What is the validity of CAT score?

CAT score is valid for one year at the IIMs and top B-Schools. In some tier 3 and government institutions, CAT score of previous two years are also acceptable. Many B-schools including IIMs have an option of deferment of admission, wherein you can confirm your admission and pay the nominal fee but join the batch in the next year. It is advised that candidates take admission in the same year as their CAT attempt so that they don't have to reappear next year. Given the competition in MBA space, it is difficult to get a good college whether you have a low score or average score. So, incase one is getting a good college, they should take admission and not drop a year to appear for CAT again.

How important is it to have a good academic profile for IIM admission through CAT?

Having a good academic profile for IIM admission is very critical. The top 6 IIMs lay a lot of emphasis on Class 10 and Class 12 score for selection of candidates for WAT-PI round. The academic profile is evaluated again at the time of preparation of final merit list. It has been seen in the past that some candidates despite having 99+ percentile, were not selected for PI round due to low score in Class 12. The academic profile is assessed for academic as well as gender diversity. Which means a candidate who studied Arts in Class 12 may be selected for PI with lower marks than a candidate who studied Science in Class 12. Candidates aiming for IIMs must know that while the importance of academic profile is very important for top IIMs, it is moderately important for rest of the IIMs. For, other top MBA colleges, overall profile matters more than academic score. So, if you do not have superlative scores in Class 10 and 12, build a good profile with work experience and extra curricular activities to increase your chances of selection.

What is the minimum CAT cut off for IIM ABC?

Minimum qualifying cut off for IIM Ahmedabad is 95 percentile whereas for IIM Bangalore and IIM Calcutta, it is 85. However final cut offs for these three top IIMs are between 99 to 100 percentile.

What if I have a very good CAT score but poor academic record?

If you have a very good CAT score but poor academic record it is quite likely that you may not be shortlisted for top IIMs as the institutes prefer candidates with overall consistency in academics. Class 12 scores holds a lot of importance in shortlisting of candidates for WAT-PI.

I have done BCom from correspondence college. Can I apply for CAT?

Yes, you can apply for CAT. The main criteria of eligibility for CAT is graduation from a recognised university. So, whether the education mode is full-time or correspondence, if the university is recognised by the UGC, the candidates will be eligible to appear for the CAT exam.

What is the CAT 2026 exam date?

CAT 2026 exam will be held on November 29, 2026. Official announcement of the exam and registration schedule will be announced in the last week of July 2026.

What are the government top MBA colleges accepting CAT scores in India?

The table below shows the best government colleges accepting CAT scores in India along with their total tuition fees: Public/Government Colleges Total Tuition Fee IIM Ahmedabad Admission INR 25 lakh IIM Bangalore Admission INR 25 lakh IIM Indore Admission INR 17 Lacs - INR 20 lakh IIM Kozhikode Admission INR 18 Lacs – INR 21 lakh IIM Lucknow Admission INR 13 lakh

What are the top MBA colleges accepting CAT scores in India with good placements?

The table below displays the average placement packages offered by leading recruiters at the top CAT accepting colleges for MBA in India. College Names Annual Average Package Top Recruiters IIM Ahmedabad Placement INR 20 LPA - INR 32 LPA Tata Steel, NPCI, Jio Financial Services, Axis Bank, etc. IIM Bangalore Placement INR 33 LPA Accenture, EY, American Express, Infosys, Oliver, etc. IIM Indore Placement INR 22 LPA - INR 27 LPA Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte India, EY, Infosys Consulting, KPMG, etc. IIM Kozhikode Placement INR 25 LPA – INR 27 LPA Accenture, Amazon, Microsoft, Deloitte, TCS, HCL, Cognizant, etc. IIM Lucknow Placement INR 30 LPA Adobe, TCS, Infosys, ITC Limited, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, etc.

Best Colleges accepting CAT Score in Maharashtra

Maharashtra is home to 427 MBA/PGDM colleges in India and there is a split of colleges by ownership, private 275, public / government 14 & public private 4.

Location wise

India is home to MBA/PGDM colleges. Listing below the cities/states offering MBA/PGDM courses with no. of colleges.

Location Details	Colleges
Maharashtra	427 Colleges
Delhi/NCR	227 Colleges
Uttar Pradesh	192 Colleges
Pune	156 Colleges
Karnataka	125 Colleges
Bangalore	101 Colleges
Gujarat	99 Colleges
Mumbai (All)	90 Colleges
Rajasthan	87 Colleges
Orissa	84 Colleges
Mumbai	69 Colleges
Tamil Nadu	65 Colleges
Delhi	63 Colleges
Haryana	63 Colleges
Bhubaneswar	56 Colleges
Kerala	55 Colleges
Greater Noida	50 Colleges
West Bengal	49 Colleges
Uttarakhand	48 Colleges
Jaipur	47 Colleges

Specializations

Finance is the most popular specialisations offered by MBA/PGDM in Maharashtra. Below is the table showing specilasations offering by no. of colleges.

Specialization Details	Colleges
Finance	198 Colleges
Human Resources	186 Colleges
Sales & Marketing	186 Colleges
Operations	139 Colleges
Supply Chain	90 Colleges
Business Analytics	87 Colleges
IT & Systems	86 Colleges
International Business	78 Colleges
Agriculture & Food Business	51 Colleges
HealthCare & Hospital	33 Colleges
Digital Marketing	32 Colleges
Entrepreneurship	30 Colleges
Rural Management	30 Colleges
Pharma	22 Colleges
Retail	22 Colleges
Family Business	21 Colleges
Transport & Logistics	19 Colleges
Marketing	14 Colleges
Travel & Tourism Management	8 Colleges
Fintech	8 Colleges

Entrance Exams

There are various exams accepted by MBA/PGDM in Maharashtra like MAH CET, CAT, CMAT and many more. Below table showing exams accepted by no. of colleges.

Exam Details	Colleges
MAH CET	591 Colleges
CAT	427 Colleges
CMAT	399 Colleges
XAT	387 Colleges
MAT	385 Colleges
ATMA	360 Colleges
GMAT	238 Colleges
NMAT	36 Colleges
MHT CET	23 Colleges
SNAP	21 Colleges
CBSE 12th	17 Colleges
ISC	17 Colleges
Maharashtra HSC	16 Colleges
PERA CET	15 Colleges
MCAER CET	13 Colleges
CUET	8 Colleges
BMAT	5 Colleges
NMIMS CET	5 Colleges
JEE Main	3 Colleges
ACET	3 Colleges