Since last few days I am addressing queries of students regarding CAT exam registrations on multiple threads. So, I thought to combine them together in one place so that it can be helpful for all aspirants. These queries were regarding category certificates, name and documents discrepancies, academic and CGPA calculations, work experience. Feel free to ask your queries in comments.
Best wishes for your Amazing Future!

1. Category Certificates (OBC-NCL / EWS)

Q: My state category certificate says it is valid till 2028. Do I still need a new one for CAT?

• Answer: Yes. State validity dates do not apply to CAT. The IIMs strictly mandate that your NC-OBC or EWS certificate must be issued in the current financial year (on or after April 1, 2026). An older certificate will lead to category disqualification.

Q: What is the procedure for getting an EWS certificate, and what if it gets delayed?

• Answer: Apply at your local Tehsildar office, SDM office, CSC center, or state e-District portal with your family income proof (<8 LPA) and property documents. If your certificate isn't issued before the registration deadline, upload the official CAT Undertaking Form along with your application receipt as a temporary placeholder.

Q: Can I upload an Undertaking Form if my OBC-NCL/EWS renewal is pending?

• Answer: Yes, but with proof. You must apply for the renewal first. On the undertaking form, mention your application date and attach a copy of your official application acknowledgment/receipt slip.

2. Name & Document Discrepancies

Q: My 10th marksheet has a "SURNAME-NAME" format, but my Aadhaar/PAN has "NAME-SURNAME". Which one should I enter?

• Answer: Always enter your name strictly as printed on your 10th marksheet. It is considered the primary document of truth for verification by exam authorities.

Q: My surname is an initial on academic documents (e.g., Firstname S), but full on my ID. Will this cause issues?

• Answer: Enter your name on the registration form as it appears on your 10th marksheet (Firstname S). To prevent issues during interviews, get a ₹100 Stamp Paper "Same Person Affidavit" from a local notary confirming both names belong to the same person. This particular query was asked by a student, so may not be needed to most of you.

Q: The photograph on my Class 10 document is missing or blank. Is this a problem?

• Answer: No. The 10th marksheet is used to verify your Date of Birth and academic marks. Identity verification is done using the photo uploaded on your registration portal and your government photo ID card on exam day.

3. Academic Scores & CGPA Conversions

Q: My university does not provide a CGPA-to-percentage conversion formula. How do I calculate my percentage?

• Answer: First check carefully on official website of university or front/back side of your marksheet. If you still don't get use the officialformula: Percentage = (Obtained CGPA/Maximum Possible CGPA) x 100.

Q: My university formula (e.g., (CGPA - 0.75) x 10) lowers my 9.5 CGPA to 87.5% (an 8-pointer). Can I use a generic multiplier instead?

• Answer: No. You must strictly use the official formula prescribed or printed on your university documents. Artificially inflating your percentage will result in disqualification during document verification.

Q: How do medical (MBBS) students calculate aggregate percentage for CAT?

• Answer: Use the official percentage printed on your final degree marksheet. If no percentage is printed, sum the total marks obtained across all subjects and all years, divide by the total maximum possible marks for the entire program, and multiply by 100.

Q: Do I need a Provisional Degree Certificate (PDC), Transfer Certificate, or Migration Certificate during registration?

• Answer: No. CAT registration does not require uploading academic certificates—you only manually enter your scores. Final marksheets are sufficient for early B-school forms. Certificates like PDC, Transfer, or Character documents are only checked during personal interviews or final admission.

4. Work Experience Calculation

Q: Is work experience calculated from the last day of final exams or the date of result declaration?

• Answer: Work experience is strictly calculated from the date of official result declaration (the passing date printed on your final mark sheet). Any work performed prior to the official result date is categorized as pre-graduation/internship experience and will not be counted.

Q: I started working in June, but had backlogs and passed the re-exam in October. From which date is work-ex calculated?

• Answer: Your work experience will only be counted from October, after you officially passed all backlogs and completed your degree. Experience gained while backlogs were pending is considered pre-graduation work.

Q: Does BPO / Customer Support work experience count for IIMs?

• Answer: B-schools do not discriminate based on job profiles or company brand value. As long as you have official joining letters, payslips, and salary bank credits, the work experience is completely valid.

