouble level of the test. Be enthusiastic about learning and you can pro the exam easily.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: What to do a day before a CAT exam 2024?
A:

Mainly candidates should keep their CAT admit card 2024, ID proof a day before the exam.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

With 84.91 percentile in CAT (General, male, no work experience), top colleges like IIMs, IITs, FMS, MDI, etc. are not possible. You may get calls from private institutes such as IMT Nagpur/Hyderabad, IMI Bhubaneswar, XIME, SDMIMD, Welingkar (some programs) and similar colleges. Universities like Amity or LPU are also options.

It’s better to choose carefully, as placements and ROI may be average. Reattempting CAT or trying XAT/CMAT could improve options.

Hello,

With a CAT percentile of 88.77 and a strong CGPA of 9.0, you are in a competitive range for newer IIMs (like IIM Amritsar, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Nagpur) and several top non-IIM B-schools such as TAPMI, BIM Trichy, Great Lakes, IMI Delhi, FORE School of Management, and KJ Somaiya. You may not reach the older IIMs (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, etc.) since they usually require 98+ percentile, but you have excellent chances at mid-tier and emerging institutes.

For more details access mentioned link below:

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff-2025-category-wise-iims-iits-top-mba-colleges-cutoff

Hope it helps.

Hello

The expected cutoff for the JAP (Joint Admission Process) is around 90 to 95th percentile, with a minimum sectional cutoff of around 75 percentile in Quantitative Ability. You have scored 82.2% which is very low; that's why you are unlikely to meet the minimum criteria for the JAP IIMs in the general Category.

I hope this information helps you.

Thank you.

Hello,

Here is your IIM Cutoff for Gen/OBC/SC/ST, CS Score Cut Off. I am providing you the link. Kindly open and check it out. From here you can get all the details.

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-2025-cut-off-live-updates-iim-blacki-expected-cat-cs-score-cut-off-iim-cat-call-cut-off-latest-updates

I hope it will help you.

Thank you.


With a CAT score of around 80 percentile and about 2 years of work experience, getting a call from the top IIMs (IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Indore) is extremely difficult, as their cutoff percentiles are usually much higher, even for reserved categories. These institutes typically shortlist candidates above 95–99 percentile depending on category, academic profile, and diversity factors.

However, you may still have some chances at a few of the newer or baby IIMs, especially if you belong to a reserved category (SC/ST/OBC/EWS) and have a decent academic background. IIMs such as IIM Jammu, IIM Bodh Gaya, IIM Sirmaur, IIM Sambalpur, IIM Nagaland, IIM Amritsar, and IIM Vizag have historically called candidates in the 75–85 percentile range for certain categories. Your 2 years of work experience can also work in your favour, as most IIMs give weightage to professional experience during shortlisting and final selection.

That said, selection does not depend on CAT percentile alone. Factors like your 10th and 12th marks, graduation score, academic consistency, gender and academic diversity, work experience quality, and performance in the personal interview play a very important role. Even with an 80 percentile, a strong interview and profile can improve your chances at newer IIMs.

You should also keep strong non-IIM options open. At this percentile, good colleges like newer IIT MBA programs, some NITs, and reputed private B-schools can offer better and more realistic opportunities. Applying broadly and preparing seriously for the interview stage is very important.

In summary, while top IIMs are unlikely at 80 percentile, you may still have a realistic chance at some of the newer IIMs depending on your category and overall profile.