IIM

The CAP round is the abbreviated term used for the Common Admission Process that is conducted by new and baby IIM's for the ease of candiates. Candidates are shortlisted for the CAP round based on their CAT scores and candidates are required to appear for the GDPI round which is conducted once for the bunch of CAP colleges. IIM Kashipur does participate in the CAP round and has participated in the CAP 2025 as well. 

Here are some names of colleges that accept CMAT - 

Jaipuria Institute of Management

K J Somaiya Institute of Management

Amity University Noida

Christ University

Birla Institute Of Management Technology

Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies

Management Development Institute

N. L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research

S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research

Great Lakes Institute of Management

Institute of Management Studies

These are some IIMs which take admission without CAT score- 

IIM Ahmedabad

IIM Bangalore 

IIM Indore 

IIM Lucknow 

IIM Calcutta.

Outside of the IIMs, Chandigarh University (CU) is one of the top MBA colleges in India. With a #4 national rank (QS World Rankings 2025) and collaborations with top corporates like IBM, PwC, Adobe, and NSE Academy, CU offers an MBA experience that's modern, practical, and globally relevant. The highest MBA package has hit INR 28 LPA, and students are trained through mock interviews, internships, and real-time projects in state-of-the-art labs. CU also stands out for its merit-based admission via CUCET only—no CMAT required. It's a fantastic IIM-alternative with real career results.

Yes, it is mandatory to qualify CAT for admission to full time MBA programmes offered by the 21 IITs, along with full-time MBA, qualifying CAT score is also required for PGP, FPM, PhD, PhD Executive, Executive MBA, Doctoral Programme, PGPx courses.

Doing PhD in economics from top institution like IITs and IIMs would be a great option.If you want a business and management oriented (applied economics) role go for IIM, while IITs are best suited for research in core economics and quantitative economic research.So the choice is totally dependent upon you field of interest and future goals.

Hope this would be fruitful to decide between the two.

Here are details of various PG courses offered at IIM with duration and fees:

1) Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP/MBA) with a duration of 2 years and fees is approximately Rs. 25 to 35Lakhs .

2)Executive Post Graduate Programmes with a duration of 1 year and fees is approximately Rs. 25 to 30 Lakhs.

3) Post Graduate Programme in Management for Working Executives with a duration of 2 years and fees is approximately Rs. 12 lakhs.

IIM Jammu offers an MBA and an MBA (HA & HM). The fee structure for these two-year programmes comprises tuition fees, caution deposit and other academic/non-academic expenses. The academic/non-academic expenses include Academic Support, Library fees, Hostel fees, etc. Check out the following table presenting the IIM Jammu MBA fee structure:

In NIRF 2024 the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru achieved top-ranking status by performing outstandingly across all evaluation criteria for university institutions in India. IISc Bengaluru achieved the second-place ranking in the national evaluation after IIT Madras. The Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru sustains peak performance in education and research which makes it a superior educational institution in India. The second position in Indian universities went to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) New Delhi which followed immediately after IISc Bengaluru.

IIM does not conduct official CAT mock tests for candidates, but it does release a mock guide which can be viewed as official CAT mock test. It is essentially a walk through of what the CAT test form will be for that year. It has section wise questions marking scheme, time limit, etc. just like the actual CAT exam. Candidates must use take the official CAT mock test at least once before the exam.