Great Lakes - PGDM & PGPM Admissions 2026
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CAT Admit Card Date:12 Nov' 25 - 30 Nov' 25
Candidates can apply for MBA colleges with low fees without the CAT 2025 exam for pursuing the MBA program because of its versatile and inclusive nature. Graduates from any discipline can opt for an MBA, provided they have matched the eligibility criteria. It is regarded that having an MBA would not only open a plethora of job openings in the corporate world in diverse fields, but at the same time, the career would be financially viable too. That is why the tendency to apply for MBA courses is increasing daily, despite its costly fee structure, even after taking loans from banks. Read this article to learn about MBA colleges with low fees without CAT.
As per the NIRF Rankings 2025, the top five management institutes in India are IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, IIM Kozhikode, IIT Delhi, and IIM Lucknow. In the top 10, two more IIMs – Calcutta and Indore – have also bagged a place.
Grabbing an MBA seat in the top IIMs has been all the more difficult, especially with the introduction of CAT sectional cut-offs and addition of diverse factors such as academic performance and work experience, gender diversity and beyond.
IIM | 2020 Final selection | 2025 Final selection | What changed? |
IIM Ahmedabad | CAT 25%; PI 50%; WAT 10%; Academics 15% | CAT 25%; PI 50%; WAT 10%; Academic rating (AR) 15% (unchanged). BUT sectional cutoff raised in 2025 (higher VARC, DILR, QA minimum percentiles). | Final weightage unchanged. However, shortlisting became much stricter in 2025. Over CAT cut-off 2025 increased from 80 to 95. Sectional CAT cut-off from 70 to 85. |
IIM Bangalore | CAT - 25% PI - 30% WAT - 10% Class 10 - 10% Class 12 - 5% Work - 10% Diversity - 2% | CAT - 25% PI - 40% WAT - 10% Class 10 score - 5% Class 12 score - 5% Bachelor's degree score - 5% Work experience - 10% | CAT scores carry 25% at final stage. While a tiny weightage difference in other factors |
IIM Kozhikode | CAT - 44% PI - 44% Resume, Academic and work experience - 12% WAT - Dropped | Last year: CAT - 35% PI: 35% WAT - 20% Resume score - 10% | WAT was reintroduced and weightage for CAT scores reduced. |
IIM Lucknow | CAT 30% PI 40% WAT 10% Class 12 - 5% Graduation - 5% Diversity 5% Work experience - 5% | CAT - 30% PI - 40% WAT - 10% Academics performance - 10% Diversity - 5% Work experience - 5% | No major change. |
Clearing the CAT, or Common Admission Test, is regarded as one of the most talked-about processes to get into the B-Schools for the MBA or PGDM courses. Though prominent IIMs only accept CAT scores, candidates can get into other B-schools apart from IIMs without clearing the CAT. There are several other ways to get into an MBA course without appearing for the CAT 2025 exam.
Many reputable MBA colleges accept scores from various entrance exams other than CAT, including:
Admissions Open | Globally Recognized by AACSB (US) & AMBA (UK) | 17.8 LPA Avg. CTC for PGPM 2025
Ranked No. 3 Business School in India and no.35 in world by Financial Times MiM 2025 Ranking | Highest CTC: INR 89 LPA
Some colleges offer direct admission based on:
This pathway allows candidates to bypass competitive examinations altogether, provided they meet the institution's criteria.
Candidates can also seek admission through management quota seats in various colleges. This option usually requires:
JBIMS and SIMSREE are the institutions that offer admission through the management quota.
See also: How To Correct The Errors In CAT Admit Card 2025
MBA Colleges with Low Fees Without CAT 2025 | Location | MBA Course Fees |
Greater Noida | Rs. 2.60 Lakhs | |
Chennai | Rs. 1.5 Lakhs | |
Delhi | Rs. 94,000 | |
Delhi | Rs. 4.84 Lakhs | |
USMS, GGSIPU | Delhi | Rs. 2 Lakhs |
Delhi | Rs. 23.24 Lakhs | |
Lucknow | Rs. 1.12 Lakhs | |
Greater Noida | Rs. 15.95 Lakhs | |
Delhi | Rs. 2.99 Lakhs | |
Mumbai | Rs. 1.77 Lakhs | |
Pune | Rs. 26.79 Lakhs | |
Chennai | Rs. 16 Lakhs |
This table includes additional MBA colleges in India that offer low fees and do not require CAT scores for admission. The fees are approximate and may vary based on the specific program and other factors.
Check out below the pros and cons of CAT colleges with low fees.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Yes, some MBA colleagues intake students through direct admissions and management quota. Students or applicants can look into that if they don't want to appear for the qualifying examination.
Like any other exam CAT is not easy to crack. Regarded as one of the prestigious exams in the domain of MBA, the CAT needed to be treated with utmost seriousness, dedication, and smart preparation to crack. So, though CAT is not easy to crack, with proper preparation applicants can crack it.
MBA is still relevant in 2026. MBA not only accepts graduates and applicants from diverse fields but at the same time provides them the chance to fetch healthy salaries from the corporates after the placement. So MBA is still relevant as a professional degree.
MBA can be done without CAT by clearing other qualifying exams like XAT/SNAP/CMAT/ATMA.
Apart from IIM, there are different B-Schools both Tier I and Tier II which have MBA courses that can be attained without CAT, rather than giving other examinations like GMAT, XAT, MAT, SNAP, etc.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
If your CAT admit card DOB is different from your Aadhaar card DOB, here is what you should do step by step:
If the error is in Aadhaar, apply for correction at an Aadhaar Seva Kendra.
If the error is in CAT application/admit card, only IIM CAT authorities can correct it. That’s why contacting them is essential.
Hope you undserstand.
Hello,
Here are Documents Required for CUSAT CAT (NRI Quota):
To know more access below mentioned link:
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/cusat-cat-application-form
Hope it helps.
You can get the previous year's CUSAT CAT papers in pdf format sample papers from careers360 article. Follow the link given below from careers360 to get the the CUSAT CAT previous years question papers.
Link- https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/cusat-cat-sample-papers
Hello,
Since the CAT application form correction window is closed, you must contact the CAT help desk immediately to explain the situation, as you can't edit a wrong date of birth after submission. If it's a major error like date of birth, you may need to go to the exam center with proof and the correct admit card, although getting it corrected before the exam date is the most important first step.
I hope it will clear your query!!
Hi there,
You have to apply separately for each symbiosis college, like SIBM Pune, as they as not automatically included. The CAT form automatically includes many IIMs, but the SNAP exam is a separate test that is given for admission to Symbiosis Institute, which requires its own separate application and fee.
Hope it helps!!!
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