Best Colleges accepting CAT Score in India

There are approximately 1,550+ MBA colleges in India accepting CAT scores. Of these,  1,077 colleges are privately owned, 177 colleges are owned by public/government organisations, and public-private entities own 7 MBA colleges. CAT is the most accepting entrance exam in top MBA colleges in India. IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, Indian Institute of Management Mumbai, etc. are some of the top MBA colleges that accept CAT score in India.

Here are the best MBA colleges in India that accept CAT:

Top Colleges	NIRF 2023 Rank	NIRF 2024 Rank	NIRF 2025 Rank
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad Ranking	1	1	1
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore Ranking	2	2	2
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Kozhikode Ranking	3	3	3
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi Ranking	5	4	4
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow Ranking	6	7	5
IIM Mumbai Ranking	7	6	6
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta Ranking	4	5	7
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore Ranking	8	8	8
Management Development Institute Ranking	13	11	9
Symbiosis International, Pune Ranking	17	13	11

Disclaimer: This info. is taken from the official website and may differ.

Joining the best MBA colleges accepting CAT scores in India can be worthwhile for you. For that, you need to check its ROI. Listed below are some of the colleges along with their tuition fees and average placement package:

College Names	Total Tuition Fee	Annual Average Package
IIM Ahmedabad MBA	INR 25 lakh	INR 20 LPA - INR 32 LPA
IIM Bangalore MBA	INR 25 lakh	INR 33 LPA
IIM Indore MBA	INR 17 Lacs - INR 20 lakh	INR 22 LPA - INR 27 LPA
IIM Kozhikode MBA	INR 18 Lacs – INR 21 lakh	INR 25 LPA – INR 27 LPA
IIM Lucknow MBA	INR 13 lakh	INR 30 LPA

 

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.

IIM-A's PGP course which leads to a Master’s degree in Business Administration is IIMA’s flagship programme for more than fifty-five years and is among the top-ranked programmes in the world for many years. Ranked 1 by NIRF 2022 for Management education, experts consider MBA at IIM-A as one of the toughest programmes to get into. Additionally, during placements in 2022, the highest and average package of IIM Ahmedabad stood at INR 61.48 LPA and INR 32.79 LPA, respectively, and 100% of the students got placement opportunities from companies, such as Bain, Amazon and Google. Thus, it isn't just worth but pursuing MBA from IIM-A is the best option in India. 

Find below the reviews by MBA students of IIM Ahmedabad:

 

It is estimated that joining the top B Schools accepting CAT scores in India can be affordable as most colleges have tuition fees between INR 1-2 lakh. Listed below are some of the affordable colleges having tuition fees of less than INR 1 lakh:

Low-cost MBA Colleges	Tuition Fees
PSGCT Coimbatore	INR 35,000
Tezpur University	INR 24,000 - INR 63,000
GJUST	INR 58,000
Calcutta University	INR 33,000
Institute of Management Studies, BHU	INR 99,000

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.

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

 

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.

The total tuition fee of the MBA programme at DMS IIT Delhi is INR 11.2 lakh. During the MBA placements of 2023 at DMS IIT Delhi, the top and median salary packages reached INR 41.13 LPA and INR 24.45 LPA respectively. Additionally, the average package for freshers was INR 25.82 LPA as part of the same placements.  Considering the total cost of tuition and the package secured after the completion of the course this seems to be a good return on the investment. To get admission to the MBA course provided by tha college, candidates must clear CAT. Give as many CAT mock tests as possible. 

The general eligibility criteria to get MBA admission in India that accept CAT scores are listed below:

• Candidates should have a bachelor's degree or equivalent qualification in any discipline from a recognised university or institution with a minimum of 50% aggregate.
• MBA colleges in India consider scores from national-level entrance exams such as Candidates are required to meet the minimum cutoff scores set by the respective colleges.

Preparing for CAT 2024?

• Click to practice Q&A for Verbal Ability and Q&A for Quantitative Aptitude.
• Click here for Q&A4 Article

Yes CAT syllabus is difficult to crack if you do not have enough time. There are three subjects in CAT- VARC, DILR and Quantitative Aptitude. Most of candidates find RC passages tough to crack. In Quants, Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry pose significant challenge during preparation. In DILR, Reasoning questions often turnout to be tricky and confusion. 

