5 Common Mistakes to Avoid While Filling CAT Application Form 2025

When filling out the CAT application form, applicants often make several common mistakes that can be easily avoided with careful attention. The CAT application form 2025 will be released in the first week of August 2025. One of the first errors is not verifying the eligibility criteria before applying, leading to potential disqualification even after clearing the exam. Another frequent misstep is providing incorrect personal information, including discrepancies in the name, educational qualifications, or contact details, which can cause issues during admission. Applicants also tend to select the wrong CAT test cities either by mistake or lack of foresight, impacting their convenience on the exam day. Another common oversight is uploading documents, especially the photograph and signature, without adhering to the specified format and size requirements. Thus, carefully reviewing the application before submission can help avoid these issues and ensure a smooth application process. Take a look at the common mistakes to avoid while filling out CAT 2025 application form .

5 Common Mistakes While Filling CAT Registration 2025

Here are some of the common mistakes students make while doing CAT registration 2025 .

#Mistake 1: Entering Incorrect Information When Creating CAT Login

The very first step that applicants must take when applying for the CAT exam is to create the CAT login credentials on the official website. During this stage, aspirants must provide their basic information like Name, Date of Birth, Email Address, and Phone Number in order to proceed with the application process. Your name must be entred exactly in same pattern and style as it is written in your class 10/SSC certificate. You are also required to mention the correct date of birth from the menu at the column, Gender, Address, and choose the correct category like Gen/EWS/SC/ST/ OBC/ PwD. However, if aspirants make a mistake when creating the CAT login credentials, they will not be able to make rectifications and will have to restart the registration process.

#Mistake 2: Entering Personal Information Incorrectly

The personal information of a candidate is a crucial part of the CAT application form and it is crosschecked multiple times during the entire CAT admission process. Therefore, if any mistakes are made when entering the personal information of a candidate, it will lead to the rejection of the CAT application form. Candidates may also face issues during the later stages of the CAT administration process if these mistakes are not found and rectified in the registration process itself.

#Mistake 3: Entering Academic Qualifications/Information Incorrectly

Similar to personal details, the academic qualifications of a candidate are a unique identifier and help the exam conducting authorities separate ideal applicants from mediocre candidates. Thus, when entering academic information, aspirants must double-check every detail before submission. Also, you must make sure there are no errors in the academic field of the CAT registration form or their application will be rejected. In the 3rd page of CAT 2025 online application form, you need to enter your education details like percentage of marks obtained in Class 10, 12, bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree and Other Professional Degrees. There exists a column with ‘nnn.nn’ space to fill up your percentage of marks in the CAT application form.  You can use the first three ‘nnn’ only when you have scored 100% marks otherwise you are allowed to use only 2 digits if your percentage of marks is anywhere between 45% and 99.99%. The percentage can be entered only upto 2 decimal digits. You are not required to put prefix ‘0’ before writing your percentage of marks as it will not accept it- Correct: 96.50; Wrong: 096.50

#Mistake 4: Attaching Incorrect/Illegible Documents

One of the most common errors that applicants make during the CAT registration process is attaching documents that do not meet the requirements and specifications mentioned by the exam conducting authorities. During the CAT application process applicants are required to upload their photograph, signature, and reservation certificate (if applicable). However, these documents must be uploaded in a specific format or they are not accepted. The specifications for the documents required during the CAT application process are mentioned below:

Also, keep the following points in mind:

• The photograph must not be older than 6 months.

• The photo must be taken with a white background.

• You will be required to attach the same photograph to the CAT admit card.

• Make sure you are uploading clear images as per the given resolution.

#Mistake 5: Entering Work Experience Information Incorrectly

Work experience is not a mandatory requirement for CAT registration, however, it is a preferred attribute during the CAT admission process. Candidates who have valid work experience can enter the relevant details during the application process. However, candidates must make sure they enter the information correctly. Applicants must make sure that their work experience will be recognized by the exam conducting body before filling the CAT application form. If the work experience information is found to be incorrect, aspirants will face issues during the CAT selection process.

Also Read: List of Documents Required for CAT 2025 Registration

Other Common Mistakes While Filling CAT 2025 Application Form

Apart from the errors already mentioned, applicants must be careful not to commit the mistakes mentioned below when filling out the CAT 2025 registration form.

1. Not Checking the CAT 2025 Eligibility Carefully: You must check the minimum or maximum age, academics, nationality, category, and other criteria carefully before applying for the CAT 2025 exam, because if you are not eligible, there is no use proceeding with the application process. You must have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a Government recognized University or College with 50% aggregate marks (for General, EWS. NC-OBC) and 45% aggregate marks for SC, ST, and PWD categories.