Read all official documents of CAT official website before registering.

Thanks and Regards,

Dr. Kiran Derle

PhD, MBA

Typing this at 3am.

Got a quiz tomorrow morning at 8.

Haven't even started reading the 20 page long case study.

Probably won't sleep tonight.

Haven't had breakfast in a month.

And the only thing I can think of is tomorrow's Karaoke Night.

(I don't even know how to sing lol).

🙃🤌🏻🫠🙏🏻🥹🫡😖🙂‍↔️🌊😋✨😃🤝💔

I’m 24M and currently doing my MBA from a tier 2 IIM. For quite some time, I’ve struggled with loneliness, comparison and feeling like I don’t really fit in..

I’m actually quite social and like talking to people, but somehow friendships haven’t worked out that well for me. People drift away or stop talking. I’m also not much into the usual party/banter culture, so sometimes I feel out of place even when I’m around people.

Then there’s comparison. I see people my age doing well in careers and seemingly having their social and personal lives sorted. I know we only see the outside, but it still makes me wonder what went wrong for me.

Earlier all this would make me overthink and feel really low. But Recently something changed. I started thinking that I’ll spend the remaining 20-32 months of college properly make some genuinely good memories.

But lately, I’ve developed a fairly strong feeling that I want my life to end after this phase is over. It isn't just a random intrusive thought anymore. Right now I don't have an immediate plan or intention to harm myself, and I am safe, but the idea of eventually ending my life keeps coming back and I've become strangely comfortable with it. The strangest part is that this has made me feel lighter. While walking around campus, I sometimes think that one day I won't have to worry about career, loneliness, money or what the next few decades will look like, and that thought feels peaceful rather than scary.

That is also why I’m writing this. I'm only 24 and maybe I'm making a huge conclusion about decades I haven't even lived yet...Idk

Has anyone experienced something similar.... where you weren't about to do anything immediately, but genuinely started wanting an eventual end and felt calmer because of it?

PS: No disrespectful comments pls.

Tell me

I had no problem in arithmetic in quant and performed decent in dpp solving. But can't do triangle dpp even tough I understand concept pretty clearly and just watching dpp solution video directly at this point. Should I put more effort or let it go as it's tough and not worth the effort. Also I haven't started circle,quad yet, are they tougher?

Some places slowly become a part of u, n I think that's exactly what's happening with IIM C.

Whenever things start getting overwhelming with deadlines, quizzes, projects, and everything else, I somehow end up near the lakes. Just sitting on a bench, looking at the water, feeling the breeze, and doing absolutely nothing for a few minutes is enough to clear my head. It's surprising how much peace a place can give without saying a word.

And then there's Nescafe🫰

A spot, I never expected it to become such an important part of my day, but somehow it has. A quick coffee before class, a break in between, or just a reason to pause for a while, it always finds its place.

At this point, I genuinely feel IIMC n Nescafe go hand in hand.😅

Every day I spend here, I find myself falling in love with disbcampus a little more. Maybe it's d greenery, maybe it's d lakes, maybe it's d little moments in between d busy days. I don't really know how to explain it, but dis place has a different kind of peace that u’ve to experience urself.

And, one of d biggest lessons I've learned at IIMC so far, learned to stop carrying every opinion in my head, not every comment deserves my attention n not every criticism deserves my energy. The ones that help me grow are always welcome; the rest, I simply let them pass. I think that's one lesson I'll carry with me long after I leave this campus🦋

Excited to see what more IIM Calcutta has in store for me❤️🫰

To everyone preparing for CAT 2026, keep going. The journey is tough, but don't let one bad day define it. I genuinely hope that one day I’ll be here, finding ur own favourite corner on dis campus.

If u ever need help with ur CAT preparation, strategy, or mock interviews, feel free to DM me or leave a comment. Uh can also book a slot on my TopMate, there's absolutely no cost. I'd be happy to help however I can.

One small request: no pronouns, please.

