Latest info related to issues in application filling!!!- important!

Dear all,


I have been answering calls after calls all night am also inundated by emails- all related to online registration issues. In case of global B-Schools especially US B-Schools, you are allowed to change/edit your details even after you have entered them once- within the window. Unfortunately the ones provided for CAT is the variety where no edits are enabled except for re-scheduling of the slots- hence most of the issues. All the issues that you are facing are similarly faced by many others across India. Hence i would recommend that you go through some of those, and take decisions on your own to the extent possible. Ensure that you have run out of options before you call us. For the same i am giving you some resources in terms of certain observations, and certain links. Do take effort in going through the links, it will clear a lot if not all aspects.


Gaurav has pointed out certain observations of his which are important for test registration, which can be read below. The same is narrated in an article from PG which i am pasting below. Read through the same as well as comments made by users- it will echo each of the problems you have been facing:

Glitch in CAT 2009 online registration may lay your voucher waste

There is a glaring mistake in the online registration process of CAT 2009 that might, in the worst case, lay waste your Rs 1,400 voucher and make you buy a new voucher and re-register. However, there is no need to panic; according to Prof Satish Deodhar from IIM-Ahmedabad, the IIMs are in talks with Prometric and a final solution to the problem will be declared by tomorrow evening.
Even though the IIMs require you to enter your HSC and SSC scores as admission criteria, the CAT online registration process that opened up on September 9 will not throw up an error if you forget to enter those scores in the Educational Qualifications section of the form. The system will happily complete your registration process and send you an admit card, even though you did not enter this vital information. Eventually your CAT score, however good, will be of no use because the IIMs need your HSC and SSC scores during GD shortlisting, which would have been absent from your profile, leading to automatic disqualification from the IIMs.
Why are we saying that you may forget to enter your HSC and SSC scores? It is because the user interface of the online registration system is not designed to place stress on this important step. On the first day of the registration, a lot of CAT aspirants on PaGaLGuY have reported forgetting to enter their school-level scores. All these users thought that they had to enter their highest educational qualification in the section of concern, and not all educational qualifications. The system does not allow one to go back and enter these scores again.
If you have not filled the CAT online form yet, this article is a heads-up for caution. Make sure you do not make this mistake.
If you have filled the CAT online form and have made this mistake, all may not be lost yet. According to CAT 2009 Convenor Prof Satish Deodhar, talks are on with Prometric and a possible solution would be announced by tomorrow. So in case you were planning to rush to buy another voucher, hold it and wait for what they have to say.
I'd like to add a remark here. To be fair to Prometric+IIMs, the system does say 'Select all that apply' in educational qualification section, implying that one has to click all educational milestones in their life and enter the respective scores. However, from a Human-Computer Interaction or Interaction Design point of view, this is very bad design. Human behaviour with computers is a separate science altogether and plays by its own rules. On a paper-based form, the IIMs can get away with putting stern rules and punishing those who do not abide by them. But what works on paper does not work on computers. I wonder if Prometric ran rigorous usability tests on this form, because if they had done it with a sufficient number of users, this error in the user interface would have exposed itself.
Furthermore, if the eligibility for a management degree includes having passed HSC and SSC, the CAT 2009 online application form should not allow submission until these fields are completed.
Added later: Here are two features that ought to have been in the user interface:

1. Error-checking before submission: If the candidate hasn't completed fields that form the minimum eligibility criteria of the IIMs, he shouldn't be allowed to submit the form.
   
2. Review details page before form submission: Show a summary of all information entered by the candidate before making the final submission. Allow editing at summary level. This will allow people to realize any mistakes or omissions they might have made and let them correct them.

The following pictures will explain the problem better.

The educational qualifications section in CAT 2009 online registration might make you assume that you have to enter only your highest/latest qualification (below).


Instead, what you should do is first check all educational levels that you have, and then enter scores for each level (below).


