MBA Admission 2024: Application Dates, Entrance Exams, Admission Process & Top Colleges

MBA Admission 2024-26 in India is ongoing. If you are planning to pursue an MBA (Master of Business Administration) from IIMs or other top management colleges in India, you must have a complete awareness of the MBA admission process 2024, good MBA colleges, management entrance exams, and other parameters.

The MBA admission season generally starts from September to November and lasts until May to June. Not all the business schools in India follow the same MBA admission 2024 process and different components determine the eligibility of candidates for admission to an MBA course. In general, the top B-Schools follow a four-step process for giving admission to MBA courses.

The major difference between various B-Schools regarding the MBA admission process 2024 is the acceptability of different MBA entrance exam 2024 scores. The subsequent stages of the admission process such as Group Discussion/ Written Ability Test/ Personal Interview are almost similar in all the top B-Schools across the country. This article contains everything you need to know about the MBA admission process 2024.

Also Read: Direct MBA Admission Without Entrance Exam in 2024

MBA Admission 2024: Highlights

The table below mentions the most significant highlights of MBA admission 2024:

MBA Admission 2024: Application Deadlines for Top MBA Colleges

The table given below provides a list of some of the leading MBA colleges in India along with their MBA admission 2024 last date. Candidates seeking admission in B-Schools must ensure that they appear for the required MBA entrance exam 2024 and apply to the institute before the given deadline:

MBA Admission 2024: Eligibility Criteria

Academic qualifications, minimum marks obtained, minimum and maximum age limit, nationality, and scores from recognized entrance exams, such as the CAT, etc. are the factors that determine the eligibility for MBA admission 2024. Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements in order to be considered for admission to MBA (Master of Business Administration) in 2024.

• Bachelor's Degree: Candidates interested in an MBA programme must hold a Bachelor's degree in any discipline that has been earned over a period of at least three years.

• Final Year Graduation: Applicants who are in their final year of Graduation can also apply for MBA admission 2024. However, the admission will be confirmed only if they can provide the necessary documentation when it is time for the MBA admission process.

• Graduation Scores: For applicants in the General category, a graduation score of at least 50% is mandatory. Students with backgrounds in SC, ST, or PWD can take advantage of a 5% exemption and must achieve an overall score of at least 45%.

• Entrance Exam Scores: Candidates must pass any national admission examinations, such as the CAT, XAT, GMAT, SNAP, NMAT, or CMAT, and meet the cut-off marks required to fill out the MBA admission application form of the institution they desire to enroll in.

• Institute-level Exam: Students who want to study MBA must apply and take the MBA admission exams conducted by the institutes. IIMs accept the CAT, XLRI the XAT, SCMHRD the SNAP, and TISS the TISSNET results.

Also Read: Distance MBA vs Online MBA vs Regular MBA

MBA Entrance Exams 2023-24

Given below is the list of MBA entrance exams in India 2023-24 including both institute-level and national-level exams:

*MAT is conducted four times a year - in September, December, February, and May.

**ATMA is usually conducted 4 times every year. However, in 2017 and 2018, it was conducted five times.

Also Read: CAT vs CMAT, NMAT, XAT, SNAP, IIFT & Other MBA Entrance Exams

MBA Selection Process 2024-26

Before filling out the MBA Admission Application Form, candidates must complete the following steps:

• Shortlist a B-School.

• Check the MBA entrance exams accepted by the institute.

• Check the Eligibility Criteria to enroll in the institute.

• Appear for the MBA Course Selection.

MBA admissions are done in two ways: 

1. Direct admission, and 

2. Obtaining valid scores in CAT, MAT, XAT, or other national-level MBA exams. 

Institutes will announce their cutoff when the results are made public. Applicants who meet the cutoff scores are eligible for the Written Ability Test, Group Discussion, and Personal Interview.

Direct Admission/ Merit-Based Admission 2024

• Several institutions operate on a first-come, first-serve admissions policy.

• Applicants must apply to the colleges or universities they want to attend based on their preferences and areas of interest.

• Candidates must have completed their graduation in any discipline with at least a 45%–50% aggregate.

• Those with between one and three years of job experience will be given preference.

• With a minimum aggregate of 50% in their Bachelor's degree, students can also apply for admission to private MBA institutions through the management quota or Institute level quota seats.

How to Apply for MBA Course 2024?

The points mentioned below give a detailed analysis of the application process for MBA 2024 before moving on to the MBA admission 2024 process. Candidates aspiring for MBA admission 2024 must go through all the factors regarding the application process listed here:

• 98% of MBA colleges in India accept online applications for admissions. The online application process is very easy and all that students will have to do is visit the official website of the respective B-School.

• The online application link will be active on the homepage of the respective B-School website with heading such as ‘Admissions 2024’, ‘Apply Now,' ‘Register Now,’ ‘Online Application Form,’ ‘Click Here to Register,’ etc.

