MBA Direct Admission 2024: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges. While you have applied for IIM Admissions during the CAT Registration, are you wondering which other B-schools to apply to as most top MBA colleges like SPJIMR, XLRI, and MDI have opened their MBA Admission? This article will help you decide which B-schools to apply using 10 criteria that have been well researched by our editorial team.www.direct-mba.com or Call @ 9742479101 (Ankit Mishra) || 9742886036 (Anis) || 9035556036 (Mayur Gautam) ||
Importance of the MBA Application Process
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
Before we go further, understand that you must treat MBA Application Process as seriously as preparing for CAT/XAT or other MBA exams, because if you don’t apply to the right B-school, you will not get admission even if you have scored 99%ile! Also, each Application Form Fee for each MBA college admission is between Rs 1500-2500. If you apply to the wrong college, you have wasted time and money. So, planning your MBA Application very carefully is key.
Now comes the question — how to choose the right MBA College which is the best fit for you? What are the key parameters that should guide you in making the right choice?
10 Points Guide to Selecting the Best MBA College
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
Use our step by step guide to decide your MBA College. Evaluate MBA colleges systematically based on the following parameters:
- Exam Accepted & their Cut Off: Check your eligibility
- MBA Vs PGDM: Select the type of MBA College carefully
- Fee: Calculate the Total Amount you will spend, not just Tuition Fee
- Placements: Check Average Salary and Top Recruiters
- Ranking & Accreditation: Trust only the best
- Faculty: The most important criteria, research wisely
- Location: Either prefer Top Cities for MBA or Top Colleges
- General MBA or Specialized MBA: Match your aptitude
- Legacy & Alumni Base: Network Matters
- Infrastructure & Facilities: Good Ambience aids Great learning
Let’s bring our journey and understand each of the above parameters.
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
Exam Accepted & Cut Off: The first and foremost in choosing the MBA College is your eligibility criteria. Different B-schools accept different National Level or State Level or their own Entrance Test scores for which a minimum overall (sometimes even sectional cut off) is prescribed. For example, IIMs have sectional cut-offs along with the overall cut-offs. Many other top colleges like MDI, IMI, IMT consider overall cutoffs. Others like SPJIMR focus more on academic profile and achievements, instead of simply considering the entrance exam scores. Most other B-schools accept MAT or CMAT Scores.
So, before moving forward to make your choice of MBA College, check which exam you are appearing in and whether the B-school will accept its score for admission, and what is the expected cut-off. To make your decision easier, a brief division of MBA colleges accepting different exam scores with a cut off guide is given here:
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
| MBA Colleges | Exam Accepted | Cut-offs |
| 20 IIMs, SPJIMR, MDI, FMS, IITs, NITIE | CAT conducted by IIMs | Check here CAT Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
| XLRI, XIMB, IMT & other Xavier Institutes | XAT conducted by XLRI | Check here XAT Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
| NMIMS Mumbai & other 30+ MBA colleges | NMAT by GMAC | Check here NMAT Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
| 16 Symbiosis Institutes in Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad & other cities | SNAP conducted by SIU | Check here SNAP Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
| AICTE Approved 1000+ Colleges | CMAT conducted by NTA | Check here CMAT Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
| 300+ mid-tier MBA colleges | MAT Conducted by AIMA | Check here MAT Accepting colleges with cut-offs |
Apart from the above exams, some of the top exams are TISSNET (for TISS) and IBSAT (for ICFAI IBS Colleges).
Also Check:
Why Study MBA Direct Admission in Bangalore
Top 100 MBA Colleges in India Direct Admission
MBA Direct Admission Process 2021
What is MBA Direct Admission: get details thru directmbainfo.com
Direct Admission in MBA 2020: College, Process
How to Get Ahead with Your MBA Direct Admission Process
MBA or PGDM Direct Admission Which Has More value
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
- MBA Vs PGDM: Choose Your Program
Out of so many B-schools, there are different types of MBA colleges operating in India. You need to make a choice about which type of MBA College & program you wish to choose out of them.
