MBA Admission 2025-2026: Last Date to Apply, Fees and Selection Process of Top B-Schools

MBA Entrance Exams: Important Dates

• CAT 2025 application dates: August 1 to September 20, 2025
• SNAP 2025 application dates: August 1 to November 20, 2025
• NMAT 2025 application dates: August 1 to October 10, 2025
• XAT 2026 application dates: July 10 to December 5, 2025

MBA Admission 2025-2026: 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 2025-2026: 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. Application window for most of the colleges is closed for 2025. Registration process for 2026 batch will begin soon.

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

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.