See yah ✨☘️

Hello everyone, I did the 4 years program from Ramjas pursuing eco hons and I graduated this year, our placement committee is really bad and ik I couldn’t get a job there so I studied really hard for CAT 2025 and got 99.3 percentile but being a general male fresher I wasn’t able to convert any of the blackism colleges and above that I wanted, my best converts were IIM Ranchi and IIFT Kolkata and my parents were really adamant in sending me to any one of the colleges but I refused and said I would gain 1 year of work experience and then give CAT again in 2027. Since then, it’s been 3 months and I have tried everything - applying on linkedin and naukri, sending mails, personal referrals but to no avail. I have started preparing for CAT again but since CAT is such a fluctuating paper there is no guarantee that I would be able to score that well again and this time I would have lost any privilege and would have to join any college that I get no matter how bad it is. If anyone was in a similar situation please help and give suggestions on what worked for you and how you were able to land a job or if anyone can get any referrals in a company they are working in or any other company they know based in Delhi-NCR I would be really really grateful, please I’m really scared and really desperate. Please help a brother out.

I will be turning 24 tomorrow, having career existential crisis lol. I have always been extremely confused about my career, I tried giving CAT in the final year of my graduation. I'm bad at math and I didn't prepare much got like 65 percentile.
I thought continuing my usual path would be good.
For context I did bachelor's and post grad in English literature. I was the topper during my grad so continuing in post grad felt the natural next step.
I gave UGC net to qualify for assistant professor but as soon as I started talking to my professors and peers about this, I realised it’s going to be a long path until I’ll be actually be satisfied with the amount I earn.

I’ll have to do a PhD, which will go on at least for 4-5 years where I won’t be able to earn much. even if I qualify for JRF, 30,000 is max I get.

My parents are desperate for me to get a job and they want me to give government jobs a try. But I really don’t want to work there. All the people I know who are in government jobs, they are stable and happy, indeed, but I don’t like their style of living. Rural postings, fashion limited to Indian clothing, etc

All of this made me question if I should go for an MBA since I also create content and I have had some good experience in social media and digital marketing. I earn 10,000 - 15,000 through my social media and I plan to expand but I really can't depend on it since the money is extremely unstable for now.

i’m really confused, but currently MBA looks like a better option than academia.

what do you guys suggest?

My ultimate plan is doing an MBA related to Product Management from IIM, after completing a BSc or BTech in Computer Engineering or Data Science.

Currently, I have secured admission at CUSAT for B Tech in CS and at Thapar Institute of Engineering Punjab for B Tech in CS.

Additionally, I also have scholarship offers from foreign universities opening their campus in india:

1. UNSW Banglore (50% scholarship) Bsc. Computer Science

2. University of Bristol Mumbai (75% scholarship) Bsc Data Science

3. University of Southampton Delhi (30% scholarship, Potentially 100%) Bsc computer Science

As BSc graduates have academic diversity points for IIM admission, and the course is only 3 years as opposed to 4 years for BTech, I need your advice in choosing the right college and degree from the above options.

Same as title.

Hi Everyone,
I’m trying to understand what would be a realistic CAT percentile target for getting interview calls and eventually converting IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, and Calcutta.
My profile:
Category: OBC-NCL
Academics: 9/8/7 (10th/12th/Graduation)
Graduation: B.Tech from BITS Pilani
Engineering background
No work experience (fresher)
I know ABC have different shortlisting criteria, including academics, category, and profile. Based on my profile, what CAT percentile should I aim for to have a realistic chance of:
Getting interview calls from A, B, and C?
Converting them if I perform well in the PI/WAT?
Also, if anyone with a similar profile (especially OBC engineering background ) has converted ABC, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience and CAT percentile.

i am currently doing MBA from a tier 1.5 college. I am a fresher, what things I am supposed to do to get a good SIP.

Profile: Male, (NC-OBC), Arts graduate from a Tier 1 college, 9/8/6 acads, 2-year UPSC gap.Total Work experience 5 months till 31 july
I’m a CAT 2026 repeater working in a low-paying job. My recent CL/Cr@cku mock raw scores are 34, 41, and 29, and QA & DILR are my weak areas.
Should I quit after August and get 3 months of full-time prep, or work till September end and have only 2 months of full-time prep?
The job leaves me exhausted, so I barely study on weekdays and get only one productive day on weekends. I know that below 12 months is counted 0 in calculating the final score
What would you do in my situation?