An MBA degree program is offered by University B-school recognized by UGC, while PGDM, equivalent to MBA is offered by the AICTE approved B-school. The flexibility of the curriculum is more in the PGDM program. The following type of MBA colleges offer MBA and PGDM programs:
- 20 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs): Offer PGP leading to an MBA degree now
- MBA offered by the departments at IIT Bombay, Delhi, Kharagpur, Kanpur, Roorkee among others
- MBA offered by Central & State University MBA Departments and affiliated MBA colleges like FMS of Delhi University; JBIMS of Mumbai University; IIFT Delhi Deemed University; IP University MBA Department among others
- MBA offered by Private Universities like – NMIMS Mumbai, XIMB at Xavier University Bhubaneswar, Christ University Bangalore, IFMR Graduate School of Business under Krea University, KSoM at KIIT University Bhubaneswar, among others
- PGDM (Equivalent to MBA) offered by Private PGDM Colleges, like – XLRI Jamshedpur, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, TAPMI Manipal, K J Somaiya Mumbai, Goa School of Management Goa, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai/Gurgaon among others
It may be noted that broadly there is no difference in the offering of MBA or PGDM programs as both have equal recognition except the difference in nomenclatures. Read more about the difference between MBA and PGDM programs. Check here MBA or PGDM
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
- MBA Fee
A moderate fee structure with a good placement that can assure you about your career prospects is what you might be looking for. So, it will be better to compare the fee structures of different B-schools and the benefits of learning arising out of it before finalizing your MBA admission decision.
You should calculate the total fees and expenses for 2 years at the MBA college and not just the tuition fee as the tuition fee could form only 50-60% of the total expenses. If you add the expenses for laptop, other study material, boarding & lodging expenses, other deposits at the B-school, the total fee will be much higher.
There are MBA colleges with the different fee structures. For example, IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta have a fee structure above Rs. 20 to 25 lakhs whereas the total program fee at FMS Delhi is less than Rs. 2 Lakhs. The MBA fee range at some of the best MBA colleges is shared below to help you make a choice:
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Colleges with Fee Range above Rs. 20 Lakhs
- IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta
- MDI Gurgaon
- XLRI Jamshedpur
MBA Colleges with Fee Range between Rs. 15-20 lakhs
- IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Udaipur,
- SPJIMR Mumbai
- XIM Bhubaneswar
- IMI New Delhi
- IMT Ghaziabad
- Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
- IFMR GSB Chennai
- SIBM Bangalore
MBA Colleges with Fee Range between Rs. 10-15 lakhs
- IIM Amritsar, IIM Nagpur, IIM Visakhapatnam
- IRMA Anand
- TAPMI Manipal
- FORE School of Management, Delhi
- GIM Goa
- K J Somaiya, Mumbai
- Welingkar, Mumbai
- XIME, Bangalore
- BIMTECH Greater Noida
- Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow
- EDII Ahmedabad
- SDMIMD Mysore
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Colleges with Fee Range between Rs. 5-10 lakhs
- VJIM Hyderabad
- IPE Hyderabad
- JIMS Rohini, Delhi
- SRM School of Management, SRM University, Chennai
- Mody University School of Business, Jaipur
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Colleges with Fee Range below Rs. 5 lakhs
- FMS Delhi
- USMS-IP University
- SIMSREE Mumbai
- PUMBA Pune
- AMSoM University Ahmedabad
- DSE-Delhi University, Delhi.
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
- MBA Placements
Before making a choice, check what are the average placements over the years in the B-school? Which MBA program gets higher Placement? Who are the top recruiters? These queries need to be answered before you make huge investment to your MBA program.
The division in average placements could be made in 3 categories – Highest Placement B-schools like older IIMs, High Placement B-schools like IITs, TAPMI, Moderate Placement B-schools like BIMTECH, LIBA, Jaipuria among others. You should compare the fee and placements of the B-schools and then choose the right MBA college:
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Colleges in India with Average Placements: Rs. 20+ LPA
- IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow
- FMS Delhi
- SPJIMR Mumbai
- XLRI Jamshedpur
- IIFT Delhi
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
MBA Colleges in India with Average Placements: Rs. 10+ LPA
- JBIMS Mumbai
- IMI New Delhi
- IMT Ghaziabad
- K J Somaiya
- MICA Ahmedabad
- Great Lakes Institute of Management
- TAPMI Manipal
- GIM Goa
- FORE School of Management
- XIMB Bhubaneswar
MBA Colleges in India with Average Placements: Rs. 5+ LPA
- Welingkar Mumbai
- BIMTECH Greater Noida
- BIMM Pune
- KSoM KIIT University Bhubaneswar
- BITS Pilani
- Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow
- LIBA Chennai
- SDMIMD Mysore.
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
- Ranking & Accreditation
MBA College Rankings help you to decide which MBA College or MBA program you should apply when there are number of options available to you. Although there are dozens of B-school rankings which are published in India, the creditability and track record of the ranking is most important to get reliable guidance.
The top five MBA Rankings or B-school Rankings in India are:
- NIRF Ranking Framework by HRD Ministry, Government of India
- Business Today B-School Ranking
- The Week Ranking of B-Schools
- Outlook B-School Rankings.
