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CAT 2024 Mistakes You Must Avoid on Exam Day: Guidelines to Follow

CAT 2024 Mistakes You Must Avoid on Exam Day: Guidelines to Follow

#CAT
Himanshu ShekharUpdated on 24 Nov 2024, 02:10 PM IST

The CAT 2024 exam is conducted by IIM Calcutta on November 24, 2024. Candidates who want to crack the IIM entrance exam with a good score and get a call from one of the top IIMs must know some common mistakes that many of them often make during the exam. For better performance and good marks in the CAT exam, candidates are advised to avoid these mistakes. CAT is the gateway to admission at IIMs and other leading MBA colleges in India.

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CAT 2024 Mistakes You Must Avoid on Exam Day: Guidelines to Follow
Mistakes to avoid on CAT exam day

CAT 2024: Mistakes you must avoid on the test day

The below-mentioned mistakes are frequently made by candidates while taking the CAT 2024.

Getting Stuck on Tricky Question

No denying, CAT is one of the most difficult MBA entrance exams in India. Though CAT questions are of easy to moderate difficulty, the paper also contains some tricky questions where many candidates get stuck. Such questions consume a lot of time.

As per the CAT 2024 exam pattern, the question paper of CAT will be divided into multiple-choice questions as well as TITA questions. Candidates should scan the questions and answer the easy ones first, then the medium and difficult ones. With this approach, candidates can answer more questions accurately.

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Losing Patience While Reading Question Paper

Sometimes it happens that, on account of nervousness, candidates tend to read questions abruptly. This is where the mistake occurs. While reading questions, do not hurry up. Focus on the question so that you can properly understand it. It is important to understand the question to answer it correctly.

However, candidates should keep the time in mind. Do not take too much time to read a question. In CAT 2024, candidates will be provided 40 minutes to answer a section. After the time limit is over, they will automatically move to another section. Solving more questions matters, but what matters most is answering them with high accuracy.

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Avoid Curiosity of Knowing About Others

Concentrate on your own workstation. Once a candidate enters the exam hall, their sole aim should be to concentrate on their activities. As one of the tips on CAT 2024 mistakes you must avoid on exam day, candidates are advised to not be considerate about what others are doing. The focus should be on your personal computer screen. Putting your nose into others' business may lead to writing the wrong answer or, worse, being expelled from writing the CAT exam. Hence, do not get distracted and do what you are there for.

Carry Important Documents

Around 3 lakh candidates are expected to appear for the CAT 2024. All registered candidates must carry a hard copy of their admit card of CAT 2024 along with some other important documents. Candidates should keep all necessary documents handy beforehand to avoid forgetting to carry them on the day of CAT 2024. One of the most common mistakes candidates make is bringing only a copy of their CAT 2024 admit card. As per the CAT 2024 admit card, there are certainly other major documents that are necessary to be carried along on exam day.

Understand Time Policy

As per the exam pattern of CAT 2024, candidates will have a total of 120 minutes to take the exam. Moreover, to solve the three given sections, only 40 minutes per section will be provided, i.e., there will be sectional timing in CAT. Hence, as part of the tips for avoiding CAT 2024 mistakes on exam day, candidates must ensure that they follow the given time schedule. Managing the time will be beneficial, as candidates will be able to save some time and solve more in the given time. To have a strong hold on time management, candidates are advised to take a CAT mock test, solve previous year question papers, or attempt sample papers while keeping time in mind.

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Other Important Guidelines To Be Followed

Apart from the above-mentioned CAT 2024 mistakes to avoid on the test day, candidates must adhere to the below-mentioned guidelines on the exam day to ensure security. Let us look at each guideline one by one to gain a better understanding.

Find a Suitable Attire

Do not carry or wear heavy jewellery/jackets/improper attire. Candidates wearing jewellery and jackets will be asked to take it off. Be in proper and suitable attire so that no one can question your presence.

