MBA Admission 2026: Last Date to Apply, Fees and Selection Process of Top B-Schools

MBA admission 2026: With the announcement of CAT 2025 result, admission process for MBA has started at various B-Schools. Check admission dates, application deadline, process and selection criteria of top MBA colleges in India here.

MBA admission process 2026 has started at all top B-schools in India. Many of them have released the PI shortlist and will conduct it in February. Several others have opened the application window, so that CAT 2025, XAT 2026, SNAP 2025, NMAT 2025 qualifying candidates can apply. 

Candidates can choose from a range of government and private MBA institutes in all the states of India. MBA admission criteria includes Group Discussion (GD) and Personal Interview (PI). If you wish to seek admission in 2026 academic session, you will need to first appear for an entrance exam. Most of the nartional level MBA entrance exams hacve been conducted, but you can opt for MAT and ATMA as they are conducted throughout the year. February onwards, state level MBA entrance process will also commence so, you have the option of appearing for:

• National level entrance exam
• State level entrance exam 
• University/institute level entrance exam

MBA Entrance Exams: Important Dates

• MAT 2026 application dates: December 25 to March 2, 2026 
• ATMA 2026 application dates: December 1 to February 10, 2026

MBA Admission 2026: Choosing a B-School

Candidate's decision of MBA admission should be based mainly on the choice of Management course as that will pave way for the desired career. The second parameter should be the MBA college. This decision requires extensive research about each MBA college and courses that it offers. Other important factors that one needs to keep in mind are government recognition, eligibility criteria, admission process, tuition fee, hostel facility, pedagogy, infrastructure, placements, etc. Shortlisting of institutes for an MBA/PGDM programme must be based on these aspects.

Once, the list is ready, the next step is to find out their MBA admission process and selection criteria. Many MBA colleges accept candidates on the basis of common entrance exam score while some select candidates on the basis of Graduation score. 

Also Read:

• Group Discussion (GD) Topics for MBA admission
• MBA Scholarships in India 

MBA Admissions 2026: Application Deadline

Some of the popular MBA colleges to target for admission apart from the IIMs are listed below. These colleges invite applications online on the basis of MBA entrance exam scores. So, the aspirants must select their preferred college and start preparing for the MBA admission process, which includes fill the entrance exam form, filling the college application form, clearing the entrance exam and participating in GD/PI. Registration process for 2026 batch has begun at top MBA colleges in India.

MBA Colleges in India: Admission Process & Selection Criteria

The first name that comes to one’s mind viz. a top MBA colleges in India is the Indian Institutes of Management or IIMs. The top ranked MBA institute has 21 campuses and the five top - IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow and IIM Kozhikode - are the most sought after. Every year over two lakh MBA aspirants appear in CAT - the common entrance test conducted by the IIM to pursue MBA/PGDM/PGP programmes. The admission procedure of the IIMs includes CAT exam and WAT/PI.

Also Read: Top PGDM Colleges in India

MBA Admissions 2026: Entrance Exams

If you are an MBA aspirant and planning to pursue MBA this year, this is the time to apply. You can take the following MBA entrance exams for admission to the 2026 academic session:

• CAT
• XAT
• CMAT
• SNAP
• MAT
• ATMA
• KMAT
• IBSAT
• NMAT

Check out: Shiksha's IIM CAT call predictor and percentile calculator

IIM Admission Process

IIM admission is based on CAT exam result. The IIMs screen test takers on the basis of their CAT score and academic record. Category-wise CAT cut off percentiles are fixed for each IIM for shortlisting candidates. Those who meet the eligibility requirement ( CAT cut off) are selected for Written Ability Test (GD/WAT) and Personal Interview (PI). The final selection is based on candidate's overall performance on various parameters such as academics, CAT exam, /WAT-PI, work experience.

Also read:

• IIM Selection & Admission Criteria 2026
• Tips to Prepare for MBA Entrance Exams
• VARC preparation tips for MBA exams
• DILR preparation tips for MBA exams
• Quantitative Aptitude preparation tips for MBA exams

Factors determining selection of candidates for IIM WAT-PI are listed below:

• CAT score
• Class 10 score
• Class 12 score
• Graduation score

After the WAT/GD-PI is completed, a Composite Score of each candidate is arrived at by calculating marks obtained by them on various parameters.

Parameters of Final Selection for IIM Admission

• CAT score
• WAT/GD-PI score
• Class 10 score
• Class 12 score
• Graduation score
• Gender diversity
• Academic diversity
• Work experience

Weight allotted to each of the abovementioned parameter varies for each IIM.

Also read:

• CAT score vs normalisation process
• CAT selection process - Check IIM admission criteria & dates
• How to crack GD-PI/WAT rounds of top B-schools
• 13 must do things to crack GD-PI-WAT

Admission Process of Top MBA Colleges in India other than the IIMs

Top MBA institutes like the following have the same admission process like the IIMs, but they accept scores of multiple entrance exams. Since there is no common counselling for admission to MBA colleges, candidates have to apply for every institute separately to secure an MBA seat. 

MBA Admission Process

MBA Admission & Selection Criteria of Top MBA Colleges

As mentioned earlier, MBA admission process includes an entrance test followed by GD/PI. However, different MBA colleges accept different exam scores. The table given below has the list of top MBA colleges and the exam score they accept for admission. Also indicated in the table is whether these institutes conduct GD/PI or not.

List of MBA colleges in India by entrance exam

Given below is the list of MBA colleges in India accepting various entrance exam scores. Take a look at each of them before choosing a college for MBA admission.