Last updated: September 20, 2026

Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT 2026 Score: Fees, Placements & Cutoffs

The top MBA colleges accepting CAT 2026 scores are the 21 IIMs, along with SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, FMS Delhi, IIFT New Delhi, and the IIT MBA departments. Just below them sit a strong second tier, IMI New Delhi, IMT Ghaziabad, XIM Bhubaneswar, TAPMI Manipal, FORE School of Management, and BIMTECH, all of which accept CAT scores with slightly more accessible cutoffs. This guide breaks colleges down by the percentile band you're realistically scoring in, plus separate lists for low-fee options, government colleges, and city-wise picks.

Top IIMs Accepting CAT 2026 Score

All IIMs, old and new, admit purely through CAT, and cutoffs across them range roughly from 88 to 99 percentile depending on the institute. With IIM Guwahati's recent addition, India now has 21 IIMs in total, and every one of them runs its own independent shortlist for the 2026-28 batch.

Institute	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Average Salary (LPA)
IIM Ahmedabad	25.00	34.45
IIM Bangalore	24.70	35.92
IIM Calcutta	25.00	35.07
IIM Kozhikode	20.50	28.05
IIM Lucknow	21.75	30.00
IIM Indore	21.17	25.68
IIM Mumbai	21.00	31.00

Best MBA Colleges by CAT Percentile Band

Instead of chasing one "best college" list, it's more useful to check which colleges are realistic for the percentile range you're actually landing in. Here's the breakdown from the top down.

CAT 90-95 Percentile

MDI Gurgaon, SPJIMR Mumbai, and IIFT Delhi lead this band. FMS Delhi, despite its low fee, typically needs a CAT score closer to 98-99 percentile, so treat it as a stretch option even within this list.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
FMS New Delhi	2.32	34.10
SPJIMR Mumbai	26.50	32.10
MDI Gurgaon	30.60	31.08
IIFT Delhi	21.87	27.30
TISS Mumbai	1.85	28.20
IMI Delhi	23.54	17.91
IMT Ghaziabad	23.00	16.25

CAT 80-90 Percentile

IMI New Delhi, XIM Bhubaneswar, IMT Ghaziabad, and GIM Goa are the strongest picks in this band.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
XIM University Bhubaneswar	24.60	19.53
BITSOM Mumbai	28.55	23.41
KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Mumbai	15.13	23.41
FORE New Delhi & Gurgaon	23.40	16.80
GIM Goa	21.45	15.13
TAPMI Manipal	19.50	13.84
MICA Ahmedabad	23.00	19.21
SDA Bocconi Asia Center	20.75	14.10

CAT 70-80 Percentile

MDI Murshidabad, BIMTECH, and IFMR GSB at Krea University lead this range.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
MDI Murshidabad	16.19	12.75
BIMTECH Greater Noida	14.00	11.10
IFMR GSB, Krea University	19.50	12.04
Welingkar Mumbai	16.20	11.70
JAGSOM Bangalore	17.50	10.32
ICFAI Business School (IBS) Hyderabad	17.01	9.81
LM Thapar School of Management	15.00	9.78 (top 50%)
Woxsen University Hyderabad	20.54	9.90
Jaipuria Institute of Management	16.50	11.12
NIA Pune	12.00	12.74

CAT 60-70 Percentile

Jaipuria Lucknow, Welingkar Bangalore, and FLAME University Pune are the standout names here.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
ICFAI Business School (IBS) Hyderabad	17.01	9.71
FLAME University Pune	14.40	11.00
Welingkar Bangalore	14.00	10.36
Jaipuria Institute of Management Lucknow	15.25	11.12
IPE Hyderabad	9.20	7.02
Indus Business School (IIEBM) Pune	11.20	7.50
Delhi School of Business (DSB) Delhi	10.95	9.40
Jaipuria School of Business Ghaziabad	9.20	8.61
FIIB New Delhi	12.85	8.50
Jaipuria Institute of Management Jaipur	14.75	11.12
NDIM New Delhi	12.75	9.50
GNIOT Institute of Management Studies Greater Noida	8.55	7.20
Jaipuria Institute of Management Indore	13.50	11.12

CAT 50-60 Percentile

These colleges carry moderate fees alongside genuinely decent placement numbers, worth considering if your score lands in this band.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
IMS Unison University Dehradun	6.48	4.50
NSB Bangalore	9.10	7.10
SCMS Cochin School of Business	7.95	7.80
Globsyn Business School, Kolkata	7.80	7.39
RV Institute of Management	11.50	6.80