Be On Reporting Time

It is clearly mentioned on the admit card of the candidates for CAT 2024. No candidate will be allowed to enter the examination hall after the reporting time is over. Carefully check your admit card and be on time for reporting. Once the exam centre of CAT gates is closed, no candidates will be allowed to get inside. The reporting times for CAT 2024 for every slot are provided below.

CAT exam slotReporting timeLatest entry allowed
Slot 1 (8:30 AM to 10:30 AM)7:00 AM8:15 AM
Slot 2 (12:30 PM to 2:30 PM)11:00 AM12:15 PM
Slot 3 (4:30 PM to 6:30 PM)3:00 PM4:15 PM

Do Not Panic

Above all, leave all the worries aside and focus on what is important. Remember that in a panic situation, you will ruin all the good as well. Answer questions only after reading and understanding them carefully. Forget the worry and hope for the best. Try to imagine that you have already cleared the exam and are getting into your dream B-school to pursue an MBA degree.

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Have a question related to CAT ?
sir maine ugc net ka form ews me fill kiya hai but mera ews certificate nahi ban paya kya mai general ka ank lakr general cat..me ja sakta hi kya general se assi..profesor ka form fill kar sakta hu .ya mujhe avaidh ghosit kr diya jayega

If you filled the UGC NET form under EWS but you don’t have a valid EWS certificate, then forget using the EWS category. They won’t accept it. You’ll automatically be treated as General category during document verification.


And no, this won’t make your form “invalid” or “illegal.” It just means you won’t get the EWS benefit.


So yes — you can still go for General category posts and Professor recruitment. Just don’t try to submit a fake/invalid certificate; that will get you disqualified.

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S
Shaily Mishra
4 Dec'25
My CAT admit card has my surname first and then my First name as it was told to be put exactly in the same manner as it was in 10th/SSC marksheet. But my Government IDs have a different arrangement as they follow Firstname Surname... For verification will it be an issue??

Hello,
If your CAT admit card shows your surname first followed by your first name as entered in the form, it is correct. You do not need to worry about this format as long as it matches the details you provided. Ensure all other information on the admit card is accurate and carry it to the exam along with the required identification documents.
Hope this helps you.

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A
AKKSHEETHA M
1 Dec'25
my cat admit card dob is diffrent from my aadhar card dob what to do

Hello,

If your CAT admit card has a different date of birth than your Aadhaar card, you should get it corrected immediately . Here’s what you can do:

  1. Check the CAT website : Log in to your candidate portal and look for the option to correct personal details.

  2. Contact the CAT helpdesk : Email or call them explaining the issue. Attach a copy of your Aadhaar card as proof.

  3. Do not ignore it : The date of birth must match your ID, otherwise you may face problems at the exam or during admission.

Usually, the CAT authorities allow corrections before the exam, so act quickly.

Hope it helps !

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P
Prachi Kumari
29 Nov'25
What are the documents needed for application of cusat cat in NRI quota?

Hello,

Here are Documents Required for CUSAT CAT (NRI Quota):

  1. Academic Documents includes (Class 10-mark sheet, Class 12-mark sheet, Transfer Certificate)
  2. NRI Sponsorship Documents
  3. Other Supporting Documents (Candidate’s passport, Proof of residence abroad)

To know more access below mentioned link:

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/cusat-cat-application-form

Hope it helps.

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S
Sankalp Agrawal
27 Nov'25
I have no work experience and am going to appear for CAT 2025. could you please guide me on how to apply for the MBA program (2026-2028) at great lakes,gurgaon?

To get admission into the MBA program course 2026 to 2028 at Great lakes institute of management Gurgaon you need to check about the specific eligibility criterias and the admission process

follow the link given below by careers 360 to get the detail admission process overview into the MBA program at Great lakes institutes of management Gurgaon

https://www.careers360.com/colleges/great-lakes-institute-of-management-gurgaon


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A
Aadesh Sharma
29 Nov'25
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