5 Proven Money-Saving Tips to Afford Your MBA in India & Abroad

5 Proven Money-Saving Tips to Afford Your MBA in India & Abroad

Alen Tom ShajiUpdated on 12 Mar 2025, 05:47 PM IST

MBA is one of the most demanding master’s programmes chosen by the candidates after the completion of a bachelor's degree in any stream. As per the latest reports, the cost of studying MBA in the USA and UK ranges from Rs. 60 lakhs to Rs. 65 lakhs. However, the cost of studying MBA in India is around Rs. 26 lakhs to Rs. 35 lakhs. The MBA course fee can vary from one institute to another based on its rankings and reputation. Following some money-saving tips for an MBA helps students achieve their goals and complete the course at an affordable MBA fees. Read this article further to understand some of the tips that help candidates save money for doing an MBA course.

LiveIIM CAT 2025 Result (OUT) LIVE: MBA scorecard at iimcat.ac.in; IIM cut-offs, marks vs percentileDec 25, 2025 | 5:03 AM IST

GIM Goa’s CAT cutoff is usually around 88–90 percentile for the General category. It also has an 'Achievers Round' with a lower cutoff, which was around 80 percentile last year.

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This Story also Contains

  1. 5 Money Saving Tips For Your MBA
  2. Money Saving Tips For MBA Students
  3. Best MBA Colleges in India with Low Fees
  4. Best Cheapest MBA Colleges Abroad
  5. MBA with low Fees in India
5 Proven Money-Saving Tips to Afford Your MBA in India & Abroad
5 Money Saving Tips For Your MBA

5 Money Saving Tips For Your MBA

Due to the high demand for an MBA, the course fee required to join the management programme at top B-schools in India or abroad will be higher. Candidates who wish to do the MBA must know some money saving tips for doing MBA. When choosing an MBA, the important thing to be considered is the financial investment for completing the course. The course fee for doing an MBA programme at tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 institutes from India is different from one to another.

Money Saving Tips For MBA Students

The below 5 money saving tips will help the candidates to do an MBA at an affordable cost. These cost-saving techniques will help MBA aspirants to do an MBA from any of the top B-schools in India. The money saving tips for doing an MBA are mentioned below.

Tip 1: Research about MBA Specialisations and Job Market

MBA opens the door to new opportunities and enhances our professional skill set. So, before choosing an MBA, the candidates must do thorough research regarding the MBA specialisations, reputation of the MBA institutions, best MBA ROI, MBA salary, and MBA placements. The result of this research will help the candidates save money for an MBA by making the right decision and achieving their dreams without burdens.

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Tip 2: Apply for a Bank loan

Candidates who are worried about the payment of course fees and other expenses to pursue an MBA can directly approach the banks. The bank offers education loans for students who wish to do an MBA in India or abroad. Only one thing to keep in mind while applying for an educational loan, choose a loan with a favorable interest rate and ensure the repayment of the loan on time without failure.

Tip 3: Avail of the MBA Scholarships

Many MBA universities and colleges offer financial aid to students by offering scholarships based on their academic performance and other extracurricular activities. In addition to this, the central and state government also offers scholarships to the students to pursue their higher studies.

Check out | Scholarship for MBA Students in India: Types, Qualifications

Tip 4: Start to earn during the course period itself

Try to start saving money during your study period by doing part-time jobs, paid internships or freelancing. This practice will help the students to ease the financial burden and source of income for living expenses. The main advantage of doing a job during your study period will be an added advantage to your career.

Tip 5: Maximize the use of B-Schools facilities and resources

Most of the top MBA institutes offer academic and infrastructure facilities for students. The candidates can make use of the library, online study materials, and other learning materials to enhance their knowledge and skills. Students can attend the workshops, placement-oriented training sessions, and other placement-related activities offered by the institutions. Students can avoid paying charges for similar services outside the campus.

MBA aspirants also search for: Top MBA Colleges in India with Low Fees & Better Placement

Best MBA Colleges in India with Low Fees

MBA aspirants can also apply for various management specialisations offered at low-cost colleges. Some of the MBA Institutes offering management courses with lower fees in India are mentioned below.

Cheapest MBA Colleges in India

Best Cheapest MBA Colleges Abroad

MBA aspirants who wish to do an MBA from abroad has also plenty of opportunities. Candidates can avail the scholarships based on their profile. Some of the top B-schools available outside India with low fees are mentioned in the table below.

