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ISB vs IIM is a dilemma that usually occurs in the minds of candidates who like to do MBA programmes. While thinking about ISB Hyderabad vs IIM, the students are worried about the placement opportunities and skills they can get from these institutes. In this competitive world, it’s not easy to get admission to ISB or IIM institutes. IIM vs ISB colleges have state-of-the-art infrastructure, quality education, excellent placement records, and a learning environment leading to the development of managerial skills. ISB Hyderabad or IIM is a choice for MBA applicants who focus on career goals, course preferences, location, ISB vs IIM executive MBA and IIM vs ISB fees comparison. This article offers knowledge and insights for MBA aspirants to make a final decision on choosing ISB vs IIM management courses. Read the article to know ISB vs IIM Which is better?
Indian School of Business offers full-time PGP and advanced management programmes to working professionals only based on the performance of candidates in the GMAT/ GRE examinations. For the IIM admission, work experience is not an important factor for applying to various MBA courses. However, the CAT score is considered for the IIM MBA selection process, followed by a written test, GD and personal interview.
ISB and IIM are premium business schools in India. Many MBA specialised programmes and electives are available through these respected organisations' management programmes. According to the FT Global MBA Ranking 2024, ISB is ranked 31st overall in the world and 1st in the research category in India. The IIMs also secured the first positions in the NIRF ranking in 2024.
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The main difference between ISB vs IIM can be seen in the table mentioned below.
ISB Hyderabad | IIM |
Private and autonomous | Government-funded and autonomous |
Campuses are located in Hyderabad and Mohali | 21 Institutes all over India |
Accept GMAT/ GRE score | Accept CAT score |
Courses are offered for working professionals. | Courses are offered for freshers and working professionals. |
Average ISB fees is around Rs. 30 lakhs to Rs. 40 lakhs | Average fees is around Rs. 24 lakhs to Rs. 27 lakhs |
Focus mainly on practicals and research | Focus mainly on theory and research |
Candidates who wish to pursue ISB PGP courses are required to pay an ISB fee of Rs. 40 lakh. Meanwhile, the IIM course fee ranges from Rs. 20 lakhs to Rs. 30 lakhs. The details regarding the ISB vs IIM fees comparison, along with the course duration and accepted entrance exams are mentioned in the table below.
Particulars | ISB Courses | IIM Courses |
Courses |
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Duration | 1 to 2 years | 1 to 2 years |
Accepted entrance exam | GMAT/ GRE score | CAT, GMAT, GRE |
Fee structure | Rs. 30 Lakhs to Rs. 43 lakhs | Rs. 20 Lakhs to Rs. 35 lakhs |
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Candidates must meet the ISB vs IIM eligibility criteria to apply for the MBA/ PGDM/ PGP courses. Candidates with a minimum of 2 to 3 years are only eligible to apply for the ISB management courses. On the other hand, candidates with a valid CAT score and no work experience can apply for IIM courses. Check out the below table to see who can apply for the IIM vs ISB management courses
The IIMs also consider work experience as a selection criteria for some of the courses. The details regarding the eligibility criteria for ISB vs IIM admission are listed below.
Particulars | ISB | IIM |
ISB vs IIM Eligibility Criteria | Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree in a relevant field from an approved university. | Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree with a minimum aggregate of 50% marks in a relevant field from an approved university. |
Age Limit | No age limit | No age restriction |
Work Experience | Work experience is mandatory to apply for the ISB PGP / Advanced Management programmes | Work experience is also considered as IIM eligibility criteria. |
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Candidates can apply for the PGP/ AMP programmes offered by ISB Hyderabad and ISB Mohali. ISB admission is carried out through the scores obtained by the applicants in the GMAT or GRE entrance exam and work experience. IIM admission is done based on the CAT score, followed by an interview round. Candidates can go through the details of the ISB vs IIM admission criteria 2025 from the below table.
Candidates who meet the eligibility requirements and entrance exam cutoff can participate in the institute's selection process.
Particulars | ISB | IIM |
ISB vs IIM cutoff |
| CAT cutoff:
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ISB vs IIM Admission criteria |
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Both ISB and IIMs provide executive MBA courses for working professionals. Candidates with a minimum work experience of 3 years are eligible to apply for the ISB vs IIM executive MBA courses. The course fees for doing an ISB executive MBA are Rs. 37 lakhs to 49 lakhs and for IIM it is about Rs. 6 lakh to Rs. 12 lakh.
Both ISB and IIM offer tremendous opportunities for MBA aspirants to be bright in their management career. The ISB vs IIM admission criteria are different from each other. ISB offers courses for working professionals and IIM also provides admission to working professionals and graduates. Getting into the ISB is possible only for candidates with a strong professional background in any sector. The cost of doing an MBA at ISB is high compared to IIM fees. ISB mainly focus on entrepreneurship.
Indian School of Business Hyderabad placement cell offers all the facilities and support for the students to get placed in top companies. According to the recent placement reports, ISB placed around 1609 MBA graduates in various organisations with an average salary package of Rs. 34 lakhs.