All these rankings help you make an informed choice to select the best MBA college
National and International Accreditations awarded to the B-schools reflect the quality of education including curriculum as per Global standard and industry requirement, pedagogy, high quality of faculty and research, facilities at the institute which are prominent parameters to choose the best MBA college. Following are the prominent International and National Accreditations that you should look for, before making a decision on your preferred MBA college:
Top 3 International Accreditations:
- Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), USA
- EFMD Quality Improvement System (EQUIS)
- Association of MBAs (AMBA), UK
Top 2 National Accreditations
- National Board of Accreditation (NBA)
- National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC)
MBA Direct Admission 2021: How to choose MBA Colleges
Faculty & Learning Experience
It is of utmost importance to find out how qualified and experienced the faculty is at the B-school. Every B-school publishes its faculty profile area-wise on its website. You must read faculty profiles carefully and do area wise research especially for the MBA program you wish to pursue and look for following qualities:
- Professional Experience
- Academic Qualification
- Research Area and publications
- Industry engagement
If the B-school has not published on its website the details of the faculty profile, you should be cautious and avoid such an MBA college. Core faculty at the B school decides the learning experience in imparting the education at the institute and is the main factor in providing adequate mentorship to the students. The better is the teacher-student ratio, the better will be the mentorship at the institute.
A teacher-student ratio of 10 students mentored by 1 teacher could be considered a good one. If there are fewer good faculty members and the ratio does not remain good enough, it may affect adversely the learning experience at the B-school.
- Location
Location preference needs to be exercised if you do not get admission in one of the top MBA colleges. If the MBA college is located in or near an industrial hub with high career prospects like Delhi NCR, Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Calcutta you could opt for the best available MBA college in the city as per your eligibility for admission.
- General or Specialized MBA
You need to decide whether you wish to pursue a General MBA and take some specific area of specialization in the second year or want to do a specialized MBA right from the beginning.
There are many top MBA colleges that offer General MBA and very few specialized MBA programs while many other MBA colleges offer specialized MBA programs also, like MBA Finance, MBA HR, MBA Business Analytics, MBA Rural Management among others. The choice has to be made before taking admission.
So, if you are interested in MBA Finance and the B-school does not offer specialization in it, there is no point of opting for the said MBA college. You should first figure out what is your career goal and which is the relevant MBA program for you to help you achieve your goal.
If you go to an MBA college offering MBA Marketing while you wish to pursue an MBA Finance or some Industry aligned MBA, you will be wasting your investment and 2 precious years of life.
- Legacy & Alumni Base
The older the B-school, the higher is its alumni base that leads to a better career path due to global network of its old students. How true it is, you will know simply by comparing the 20 IIMs where the older ones complete their placement as early as in February with high salary packages and newer ones struggle till late. FMS Delhi the oldest B-school offering MBA has a legacy of more than 60 years. Its alumni base is spread all over the world. Candidates get placed within a few days when campus placement starts.
The truth that Old is Gold has not yet gone wrong when deciding on the B-schools. The legacy not only reflects its position on a placement year after year but also proves the sustainability and growth of the institute over a period of time. The learning experience from well-learned experienced faculty is another advantage that students of an older B-school get according to changing market trends.
- Infrastructure & Facilities
Good management institute is supposed to have good, well-equipped classrooms, library, auditorium, residential accommodation for the students on campus so that they can make the best use of the library, labs and get mentorship from their professors when they feel like
There is no point running for the brand, but choose the one B-school where you can expand your wings not looking at your average scores but making it big in a good learning environment
Ready to select? Check MBA Colleges Admission Dates & Application Form
Depending upon your likely scores in CAT and other exams, and other parameters above, now you need to search which MBA options are open for you now. A list of key MBA colleges where MBA admissions 2021 are open is below. You can click on these links in front of each college to know more and apply…
Top CAT Colleges
| MBA College | Cut off percentile | Application start date with B School Admission Deadlines |
| FMS Delhi | 97+ | October 19 – November 30, 2020 (Likely) |
| SPJIMR, Mumbai | 85+ | September 28 – November 27, 2020 | Apply Now |
| MDI Gurgaon | 90+ | September 16 – November 27, 2020 | Apply Now |
| IIT-Delhi, Bombay, Kharagpur, Madras | 90+ | January 5– January 31, 2021 (Likely) |
| XIMB, Bhubaneswar | 90+ | September 25 – December 9, 2020 | Apply Now |
| IMI New Delhi | 90 | September 12 – December 7, 2020 | Apply Now |
| IMT Ghaziabad | 90 | September 14 – November 27, 2020 | Apply Now |
| NITIE Mumbai | 90+ | November 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021 (Likely) |
| Great Lakes Chennai | 85 | September 5 – November 22, 2020 | Apply Now |
| TAPMI Manipal | 85 | October 15 – December 11, 2020 | Apply Now |