Top 10 Cheapest MBA Colleges Abroad

MBA Colleges Abroad

MBA Fees

MBA Scholarships

Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

Rs. 3,93,200

  • Faculty Of Business Administration MBA Entrance Scholarships
  • Faculty Of Business Administration MBA Indigenous Entrance Scholarship

University of Victoria, Canada

Rs. 29,61,700

  • Ritchie Foundation MBA Entrance Scholarship
  • MBA Pay-it-Forward Award
  • James A. Mossey Award

EU Business School, Barcelona

Rs. 19.28,690

  • EADA Scholarships
  • Barcelona GSE Master Scholarship

University College of Birmingham, UK

Rs. 26,44,290

  • Academic Excellence Scholarship
  • Sporting Excellence Scholarship

Technical University of Munich, Germany

Rs. 12,00,000

-

University of Tuebingen, Germany

Rs. 8,00,000

-

Kaplan Business School, Sydney

Rs. 27,00,000

Asia-International Student Scholarship

International Institute of Business and Information Technology, Sydney

Rs. 32,00,000

Federation University Australia Global Excellence Scholarship

Deusto Business School, Spain

Rs. 10,00,000

-

EAE Business School, Spain

Rs. 24,00,000

Academic Excellence Grant

Also Read: MBA in India vs MBA Abroad: Which one is better?

MBA with low Fees in India

MBA aspirants looking for management courses can check out the top colleges with low fees located in different cities in India from the links below.

MBA Colleges in India: Location-wise

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Are there any scholarships available to do MBA courses in India?
A:

Yes, MBA aspirants can apply for the various scholarships offered by the government or private. The IIMs and other NMBA institutes also provide scholarships for eligible candidates. The scholarships are offered based on some eligibility criteria, entrance exam scores, and academic performance.

Q: What are the expenses of doing an MBA in India?
A:

Candidates who wish to do an MBA from India can expect expenses like college application fees, tuition fees, mess fees, admission fees, entrance examination fees and preparation fees.

Q: What are the 5 steps to save money for an MBA?
A:

The 5 money saving tips for your MBA are as follows:

  • Research about the MBA specialisation and institutes.
  • Apply for educational loans from banks at favourable interest rates if required. 
  • Apply for the scholarships or grants offered by the government or MBA Institutes.
  • Start to earn during the study period itself by doing part-time jobs, internships or freelance work.
  • Try to utilise the resources available at the MBA colleges.
Q: Can I do an MBA without money?
A:

Yes, the candidates can do MBA without paying course fees from the top B-schools based on their previous academic performance, entrance exam score and performance in other extra curricular activities.

Q: How can I do an MBA with lower fees in India?
A:

Interested candidates can apply for the MBA after the completion of 3 years bachelor’s degree. The main thing the students need to face is the expenses required to do an MBA programme. The candidates can apply for MBA specialisations with low fees offered by the below institutes.

  • Pune University Department of Management Sciences (PUMBA)
  • Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai
  • IGNOU Delhi
  • Delhi School of Economics, DU
  • Dr. D.Y. Patil Institute of Management and Entrepreneur
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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello,

The results for the CAT 2025 entrance, which is conducted on November 30, 2025, were declared on December 22, 2025. Candidates can download and see their results on the official IIM CAT website. On the website, click on the "CAT 2025 Result/Scorecard" link to download the result by entering the required details.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,

The link to the website where you can check the published result is attached herewith.  The result will be out soon. You can also check the cutoffs on the website of Careers360.

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-result

Thank you.

CAT does not restrict eligibility based on stream. Candidates from commerce, arts, science, engineering or any other background can appear for CAT and apply to MBA programmes offered by IIMs and other top B-schools.

The basic eligibility criteria for CAT are:
You must hold a bachelor’s degree in any discipline from a recognised university with at least 50 percent marks (45 percent for SC, ST and PwD categories). Final-year graduation students are also eligible to apply.

Being a commerce graduate can actually be an advantage in areas such as accounting, finance, economics and business studies, especially during MBA coursework in finance, marketing and operations.

After qualifying CAT, admission depends on multiple factors including CAT percentile, academic background, work experience (if any), performance in GD, WAT and personal interview rounds. Many IIMs and B-schools follow a diverse academic background policy, which means non-engineering candidates, including commerce graduates, often receive additional weightage.

Apart from IIMs, several reputed institutes such as FMS Delhi, SPJIMR Mumbai, MDI Gurgaon, IMT Ghaziabad, and many state and private universities also accept CAT scores for MBA admissions.

So, as a commerce graduate, you are fully eligible to appear for CAT and pursue an MBA, provided you meet the minimum academic requirements and perform well in the selection process.

If you want, I can also help you with realistic CAT percentile targets based on your academic profile or suggest suitable MBA colleges.


Hello aspirant,

With a CAT 2025 raw score of 84 and strong sectionals, your expected percentile may fail in the high 98 range , depending on scaling. Your excellent academics and 2 years of work experience strengthen your profile .IIM Lucknow calls are possible but competitive for EWS engineers , while FMS Delhi looks mainly at CAT score and VARC , so you have a reasonable chance there . Final calls depend on cutoffs and composite score.

FOR REFERENCE : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/cat-cutoff

Hope the details will help you.

THANK YOU

Hello,

For a raw score of 56 in CAT 2025 Slot 3, your expected overall percentile is likely to be in the range of the 90th-95th percentile. The exact percentile can vary slightly on the final normalization process and the process and performance of all test-takers. In this article you'll find more about the CAT result.

I hope it will clear your query!!