• Students will have to fill in all the personal, educational, and work experience details asked in the application form.

• Most B-schools consider the score of any of the national or state-level management entrance exams for admissions. Therefore, students need to submit the score of the entrance exam and roll number along with the online application form.

• A valid e-mail ID and mobile number are mandatory to fill out the online application.

• Applicants can pay the prescribed application fee through the official website of the institute. The application fee payment can be done by using a Credit/ Debit Card or Net Banking.

• Certain B-Schools offer direct admission to eligible candidates. These candidates can submit the online application form and wait for a call from the respective institute. The admission may be based on merit/ GD/ WAT/ PI.

Documents Required for MBA Admission 2024

Here is the list of all the mandatory documents required to submit/ upload during the MBA admission process 2024:

• Entrance Test Score Card and Admit Card

• Bachelor’s Degree Certificate/ Marks Sheet

• Higher Secondary Certificate (Class 10) and Senior Secondary School Certificate (Class 12)

• Category Certificate (If Required)

• Identify Proof (most probably Aadhar – Xerox copy)

• Work Experience Certificate (Only for those who have work experience)

Also Read: Documents Required for MBA Admissions

MBA Admission 2024 for IIMs

CAT score is mandatory to get admission into IIMs (Indian Institutes of Management). You can use the CAT 2023 Percentile Predictor to estimate whether or not you will be able to meet the IIM CAT 2023 cutoff criteria basis last year's trends. More details about the IIM admission process are elaborated below.

The preliminary shortlisting/ selection process of candidates in all the IIMs is similar, but the subsequent stages of the admission process are different. The preliminary stage of the selection process at IIMs is to ensure and determine a candidate’s eligibility for MBA admission in an IIM. The MBA 2024 admission process at IIMs involves the following four stages:

• Stage I – Determining Eligibility for Admission: A graduate from any discipline with a minimum of 50% marks at the UG level is eligible to apply for the IIM CAT entrance exam.

• Stage II – Apply and Appear for CAT: All eligible candidates must apply for the CAT exam.

• Stage III – Shortlisting by IIMs for Admissions: After the announcement of CAT results, IIMs will release the first shortlist for admission. In the process of shortlisting eligible candidates, IIMs will independently award weightage to CAT exam score, academic diversity, gender, work experience, academic profile, etc., Some IIMs shortlist the candidates only based on CAT score. This is also based on the CAT 2023 exam analysis.

• Stage IV – Final Round of IIMs Admission Process: The shortlisted candidates will be called for the final stage of the selection process which involves WAT (Written Ability Test)/ Group Discussion/ Personal Interview. Popular IIMs give higher weightage to GD/ PI than the CAT score.

If your final score after the above round is higher, you will get admission to IIMs. Make sure you secure your allotted seat before the MBA admission 2024 last date.

Note: The shortlisting/ selection criteria, weightage, etc., are announced independently by the respective IIMs after the announcement of CAT results 2023.

At present, there are 21 IIM colleges in India, and almost all the institutes open and close the PG management admission process simultaneously. Usually, the admission process at IIMs begins after the announcement of CAT 2023 results. The MBA admission process will go on for months, as the selection process involves different stages.

Apart from IIMs, FMS of Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University will also accept CAT scores for admission to MBA courses, and the admission process is similar to IIMs. In India, almost 3,000 business schools consider CAT scores for admission to management courses at the postgraduate level.

Before understanding the MBA admission process of IIMs, let us take a look at the list of IIMs, which is divided into three categories: Old IIMs, New IIMs, and Baby or Newest IIMs. The oldest Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) in India are popular for academic excellence. The New IIMs are set up in the last five to seven years while the Baby IIms are set up in recent years (3-4 years ago).

Also Read: List of the Top IIM Colleges in India

MBA Admission 2024 in India for Other Top Colleges

Almost all the other business schools follow a similar pattern of the selection process for MBA courses that involves entrance test scores, GD/ PI/ WAT. Here is a list of some of the business schools and their selection process.

Also Read: List of Non-IIM MBA Colleges to Apply to Before and After CAT Exam

MBA Colleges in India Accepting Scores of Top Entrance Exams

The table below has a list of all the top MBA colleges in India that accept MBA entrance exams 2024 like CAT, CMAT, XAT, NMAT by GMAC, etc. Click on the links to know the colleges and the exams they accept.

Getting admission into a good business school is not as hard as it is often made out to be. If you keep a steady head, plan, be practical while shortlisting the colleges and courses that will be the most beneficial to you, and follow the proper process, you are sure to find yourself enrolled in one of India’s top B-Schools. Remember that doing proper research will help you avoid any roadblocks that may arise in the admission process for MBA.

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You can fill out the Common Application Form (CAF) and apply to the popular MBA colleges in India. For all admission-related inquiries, you can contact our student helpline at 1800-572-9877. We wish good luck to all those aspiring to get MBA admission into their dream colleges!