Top MBA entrance exams in India : An MBA is not a degree it is a roadmap to life. It equips you with tools to navigate the complexities of the business world and unlock heaps of personal and professional opportunities. Here’s why an MBA is your passport to success:
Career Advancement: It equips you with the ability to handle higher level and challenging responsibilities with good leadership and management.
At International Level: Develop strong business networks that will help in setting up an influence at the international market; hence, enhance the possibility of having an international career
Develop Core Skills: It builds skills and experience in decisions, strategy formulation, and effective communication to work on the line of business for profits.
Keeping all these advantages in mind, now let’s have a look to see how to crack the top entrance exams for getting admission into the best business schools here in India in order to have a bright future ahead.
Top Institutes to Target
These are entrance exams administered by India to evaluate the candidate on certain parameters like quantitative aptitude, logical reasoning, verbal ability, and general awareness.
This is then followed by multiple rounds, comprising WAT, Group Discussion, and PI to finally get them ready for India’s best institutions: Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) This is the flagship institution driving the MBA ecosystem in India.
XLRI Jamshedpur A great deal of reputation in the HR and business management.
MDI Gurgaon Industrially intensive strategy background.
IIFT Delhi It is the most sought after college for the courses taken up in international business.
TISS Mumbai It is the institute of social sciences and HRM.
SPJIMR Mumbai Academically still strong but orientated toward practical aspects.
Great Lakes Chennai, and IMT Ghaziabad An institute that molds leaders ready for the industry. Why the Effort Is Worth It
That is not easy to do at all, it’s a fantastic achievement, but the pay is immense. Let’s look into the kind of placements these colleges offer:
| College Name | Average Package (INR) | Highest Package (INR) |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 35 Lakh per Annum | 1.15 Cr |
| IIM Bangalore | 33 Lakh per Annum | 1 Cr |
| IIM Calcutta | 34 Lakh per Annum | 1.20 Cr |
| ISB Hyderabad | 29 Lakh per Annum | 72 Lakh per Annum |
| XLRI Jamshedpur | 27 Lakh per Annum | 78 Lakh per Annum |
| FMS Delhi | 32 Lakh per Annum | 1.23 Cr |
| SPJIMR Mumbai | 26 Lakh per Annum | 77 Lakh per Annum |
| MDI Gurgaon | 24 Lakh per Annum | 60 Lakh per Annum |
| IIFT Delhi | 25 Lakh per Annum | 75 Lakh per Annum |
| SIBM Pune | 23 Lakh per Annum | 45 Lakh per Annum |
| NMIMS Mumbai | 22 Lakh per Annum | 38 Lakh per Annum |
| TISS Mumbai | 22 Lakh per Annum | 42 Lakh per Annum |
| Great Lakes Chennai | 18 Lakh per Annum | 35 Lakh per Annum |
| IMT Ghaziabad | 17 Lakh per Annum | 30 Lakh per Annum |
This great placement record comes with such high profile results that it comes as no surprise these business leaders go months putting sweat and toil to clear exams that promise them a spot at one of these top B schools.
DIFFERENT EXAMS TO GET INTO MBA COURSE OF TOP INSTITUTES
1) CAT (Common Admission Test)
- Application begins from August 2025 and application window closes somewhat close to mid September 2025. An individual can expect an exam date somewhat to be conducted during the last week of November 2025.
- Method of Application is usually online based through CAT official website. Nearly 2.83 lakhs students approx. registered for the CAT examination.
- Important Points to remember
- Students are requested to keep their documents ready like Mark sheets, Photographs, Signatures and Category certificates (if applicable) should be kept ready since they are usually asked to upload during form filling.
- You would also be asked at the time of registration to select your choice of exam cities. Maybe three preferences would be asked and the most prior one to be filled first.
2. XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test)
- For 2025, Application begins from August 2025 and application window closes somewhat in December 2025. An individual can expect an exam date somewhat to be conducted during the first week of January 2026.
- Method of Application is usually online based through the official XAT portal. Nearly 95,000 students take the XAT examination yearly.
- Important Points to remember
- Students are requested to keep their documents ready like Mark sheets, Photographs, Signatures and Category certificates (if applicable) should be kept ready since they are usually asked to upload during form filling.
- Don’t miss out on optional sections like XLRI program preferences.
3. GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test)
- Students can register for this exam throughout the year.
- Method of Application is usually online based through the official GMAT portal. Nearly 1,90,000 2,00,000 students take the GMAT examination yearly.
- Important Points to remember
- An exam through which a student can go abroad to study. The exam could be cleared with 2 3 months of proper preparation just believe in yourself and stick to your routine.
- There are more than 7100 programs a student can get into apart from MBA in 111+ countries, and one can give the exams utmost 5 times a year.
4. SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test)
- Application begins from August 2025 and the application window closes somewhat in November 2025. An individual can expect an exam date somewhat to be conducted during December 2025 (usually conducted on multiple dates).
- Method of Application is usually online based through the official SNAP website. Nearly 50,000 to 60,000 candidates students approx. give this examination each year.
- Important Points to remember
- Usually you have to register differently for different institutes of symbiosis.
- If multiple exam dates are available you can select up to two test dates.
5. NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test)
- Application begins from August 2025 and the application window closes somewhat in October 2025. An individual can expect an exam date somewhat to be conducted during October to December 2025 ( yes, you are thinking right! It’s months long, and an individual can select any date in this span).
- Method of Application is usually online based through the official NMAT website. Nearly 85,000 to 95,000 candidates students approx. give this examination each year.
- Important Points to remember
- More than 60 universities accept the score of NMAT apart from NMIMS.
- An individual can appear for the exam multiple times( at most 3 times) and the highest score among 3 would be taken
6. CMAT (Common Management Admission Test)
- Application begins from November 2025 and the application window closes somewhat in December 2025. An individual can expect an exam date somewhat to be conducted during January 2026 ( If someone is registering this year).
- Method of Application is usually online based through the official NTA CMAT website. Nearly 56,000 to 69,000 candidates students approx. give this examination each year.
- Important Points to remember
- Keeping the affordability of these exams in mind, CMAT remains a perfect stage for those who want to study in an affordable college with a good quality education.
- The score of CMAT is expected by tier 1 colleges and tier 2 colleges also
CONCLUSION
An MBA represents a gateway towards personal and professional growth, bringing leadership, management, and networking skills to the board while providing the global exposure it offers.
Most of the good Indian institutes provide lucrative opportunities when it comes to average packages INR 18–35 Lakh per Annum to the highest packages more than 1 Cr in some cases.
Admission to the above programs occurs through competitive entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, GMAT, SNAP, NMAT, and CMAT that involve quantitative aptitude, reasoning, verbal ability, and others.
With up to 50,000 2.8 lakh test takers annually in these entrance exams, this usually results in extensive selection processes WAT, GD, PI, to admit to high ranking management programs followed by promising and rewarding careers.
