Top MBA Colleges in India

Top MBA Colleges in India

India is sprawling with quality MBA colleges, but some are better than others in a few aspects. While choosing an MBA college, there are a few parameters that you should keep in mind, which include, its reputation, the alumni network, the faculty, and of course the corporate connection it has. We have categorized India's top MBA Colleges into six clusters based on the above-mentioned parameters which will help you select the ideal B-school that you want to target as your MBA destination. As we all know, there is no dearth of MBA Colleges in India, but for this list, we have chosen only the most progressive and most reputed colleges in the country.

Disclaimer: While this list, designed on the predictions made by CL experts, serves as a guide for selecting a top-level MBA college, do not constrain your research to this list only. We advise you to talk to some of the alumni members, go through the official website of the college and visit the campus if you can before taking admission to any of the below-mentioned institutes.

Top MBA Colleges: Cluster-1

Undoubtedly, like every year IIM Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Calcutta acquire the top three positions in the best MBA Colleges’ preference list. With an excellent placement record, great reputation, and endless opportunities these institutes stand as crème de la crème institutes. FMS Delhi, IIM Lucknow, and XLRI are all equally good and one can choose any of these based on one’s specific requirements.

If you are a candidate with over 3 years of work experience then you should be looking at ISB Hyderabad which offers a one-year course and accepts a GMAT score for admission. FMS DU, TISS, and JBIMS stand out in terms of excellent “value for money” institutes due to their very low fee and excellent placements however the 85% reservation for Maharashtra pushes JBIMS lower in the order of preference.

TISS is a little lower on the list but that’s mostly because it is a specialized program. A general management program is generally preferred (over specialized programs) as it allows you to choose your area of specialization after studying all subjects in the first year. However, if you are interested in a particular stream (in this case HR) then it would rank higher for you. For e.g., if you are looking for a specialization in HR then XLRI and TISS would be your preferences.

Top MBA Colleges: CLUSTER – 2

This cluster shows that some non-IIMs make their mark as better MBA colleges than most of the IIM colleges in terms of growth, learning, and placements. IIFT Kolkata is listed in cluster 2A above many other older and more established institutes because it has a common placement process with IIFT Delhi and hence there is no disparity among the two institutes.

Similarly, IIML ABM is preferred over IIMA FABM because while IIML does not differentiate between ABM and PGP in terms of placement opportunities, IIMA has a separate placement process for PGP and FABM. Three well-known technical institutes (IIT Bombay/Delhi and NITIE) make their presence felt in this cluster, all three are well-known MBA in Operations/Systems/Analytics. The IB programs of MDI Gurgaon are in this cluster and not in Cluster 1 due to cost considerations. Several of the new IIMs like IIM Ranchi, Udaipur, etc. are also appearing on this list.Many other IIMs and non-IIM colleges are part of cluster 2.

Top MBA Colleges: CLUSTER – 3

B-schools such as MICA and IRMA that offer specialized programs find their spot in this cluster. It must be understood that in their specialization, these two MBA colleges are amongst the best in the country. For example, MICA is regarded as one of the topmost MBA colleges in the country for its Marketing and Advertising program. Two old-established good institutes in this cluster are XIMB and IMT Ghaziabad, both provide excellent placement opportunities. For candidates with over 2 years of work experience, the Great Lakes Chennai 1 year program (PGPM) can be considered over others despite a lack of AICTE recognition as it has excellent placements due to industry recognition. In this cluster, the IITs can be preferred over the others due to their low fee and good placements especially if you are interested in specializing in operations/systems/analytics.

Top MBA Colleges: CLUSTER – 4

Highlights of this cluster are the old established institutes (TAPMI, GIM, KJ Somaiya, BIM Trichy, etc) which are well known regionally, and the latest IIMs like Vizag, Nagpur, and others.

This cluster also has specialized programs of some of the top MBA institutes (PGDISEM of NITIE, MSc Finance of JBIMS, HR programs of NMIMS and XIMB, etc.) and the value for money MBA programs of Delhi University (MFC, MHROD, MBE).

Top MBA Colleges: Cluster - 5 & 6

If you have not made it to any college up to Cluster 4 and CAT/XAT retake is not an option or you think that in a retake you will not be able to improve your score significantly then it is Cluster 5 and 6 institutes that you are looking at. The colleges included in these two clusters provide good education and decent career opportunities. However, the roles, profiles, and salary levels will be lower than what would be available in a higher cluster institute. For these colleges location is an important criterion – an institute in a metro city is likely to have better industry interaction and better placement opportunities.

Also at this level, the majority of the placements are in the same geographical region, e.g. if you are studying in NCR you are unlikely to be placed outside North India. Also given that the salary levels will not be very high, look at keeping the total expense of doing an MBA (fee + boarding & lodging) under control. Servicing a 20-lakh loan will be challenging with an 8 lakh salary.

FAQs

Does the reputation of UG college matter during MBA interviews in top B-schools like IIMs and FMS?

No, the reputation of a UG college does not make any difference during the interview rounds in top B-schools such as IIMs and FMS. The graduation marks are the only criterion based on which the candidate’s performance is measured.

Do extracurricular activities play an essential role in building a stronger profile for selection in top B schools?

Extracurricular activities play a role in making a stronger profile for selection to top B-schools as it gives you an edge over peers with similar profiles.

What are the best business schools in India?

For an MBA aspirant, it is essential to identify the best business institutes and the eligibility criteria to get admission to any one of them. So here are some of the top B-schools in India:

• Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
• Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
• Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
• Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow
• Faculty of Management Studies, New Delhi
• Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
• Xavier Labour Research Institute, Jamshedpur
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• All the top B-schools require candidates to clear one of the entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, SNAP, NMAT, etc. So candidates can identify their institutes of choice and prepare for the entrance exams accordingly.

Which are the top MBA institutes based on placements?

Based on placements, the top B-schools include

• FMS Delhi
• ISB Hyderabad
• IIM Ahmedabad
• IIM Bangalore
• IIM Calcutta

How many students crack the CAT and get into an IIM every year?

Every year, over 2 lakh students appear for CAT. On the other hand, the overall number of seats in all the IIMs is approximately 5500 as of 2022. So even though many candidates crack CAT and get admission to some of the top B-schools in India, out of the 2 lakh students applying for CAT, only a few thousand get admission into one of the IIMs.

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