Top Non-IIM MBA Colleges Accepting CAT 2026

Beyond the IIMs, FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IIFT Delhi, and IIT Delhi's DOMS are consistently the strongest non-IIM options. Other well-regarded private colleges accepting CAT scores include IMI Delhi, XIM Bhubaneswar, GIM Goa, FORE School of Management, and TAPMI.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
FMS New Delhi	2.32	34.10
SPJIMR Mumbai	26.50	32.10
MDI Gurgaon	30.60	31.08
IIFT Delhi	21.87	27.30
IMI Delhi	23.54	16.73
IMT Ghaziabad	23.00	16.25
XIM University Bhubaneswar	24.60	19.53
FORE New Delhi & Gurgaon	23.40	16.80
GIM Goa	21.45	15.13
TAPMI Manipal	19.50	13.84

Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT with Low Fees

If return on investment matters more to you than brand name alone, these are the colleges worth a close look, several with genuinely strong placements relative to their fee.

MBA College	Fee (₹ Lakhs)	Avg. Placement (LPA)
FMS New Delhi	2.32	34.10
TISS Mumbai	1.85	28.20
Delhi School of Economics (DSE)	1.07	12.00
USB Chandigarh	0.49	12.95
Pune University PUMBA	2.40	8.85
IPE Hyderabad	9.00	7.02

Government MBA Colleges Accepting CAT 2026 Score

Beyond the IIMs and IITs, a handful of government-run institutes accept CAT scores at very low fees relative to their placement outcomes.

Government College	MBA Fee for 2 Years
FMS Delhi	₹2,35,000
UBS Chandigarh	₹49,000
Pune University PUMBA	₹3,00,000

Top MBA Colleges Accepting CAT 2026 Score: City-Wise

With well over 100 colleges accepting CAT scores across India, narrowing down by city is often the fastest way to shortlist. Here's a quick city-wise breakdown of the strongest names.

City	MBA Colleges
Delhi-NCR	FMS Delhi, MDI Gurgaon, IIFT Delhi, IIT Delhi, IMI Delhi, FORE School of Management, BIMTECH Greater Noida
Mumbai	IIM Mumbai, SPJIMR Mumbai, IIT Bombay, JBIMS Mumbai, NMIMS, BITSOM, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management, Welingkar Mumbai
Pune	SIBM Pune, SCMHRD Pune, PUMBA (Pune University), NIBM Pune, NIA Pune
Bangalore	IIM Bangalore, TAPMI Bangalore Campus, XIME, JAGSoM, Christ University
Hyderabad	ISB Hyderabad (One Year MBA), ICFAI Business School (IBS), BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus, Woxsen University, Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE)

A few other colleges worth knowing for lower CAT scores specifically: PSGIM Coimbatore, Rajagiri Business School Kochi, CIMP Patna, SSN School of Management Chennai, VIT Business School Vellore, Kohinoor Business School Mumbai, and Jansons School of Business Coimbatore.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Which MBA colleges accept a CAT score of 70-80 percentile?

MDI Murshidabad, BIMTECH Greater Noida, and IFMR GSB at Krea University are among the strongest options in this range, alongside colleges like Welingkar Mumbai and JAGSOM Bangalore.

Q2. Can I get an MBA college with a CAT score of 60 percentile?

Yes. Colleges like Jaipuria Institute of Management (across its Lucknow, Jaipur, and Indore campuses), Welingkar Bangalore, and FLAME University Pune typically accept scores in the 60-70 percentile range.

Q3. What is the lowest CAT percentile accepted by MBA colleges in India?

Several colleges accept scores as low as 50-60 percentile, including IMS Unison University Dehradun, NSB Bangalore, and SCMS Cochin School of Business, generally with more moderate fees.

Q4. Which non-IIM colleges accept CAT scores with the best placements?

FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, and IIFT Delhi consistently post some of the strongest placement numbers among non-IIM colleges accepting CAT.

Q5. Which government MBA colleges accept CAT scores with low fees?

FMS Delhi, UBS Chandigarh, and Pune University's PUMBA are among the most affordable government-run options that accept CAT scores.

Q6. How many IIMs accept CAT scores in 2026?

All IIMs in India admit exclusively through CAT, with cutoffs ranging roughly from 88 to 99 percentile depending on the specific institute.

Q7. Which MBA colleges in Mumbai accept CAT scores?

IIM Mumbai, SPJIMR Mumbai, IIT Bombay, JBIMS Mumbai, NMIMS, BITSOM, KJ Somaiya Institute of Management, and Welingkar Mumbai are the key names accepting CAT scores in Mumbai.