2. Not Having the Required Documents Ready: When applying for CAT, not having your documents ready can significantly increase your chances of error. It is best to confirm each detail of your application before entering into the application form. While a small step, this will make your application process must easier and totally hassle-free. Before filling out the CAT application form, it is crucial for you to gather all the information, documents, certificates regarding your date of birth, academics from class 10 onwards, exact style of writing name, caste, online fee payment method beforehand. Referring to the Eligibility document on the CAT 2025 website and check your eligibility for CAT 2025. The email address and mobile number provided by you must be valid and unique. If you find an “*” (asterisk) in the CAT 2025 registration and application form, it indicates a mandatory field, and it is compulsory for you to fill in the boxes marked with this symbol, otherwise you will not be allowed to submit your application for CAT 2025. You will receive two OTPs for CAT 2025 registration- on Mobile and on Mail. Hence, to get your CAT ID & Password and verify the same, keep your Mobile phone accessible near you to verify OTP and your email id open on your laptop. You will be able to login to CAT 2025 registration site as registered candidate to fill application form only after receiving the CAT user ID & Password from CAT Centre, .

3. Not Using the Correct Browser: This is another prerequisite that is very important while filling out your CAT application. The conducting body recommends using the following browsers to fill out the application form.

So, if you do not have any of these browsers installed on your computer, it is best to first install them and then proceed. Using a browser other than the recommended one can cause issues while filling out the form.

4. Hurrying Through the Application Process: Since the CAT registration is your entry point to IIMs or your dream B-school, it becomes a vital part of the process. Hurrying through it can cause you to miss out on careless mistakes in your CAT application form. It is best to take your time and fill in each detail carefully. You can even save your application, log out and sign in again later to fill your application form any number of times before the deadline. In case you forget your ID and password when trying to log back in, here is how you can recover them.

5. Choosing the Wrong Test Centre Cities: CAT 2025 is likely to be conducted in 150 cities this year. You are given the option to choose up to 6 test city centres in the CAT application form. While candidates usually get accommodated in their first choice, this may usually not be the case. So, it is best to enter all of the 6 choices carefully. Choose the exam centre by taking into consideration the approach, travel time, means of transport and expenses involved and make a list preference wise colleges and fill accordingly. Put the centre most convenient to you as your first choice and then in a gradually decreasing order in the CAT application form. Here is the complete list of CAT exam centres to help you.

6. Not Having a List of Programs Ready: You will be asked to enter your choice of programs in the CAT application form. Since any number of choices can be made without preference, candidates can just use the 'Select All' checkbox to select all of the programs. This is considered the best option by many candidates. It maximizes the chances of making the shortlist and removes the hassle of sorting through the courses. However, you may not be eligible for all of the programs available in each IIM. One of the greatest mistakes of the CAT applicants is not checking the programme eligibility for admission. Hence, it is crucial to the CAT aspirants to prepare a list of programmes for which you are eligible to apply. It must be noted that fresh graduates are not eligible to apply for executive MBA or one year MBA; candidates who are not graduates in disciplines like Science, Agriculture, Biotech, Engineering or related streams are not eligible to apply to IIMs’ ABM, FABM, and IIM Mumbai O&SCM programmes. Find the list of programmes offered by IIMs below and carefully choose IIM programmes for which you are eligible.

Additionally, it is easy to have a list of courses ready, beforehand to make it easier while filling out the form. Just take the help of these articles.

7. Not Reviewing before Making Payment & Final Submission: The registration fee for CAT 2025 is INR 2500. You should not make any type of mistakes while registering for the CAT 2025 exam in order to avoid your exam fee getting stuck due to inadvertent mistakes. You are not allowed to edit any details on the Application form after you have paid the application fee successfully. Two steps must be undertaken by the CAT applicants before making CAT fee payment and finally submitting the CAT form. You must collect all the required documents/material before starting the CAT 2025 registration and Application Process which will last for a duration of 30 minutes. It is crucial for you to review all the application pages before submitting and making payment of CAT registration fee.

CAT 2025 Application Form Correction

The CAT application form correction window is provided by the exam conducting authorities after the registration process has been completed. During this period, aspirants who have successfully completed the CAT registration process and have paid the application fee will be allowed to make changes in certain areas of the CAT application form and correct any errors priorly made. The CAT application form correction window is typically open for three to four days and candidates are allowed to change the candidate photo, candidate signature, and test city preferences during this period. Once the application form correction window is closed, no further changes will be entertained in the CAT application form. Take a look at the steps to use the CAT application form correction window:

• Candidates must first visit the official website of CAT 2025 - iimcat.ac.in

• On the homepage of the official website, candidates will have to click on the Existing User/Registered Candidate Login option.

• Candidates will then have to enter their User ID and Password to access and edit their CAT application form.

• Subsequently, candidates will be able to take the following actions with their application form:

  • Modify the image and signature (upload the revised scanned versions of the signature and photograph).

  • Edit the test city preferences for CAT 2025.

  • Selection of up to 6 test city preferences is allowed. After the above process, save the details.

• Once all the requisite changes have been made and save, candidates can log out.

• Candidates will receive a confirmation email and text message regarding the changes made in the CAT application form.

Hopefully, candidates found the article informative and useful. Candidates may also check out the articles mentioned below to know more about CAT 2025!

Related Articles:

If you have any questions regarding the CAT 2025 application form, you can ask them on the CollegeDekho QnA Zone . For help regarding admissions, fill out the Common Application Form .

Are you feeling lost and unsure about what career path to take after completing 12th standard?

Say goodbye to confusion and hello to a bright future!

Take The Free Test Now

Was this article helpful?

1 Upvotes

0 Downvotes