In case you forget to enter these details, you will not be allowed to enter them later.
To read the article in the original location: http://www.pagalguy.com/2009/09/glitch-in-online-registration-for-cat-2009/
Other imp links you can go through are:
CAT 2009 - Registration | First Hand Experience Tutorial- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/44092-cat-2009-registration-first-hand.html#post1656862
[2009] CAT 2009 Online Notification out, Application related queries-  http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/43793-2009-cat-2009-online-notification.html
CAT Query Center- FAQs regarding CAT 2009 online and other Exams- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/41045-cat-query-center-faqs-regarding.html
CAT 2009 Slot Booking Preferences- http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/44077-cat-2009-slot-booking-preferences.html#post1656312
SC/ST,OBC & PH students queries and discussion for CAT 2009 & other Exams - http://www.pagalguy.com/forum/cat-and-related-discussion/37031-sc-st-obc-ph-students.html
Regards,
Aju John.

----- Original Message -----

From: Gaurav Mittal

To: Aju John T.I.M.E. Cochin

Sent: Wednesday, September 09, 2009 7:33 PM

Subject: Re: [cat2009cochin] NOTE: prometric clarification over phone: Re: 2 issues related to application filling!- important instructions!

Actually when u register, the option says that u've to CHECK ALL THAT APPLY. The options given while scrolling are HSC, SSC, Bachelor's degree (incomplete and completed) and professional degree (inter and final). So, all the check boxes from hsc, ssc and degree must be checked. Only then the boxes to enter the marks appear on the screen. (i was doing the same mistake of checking only the degree box, but then with a more careful thought, i realised that hsc and ssc also need to be checked) Same thing is for applying for interview... One has to select all the options and then select individual cities for each IIM. At the same time, the prometric site has a cut off wrt. time. hence, if u use a lot of time, it will again take u back to login page, upon entering the details, where u would have to re-enter the details again. I had to do this twice. another friend of mine had to do it 3-4 times to finally register with them.

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 7:00 PM, aju varghese <ajuinjesus@gmail.com> wrote:

On both issues given below, the option of buying a voucher and applying again is the instruction few students got when they called Prometric help-line number in the morning. But it seems that lot of complaints have come to Prometric till now- especially about 10th & 12th mark option not being visible- and to one of the students who called during evening, it was conveyed that they will rectify the issue in 2 days time & that the student does not have to buy an additional voucher.

Hence we recommend that if you are having an issue with anything related to filling up the application form, make use of the official channels before you spend any additional money: that is; phone them in person: 1-800-103-9293 mailing them @ Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus Regards, Aju John.

On Wed, Sep 9, 2009 at 4:30 PM, aju varghese wrote:

Dear student,

apart from issues related to email & admit card not recieved and not able to do test registration due to network congestion, there are 2 specific issues that have come to notice till now- which needs your attention:

1. Missing out to fill 10th, 12th marks

2. Applying for PGDSEM even if you are ineligible for the test (http://pgsem.iimb.ernet.in/index.html )

In both cases, students are getting some error or the other & when they have tried contacting the helpline, they have been told to buy another voucher & to re-register. Students who have tried it out are able to register without error. This is already mentioned in : http://www.catiim.in/faq.html#two_19  - i quote: ..."

19. If I have made any mistakes. while registering for CAT 2009, can I make changes later to rectify? If you make mistakes while entering the application data, you will need to buy a new voucher and re-register yourself. However, rescheduling is allowed where you can choose a different test center, date and time of your test, of course, subject to availability. Note: If you re-register or re-schedule, you must carry the most recent admit card and attend the most recent test session.

Hence right now this is the way forward as per the instruction. But you have the following options also to explore:

CAT Candidate Care Support is available by phone and email. Phone: 1-800-103-9293 Webmail: http://www.prometric.com/IIM-CAT/contactus Phone support availability: September 9 to October 1, 2009 - 9AM to 6:00 PM from Monday to Saturday Webmail support availability: Webmail support will be available from the beginning of registration till candidates receive their score reports. Queries, received by webmail, will be responded to within 48 business hours.

Regards,

Aju John.