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There are a number of top ranked MBA colleges in India apart from the IIMs, which have good faculty, infrastructure and placement cell. Let's take a look at top 30 colleges accepting CAT score apart from IIMs having lower cut offs.
Top 30 colleges accepting CAT score apart from IIMs – CAT 2025 result is out and it is time now to plan MBA admission. IIMs are the first choice of every MBA aspirant in India, but if you plan to see options beyond IIMs, we have a list of best B-Schools for you. There are a lot of popular and high ranked MBA colleges to choose from apart from the IIMs.
These management institutions specialisations, industry exposure, or foreign exchange programmes at comparatively lower fees. Top ranked B-Schools such as FMS, SPJIMR, MDI, IITs, NMIMS, IIFT, GIM, GLIM, LIBA, GIM and many more accept CAT score for admission. Now, the CAT 2025 result is out know which are the top MBA colleges in India and how much CAT 2025 exam score is required for admission.
Alsio Read: CAT toppers 2025: Names, percentiles and scores
- Why MBA?
- Top 30 Colleges Accepting CAT Score for Admission: Cut offs and fees
- Selection Criteria for MBA Admission 2026
Why MBA?
Today, MBA is one of the most popular courses and a majority of students opt for it as it offers a varied range of career options, high salary and related perks. For the same, it is important to obtain an MBA degree from an institute of a good repute and a good placement record. However, IIMs are not within the reach of every student. For some, IIM cut offs are too high at (95-100 percentile) and for some IIM fees is too high (INR 13 to 27 lakh per annum). Apart from the fact that CAT cut offs for IIM admissions are too high, the selection criteria is also very tough. Thus, it is important to keep your options open viz. MBA admissions. For those whose CAT scores do not meet the IIM cut off, there are a lot of options available. There are many reputed MBA colleges in India that are on par with IIMs. Shiksha has shared below a list of the top 30 MBA colleges accepting CAT score, which ensure a good start to your career.
Commonly asked questions
No, you cannot get into MDI Gurgaon with 94 percentile. The Management Development Institute Gurgaon admission to PGDM in International Business + Master in Management (MIM) is based on CAT score, followed by a Personal Interview (PI) round. As per MDI Gurgaon cutoff 2024, the CAT cutoff percentile was 97 for the General All India category students. So, a general category student can not get into MDI Gurgaon with 94 percentile in CAT for PGDM courses.
However, candidates belonging to other categories, including SC, ST, OBC and PWD can get into Management Development Institute Gurgaon with 94 CAT percentile.
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Top 30 Colleges Accepting CAT Score for Admission: Cut offs and fees
The list below features some of the top 30 MBA colleges other than the IIMs for MBA/PGDM course. Also, mentioned is the total course fees and expected CAT cut offs 2025 for admission.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
The minimum marks or CAT cut off to appear for IIM selection round is different for every institute. Tier 1 colleges select candidates with CAT score above 95 percentile, Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score between 80-90 percentile and Tier 2 colleges select candidates with score lower than
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no CAT PI shortlist for IIMs. Candidates have to simply login with their CAT credentials and fill the PI shortlist form.
S
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
There is no minimum qualifying marks for CAT. Anybody scoring above 0 in the exam is eligible for admission, however the B-Schools select candidates on the basis of cut offs which are 60 and above percentile.
N
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
The final CAT cutoff are not released publically. However, candidates can check qualifying cut offs in the admission criteria document released by IIMs and other institute before the exam.
A
Contributor-Level 7
Answered Yesterday
CAT cut off is prepared by all accepting colleges individually. There is no one authorized body to do so. Even the IIMs determine their admission cut offs separately.
J
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 2 days ago
If we're talking about GIBS Business School Bangalore, they don't have some super high CAT cutoff. In simple words, you don't need to be in the 99+ percentile to get considered.
- They look for a decent CAT score, usually around 70–80 percentile as a safe benchmark
- Scores are important, but they also ca
P
Contributor-Level 7
Answered 3 days ago
Not CAT necessarily, but still, you need to take a national-level entrance exam required for MBA admissions.
J
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
Most IIMs require a CAT percentile of 90 to 99 for MBA in Business Analytics. Private colleges like Great Lakes and NMIMS accept scores between the 70th and 85th percentile.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, it is possible to get admissions at some of the top private MBA colleges in India with a low CAT score, between the 80th and 85th percentiles. These are some.
| Top Private MBA Colleges in India | CAT percentile |
|---|---|
| TAPMI CAT Cutoffs | 85 |
| GIM Goa CAT Cutoff | 85 to 88 |
| FORE School of Management CAT Cutoff | 75 to 85 |
Note: All info. is from official sites and can change.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, students can get admission in Sandip University, Nashik without CAT. The university also accepts other national/ state CETs. These are MAT/ XAT/ State CETs. Students can also appear for the Sandip University Management Aptitude Test - SUMAT.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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