New CATastrophe: Forms in bad shape

After slogging the whole year in the hope of bagging an IIM seat, it's finally  time to fill out forms for CAT (Common Admission Test). But your worries are far from over, as there are several glaring errors in this year's IIM-published CAT bulletin-cum-admission forms.

Several pages are missing or have been repeated in the 2004 bulletin. In some cases, the crucial bar code with the form number was found to be disfigured or smudged. And chances are that after dishing out a whopping Rs. 1,100 for the IIM-published form, you are likely to run helter-skelter for a new form. Both IIM-Ahmedabad and IIm-Bangalore have admitted to "printing errors", saying copies of the defective form would be exchanged without hindrance. But that isn't the case.

While admitting that some complaints about printing errors had been received, IIM-Ahmedabad admissions officer R M Iyer said the SBI, the sole authorised selling agent for CAT forms, had been asked to replace the defective bulletins.