While IIM also made 100% placement records in the previous year through lateral, final and summer placements. The IIMs showed an increase in the salary package and the number of students getting recruited by top companies. The IIM placement statistics, such as the highest and average package can vary from one to another.
Particulars | ISB Hyderabad | IIM Lucknow |
Total number of offers made | 324 | 570 |
Number of Recruiters | 1609 | 185+ |
Highest package | Rs.50 LPA | Rs. 58 LPA |
Average package | Rs. 34 LPA | Rs. 31 LPA |
ISB vs IIM placement and training cells ensure the final year graduates get hired in top MNCs with the highest salary packages. These institutions keep the best records in placement and offer a chance to work with the below companies to achieve their dreams. The following are the companies where the students get hired.
Accenture | Adani Group | Aditya Birla Group | Amazon |
Apple | Axis Bank | Citi Bank | Cleartrip |
D.E. Shaw India | Deloitte | Dr Reddy’s Laboratories | Ernst and Young |
Accenture | Genpact | HCL Technologies | |
Amazon | Amazon | Hinduja Group | American Express |
Ranbaxy Laboratories | HSBC Group | Ameriprise Financial | Apollo Tyres |
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Candidates who wish to pursue world-class management programmes face this dilemma. It is difficult for those candidates to make a final decision on these institutes. Moreover, ISB vs IIM institutes have both advantages and disadvantages. Candidates can go through the below table to find out the ISB vs IIM pros and cons before choosing their B-school for MBA / PGP programmes.
Pros | Cons |
Students get hands-on experience in solving real-world business challenges, as the ISB curriculum is mainly focused on practical rather than theoretical. | Admission is offered to candidates with work experience only. |
The topics are taken by foreign and experienced industrial experts. | Given the condensed duration of the course, candidates are required to complete the program within a limited timeframe. This could potentially restrict the breadth of learning opportunities. |
The primary emphasis of ISB is to cultivate a mindset in students that encourages the nurturing of their business concepts, thereby providing opportunities to become entrepreneurs. | The ISB course fee is higher compared to the IIM programmes. |
Pros | Cons |
The programme provides students with opportunities to enhance their management skills, which can be applied in real-world business situations. | The IIM admission process is highly competitive compared to ISB. The total number of seats available at IIM is about 5000. |
Students who score high in the CAT exam will get scholarships. | The IIM curriculum does not offer a real-world business experience |
IIM graduates get hired in various top organisations with good salary packages. | IIM mostly focus on theory rather than practical knowledge. |
As per the NIRF report 2024, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, Indian Institute of Management, Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow are the best IIMs in India.
Yes, candidates with a minimum work experience of 2 to 8 years can only apply for the ISB PGP programmes.
The ISB has more global rankings in 2023 compared to the IIM. However, IIM also has global and national rankings. Candidates have different responses regarding ISB vs IIM courses, admission and recruitment experience.
Going by past year's ISB Hyderabad placement trends, the highest package stood at Rs 66 LPA.
CAT ( Common Addmission Test ) is for those students who want to study MBA or other post-graduation program in mangement field. Who have Bachelor's degree with minimum 50% recognised university can apply for CAT .final year graduation students are also eligible to apply for CAT exam .
The CAT (Common Admission Test) is a national-level entrance exam conducted in India for admission to MBA and other postgraduate management programs offered by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and many other top B-schools. It tests candidates on Quantitative Aptitude, Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation, and Logical Reasoning.
The exam is important because a high CAT score opens the door to prestigious institutions like the IIMs, which are known for excellent education, high-paying placements, and global recognition
If there's a slight variation in your name between your government ID and school marksheets, it's best to use the name exactly as it appears on your 10th or 12th marksheet while filling out the CAT form, since academic records are the primary documents used for verification during admission. However, ensure that the variation isn’t too major if it is, you might consider getting an affidavit or correction done in the future. For now, stay consistent with your academic records to avoid any mismatch during document verification after the exam.
With a CAT rank of 5419, your percentile is around 95 to 97. This means you may not get into the top IIMs like Ahmedabad, Bangalore, or Calcutta, because they usually take students above 98 or 99 percentile. But you still have good chances at newer IIMs and other top MBA colleges.
You can get admission into IIMs like Amritsar, Raipur, Jammu, Udaipur, and Bodh Gaya. These IIMs accept students with lower percentiles, usually between 90 and 94.
Apart from IIMs, you can also get colleges like MDI Gurugram, IMI Delhi, Great Lakes Chennai, and maybe even FMS Delhi or JBIMS Mumbai depending on your category and performance in interview rounds.
You should now start preparing for the interview, group discussions, and written tests that most colleges will conduct after shortlisting you based on your CAT rank.
Here are websites you can check for cut-off and admission details:
https://www.imsindia.com/blog/cat-cutoff/
Hello Sahitya
For FMS Delhi, your percentile should be 99%+ and it should be 99.5%+ to be on the safer side.
Now coming to the academics:
1. 10th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
2. 12th marks: 75%+ are given 10 out of 10
3. Graduation marks: FMS doesn't considers graduation marks for screening.
So if you have 75%+ in both 10th and 12th, you will get full marks in academic score.
To know more about FMS: FMS
Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!
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