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.

IIM Calcutta placement 2023-24 was concluded with a 100% placement record. The highest package offered in the placement drive stood at INR 1.2 crore per annum. Thus, students after MBA from IIM Calcutta can accept a good placement drive. However, the placement offered changes every year based on the merit of the participants and upon the participating companies.

The cost of IIM Indore MBA ranges between INR 17.30 Lacs and INR 35 Lacs as per unofficial sources. However, the fee structure given on IIM Indore official website, the total fee of the PGP course is inclusive of the course fee, alumni fee, medical insurance and mess deposit.

Given below is fee structure of IIM Indore MBA fees, as per the official website for 2023-25 batch:

Particulars	Total Amount (for 2 years)
Course fee	INR 20 lakh
Alumni fee	INR 23, 600
Medical Insuarance	INR 2,716
Refundable Caution Deposit	INR 1 lakh
Mess deposit	INR 1.08 lakh

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.

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.

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.

Gauhati University MBA admission is completely based on the merit scores obtained by students in the university/national-level entrance exam along with their merit at the undergraduate level. The university conducts its own entrance exam for admission. However, those with a valid score in national-level entrances, such as MAT/ CAT/ XAT/ CMAT exams are exempted from this test provided they have a score of 75 percentile and above. Those who qualify one of the afore-mentioned exams are required to go through a GDPI round for final selection. Before everything else, students must meet with the minimum eligibility criteria set by the university which is to pass a relevant undergraduate degree with at least 50% aggregate. However, those who are in the final year of their UG degree can also apply provided they have no arrears in the previous semesters and fulfill the complete eligibility before first semester exams.

Yes, for Pune University MBA Admission a valid CAT/ MAH CET/ CMAT score is compulsory along with the set minimum eligibility criteria. To be eligible, candidates must have completed an undergraduate degree with at least 50% aggregate (45% aggregate for reserved category candidates). For more information on other MBA accepting exams for SPPU and its affiliated colleges, students are advised to visit the official website of the university or the respective affiliated college.

The highest package offered during IIT KGP placements 2026 was INR 2.44 Crore per Annum.

Yes, IIT Madras can be one of the prime choice for MBA aspirants. The institute recorded a 100% placement rate for its MBA batch passing out in 2024. The highest and average package offered during IIT Madras MBA placements in 2024 stood at INR 29.65 and INR 16.93 LPA, respectively. Further, the median package offered to during IIT Madras MBA placements in 2024 stood at INR 20.40 LPA.

Talking about the Indian Institute of Technology Madras rankings, the institute has been ranked 15 by the National Institutional  Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023 for its Management category courses. In the year 2022, IIT Madras was ranked 10 in the Management category by the NIRF. Find here about the other top ranking IITs in India.

The placement rate recorded during SJMSOM IIT Bombay MBA placements 2023 was 100%. Students get a good salary package after completing MBA from a reputed institute like SJMSOM. The highest package and average package offered during SJMSOM IIT Bombay MBA placements 2023 stood at INR 54 LPA and INR 28.88 LPA, respectively. The top recruiters of SJMSOM IIT Bombay in 2023 included leading companies such as GEP, HUL, Google, Accenture, Cargill, etc. 

The total tuition fee for the MBA programme at IIM is inclusive of admission fees, caution deposits, and charges for many facilities offered at IIM Raipur during the programme. Although, the total tuition fee for the MBA course at IIM Raipur is collated from unofficial sources. The total tuition fee for the MBA programme at IIM Raipur ranges somewhere between INR 8 Lacs to INR 14.2 lakh. Hence, it is indicative, that candidates can refer to the institute’s official website for more details on the same.

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) is one of the top Management institutes in the country. It has grabbed #15 rank in the NIRF 2024 rankings in the Management category. The overall the highest and average stipend offered (for two months) during IIFT Delhi summer placement 2025 for the MBA IB batch of 2024-26 stood at INR 6 Lacs and INR 2.73 lakh, respectively. Moreover, the Sales and Marketing domain emerged as the top recruiting domain. Furthermore, in the MBA BA batch of 2024-26, the highest and average stipend stood at INR 4 Lacs and INR 1.42 lakh, respectively.