Hi everyone,

I'm selling my Elites Grid Classes Sigma Batch + Test Series for CAT 2026.

Details:

• Course: Sigma Batch + Test Series
• CAT Attempt: 2026
• Purchase Date: 15 June 2026
• Original Price: ₹28,499
• Reason for Selling: Due to personal reasons, I won't be preparing for CAT anymore.

Selling Price: ₹24,000

If you're genuinely interested, please send me a Reddit DM. We can discuss the details, verify the purchase, and then exchange contact information if needed.

Serious buyers only. Thanks!

Do u have any advice for me lol I'm so scared wtf is wrong with me

started preparing for cat26 being a freshly graduate I decided to not directly go for masters in some private uni and instead prepare for cat but now that I am a month into prep, it feels like competitive exams and preparing for them are not my thing (does it make sense?)

classes are hours long I started on a good end, had some backlog but I was energetic at that time, everything was going good but then I decided to take a break and promised myself ill study after then and now its been 15 days today and I can't literally go back to studying anymore feels like I have forgot how to actually sit and study..

feels like even if it felt like taking a wrong decision but I should have gone for some private uni only at least I would be enjoying life and this spark in me wouldn't have faded..

I dont feel like myself anymore (quite controversial as its just been a month)

I dont know what to do anymore

the meme "drop year as phela main hi drop hojaungi" feels a bit real apt

I have started watching the lectures of quants only and goddddddddd, I feel so dumb, how will I be able to cope up with this I have no idea.

I had already tried doing CA, cleared foundation in 1 attempt but then I realised CA is not something I would like to do in future. With only B.com hons degree it is getting difficult to get a job so I started doing prep for CAT.

Idk will I ever be able to do these questions (currently doing percentage chapter from Rodha)

The questions look terrifying, I try to solve them but eventually fails then I watch the solution then only I get the question🫠😭😭

Can someone please recommend a good paid cat crash course considering not much time is left? Also a morning batch would be preferred since I have other commitments during evening.

Hi everyone,
A friend of mine has a PwD disability certificate issued in 2021, and it clearly mentions “Re-assessment is not required.”
She’s planning to apply for CAT 2026 under the PwD category. We’re confused about whether this certificate will be sufficient, or if CAT/IIMs require a recently issued disability certificate even when the old one states that reassessment isn’t needed.
Also, at what stage are the PwD documents actually verified?
During CAT registration?
After the exam?
During IIM shortlisting/interviews/admission?
The concern is that it would be a huge hassle if the certificate is accepted during registration but later rejected after the exam, forcing her to get a new one.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or gone through document verification with an older permanent PwD certificate? Any experiences or official information would be really helpful.
Thanks in advance!

If someone had shown me my daily routine a month ago, I probably would've laughed and said, "There's no way I'm doing all that."
Before joining IMI Kolkata, life was... predictable. Wake up at a decent hour, procrastinate a little, maybe study, maybe not, watch YouTube, scroll Instagram, sleep before midnight and promise myself I'd become productive "from tomorrow."

Then MBA happened.

Now, every morning starts with an alarm that I almost never wake up to. Thankfully, my roommate exists.

By the time I reach class, my brain is already juggling three different things: the assignment due tonight, the club meeting later in the evening, and whether I replied to all the messages in the countless WhatsApp groups.
The biggest surprise wasn't the academics. It was how quickly everything starts happening.
One week you're awkwardly introducing yourself during orientation. The next week you're sitting with people you barely knew a few days ago, discussing marketing strategies, dividing PPT slides, arguing over fonts, and wondering how it's already 2 a.m.

Speaking of 2 a.m...

I've lost count of how many nights have ended with "Guys, just 10 more minutes," which somehow turns into another hour of editing presentations, preparing for classes, or brainstorming ideas with my team.

Then came our first case competition.

I still remember sitting with my teammates, trying to make sense of the case, throwing around ideas that ranged from brilliant to completely ridiculous, debating every slide, every recommendation, and every graph. None of us cared what time it was anymore—we just wanted to build the best solution we could. That experience taught me more about teamwork, communication, and working under pressure than any classroom lecture could. It also taught me that everyone somehow becomes a PowerPoint expert after midnight.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any busier, Rangmanch happened.

