How to fill CAT 2018 Application Form - Step by Step Guide

How to fill CAT 2018 Application Form - The application process has started from Wednesday, August 8, 2018. The CAT 2018 application process is completely online and there has not been any change in the process as compared to last year. If you are applying for the first time, the step by step guide on 'How to fill CAT 2018 Application Form' will ease the process for you.

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Although the official CAT website mentions that the process will take approximately 30 minutes, it might take more than that owing to the fact that you have to put accurate data of your past academic records, upload photograph, signature and requisite documents, selecting the IIM programmes, test and interview cities etc. which may take around one hour or so. Read on to know how to fill CAT application form 2018.

What to Keep Ready before filling CAT Application Form 2018

 

Before starting to fill the CAT 2018 Application Form, ensure that you have the following information and documents handy.

The entire CAT application form 2018 process is divided into three parts:

• Step 1 - Registration

• Step 2 - Filling Application Form

• Step 3 - Payment and Application Receipt

 

 

Step 1 - CAT 2018 Registration

 

The registration process includes filling up the form which includes questions on personal and contact details. You have to enter your name, email ID, mobile number and country. Before submitting the form, you will have to add the Captcha and tick on the ‘I Agree’ check box. The entries on this form cannot be changed once submitted, hence, ensure that you enter the required information correctly.

 

To generate the OTP, click on Generate OTP button, it will redirect to captcha. After entering the captcha, OTP will be sent to your mobile number for verification.You will receive the CAT User ID and password through email Administrator with the subject line CAT 2018 Login Details. You will also receive the login Password as an SMS on the registered mobile number from sender LM-IIMCAT. 

 

Step 2 - Fill up CAT 2018 Application Form

 

In order to complete the application form, you will need to log-out and log-in once again by clicking on 'Sign in for Existing User' tab. Click on the ‘Go to Application Form’ tab to complete the application procedure. The application form will be divided into five categories given as follows:

• Personal Details

• Academics

• Work Experience

• Programmes

• Payment

Fields with '*' (asterisk) mark are mandatory to fill. After completing filling up a section with mandatory details, click on Save & Continue tab to move further.

 

Personal Details

Under the personal details section, you have to fill up the information regarding parents’/guardian’s name, full address, date of birth, gender, category, and nationality. Although the field which requires one to fill Aadhaar card number is present, it is not mandatory to enter it.

 

After filling up the form, you will have to upload the scanned recent passport size photograph and signature. The photograph should be of 30 mm x 45 mm. The dimension for the signature is 80 mm x 35 mm. The file size in both cases should not exceed 80 KB. The photograph and signature should be in .jpg or .jpeg format.

 

Documents

• NC-OBC/SC/ST Certificate: Download the Certificate from the CAT Website, enter the required information and attest signatures from the appropriate authorities, self-attest, and scan as PDF document to upload here.

• PWD/DA Certificate: Download the Certificate from the CAT Website, enter the required information and attest signatures from the appropriate authorities, self-attest, and scan as PDF document to upload here.

Academics

 

In this section, you will have to enter the aggregate percentage, total obtained marks, maximum marks, Board/University name, stream, subject and degree obtained in the following stages of academics.

• SSC/10th Std/Equivalent Details

• 12th/Equivalent/Diploma Course Details

• Bachelor Degree Details

• Other Professional Degree Details

• Master Degree Details

For computing percentages of marks obtained in SSC or equivalent and HSC or equivalent examination, the aggregate marks of all subjects that appear in the mark sheet/grade sheet would be considered.

For graduates and postgraduates, the percentage of marks awarded by the Institute/University will be treated as final. If the Institute/University does not award the percentage of marks, it will be calculated on the basis of the marks obtained in all subjects listed in the mark sheet.

 

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 application form.

 

 
If you are in the final year of your Bachelor’s Degree, enter the current year and semester of education. Enter the marks percentage or equivalent CGPA obtained for the years or semesters completed till date.

 

If you are pursuing an integrated Masters Degree programme after 10+2, calculate the percentage of marks obtained in the first 3 years as per your University/Institute norms which is considered equivalent to Bachelor’s Degree. Enter the remaining 2 years percentage in the Master Degree marks.

 

Work Experience

 

This section is applicable only for candidates with prior full-time work experience. You have to select the working area given in the list. In case it does not match your professional experience, select ‘Other’. Mention the work experience in months.

 

Selection of IIM Programmes and Interview Cities

You may select any number of Programme Names in this section. Then, select the Interview City for an interview as per the cities in the respective drop down list.

Note: Candidates applying for PGP/PGDM courses at the following IIMs are requested to select the same interview city for all the selections.

1. IIM Kashipur

2. IIM Raipur

3. IIM Ranchi

4. IIM Rohtak

5. IIM Tiruchirappalli

6. IIM Udaipur

 

Exam city preference

You have to give the choice of four cities in order of preference for taking CAT 2018. IIM Calcutta will allocate the city and CAT exam centre to you on the basis of centre and node availability. You will not be allowed to choose the same city more than once.

 

Step 3 - Payment

 

The last and final step is that of fee payment. For General and NC/OBC candidates, the application fee will be Rs. 1900 and for the SC/ST/PWD (Differently Abled) candidates, the application fee would be Rs. 950. Payment of application fee can be made using Credit card/Debit Card/Netbanking and two new modes - Paytm and PayU have been added this year.  The final amount will include the additional charges as given in the table below.

 

CAT 2018 Application Form  Fee payment details

 

BillDesk Charges:

It is mandatory to select the 'I Agree' checkbox in the Declaration section before you click the Submit and Pay button and proceed to the payment gateway.

 

After the successful transaction of your payment, a Payment Successful message will be displayed on the screen along with the Payment Transaction Number. You will then be redirected to the CAT 2018 website.

 

Application Confirmation Email

You will receive a confirmation email from CAT 2018 authorities after your application process is over. The email will also contain communication on additional details such as Admit Card download window etc.

 

CAT 2018 Admit Card:

Now that you know how to fill CAT 2018 application form, you must successfully register and complete the application procedure without much ado. After the successful registration of CAT 2018, candidates will be able to download the CAT admit card from the official website from October 19, 1 pm onwards.

 

Last year, the CAT was conducted by IIM Lucknow where the number of applicants was around 2,31,000. The actual number of test takers was 1,99,632.

 

CAT 2018 will be conducted on November 25, 2018, in two slots across 147 cities. As per the CAT exam pattern, the test will be divided into three sections with a total duration of 180 minutes. There will be a sectional time limit of 60 minutes for the candidates to answer each section. There will be some non-MCQ questions in each section which will not carry any choice of answers. A basic on-screen calculator will be provided for calculation purposes. Each question will carry three marks and each wrong answer, except Non-MCQs, where negative marking scheme is not applied.