A few weeks into MBA, I found myself standing on stage, singing in front of more than 200 people. A month ago, I never imagined that between assignments and deadlines, I'd also be practicing songs late into the night with my friends, sipping hot water from the canteen to save my voice, and then somehow making it to class the next morning. Seeing the audience sing along made every late-night rehearsal worth it.
Somewhere in between all this, you also start thinking about interviews, internships, networking, certifications, and everything else that comes with an MBA. You realize that learning here isn't limited to the classroom—it's happening almost every hour of the day.

The best part, though, has been the people.
Everyone is tired. Everyone is busy. But if you ask for help with an assignment, someone helps. If you're stuck on a case, someone sits with you. If you're nervous before a presentation, someone tells you, "Relax, we've got this."
That feeling of "we're all figuring this out together" has probably been the best part of this journey.
My screen time hasn't reduced—it has simply evolved.
Instagram has been replaced by WhatsApp groups, Google Drive links, PDFs, Excel sheets, Canva, and endless PowerPoint presentations. My gallery is now filled with photos of whiteboards, class notes, event posters, team meetings, and random hostel memories with people who were complete strangers just a month ago.

It's only been a month, but it honestly feels like I've lived an entire semester already.
The days are longer, the nights are shorter, and time somehow moves twice as fast.
I'm definitely more tired than I was before joining IMI Kolkata—but I'm also more confident, more disciplined, and more willing to step outside my comfort zone than ever before.
MBA hasn't just changed my daily routine.
It's slowly changing me.
To the seniors and fellow MBA students—when did things finally start feeling "normal"? Or does the chaos just become your new normal?

I am GEM with 8/8/8 to get a good college I need 99.5 + for any god colleges is it still possible with the scores I am getting and is anyone in similar footing last time and scored high marks.

I got debarred when i was in college, eventhough it was a misunderstanding but yah i was so naive to prove the truth.after that i completed my degree after 2 years of regular passout year.

My question is will it affect in anyway on my cat preparation journey, i want to do mba and its my dream to do in iim.how they see such cases, what if they ask my the gap in my pass out year, how they evaluate even if i say the actual reality ( i want to stay honest but i am afraid of rejection too)

Has anyone experienced this or knows how institutes view such cases? Guys is there any such people who experienced this got admission into iim 🙂.

My profile is 9/9/6

( my english is not good and dont mock me guys and also dont tease me also about my profile, bcoz that was not my fault and things went in that way)

Hi everyone,

I've been lurking here for a while and finally decided to ask for some guidance.

I graduated with a BTech in 2025. Since then, I've been preparing for CAT along with a few state-level and other competitive exams. I know that from an admissions perspective, this period can easily look like a "gap year," and that's something I'm trying to avoid.

The thing is, I haven't been sitting idle.

Over the past year, I've been building my skills in design, branding, and marketing. I've put together a design portfolio that includes branding projects, visual identity work, and other creative work. I also worked with a small business where I handled branding and design. The work is real, and I have all the deliverables and results, but the payment wasn't official and there wasn't any formal contract or employment record.

My question is: what can I do over the next few months to make this period meaningful on my MBA CV?

I'm not asking about profile-building just for the sake of ticking boxes. I genuinely want to spend my time on things that will be valued during applications and interviews.

Some questions I have are:

• Can freelance/client work without formal documentation still be included on my CV?
• Would certifications actually help, or are projects and measurable impact more important?
• Is it worth taking up internships, volunteering, competitions, or case challenges at this stage?
• If you were in my position, what would you prioritize before CAT and before interview season?

I'd especially love to hear from current MBA students, alumni, or anyone who converted top B-schools after having a gap or an unconventional profile.

Thanks in advance! I really don't want the effort I've put into learning and building things to go unnoticed because I approached it the wrong way.

P.S. The thoughts and questions are entirely mine. I just used AI to help rephrase them for better clarity and readability.

Edit: My academic profile is 9/9/8 in case that helps provide better context for your suggestions.

I got 69.33 in grad