The MBA Seats IITs Can’t Seem to Fill, A Growing Red Flag

The MBA Seats IITs Can’t Seem to Fill, A Growing Red Flag

Bhanu PratapUpdated on 19 Nov 2025, 03:36 PM IST

Over the years, the Departments of Management Studies at IITs have been trying to position themselves as an alternative to the IIMs when it comes to pursuing management education. These programmes attract students who want a blend of technology, analytics, and management under a single roof.

This Story also Contains

  1. A struggle to fill the seats
  2. 100% Placement on Admitted Students but Not on Intake?
  3. A Comparison That MBA Aspirants Cannot Ignore
  4. How MBA Aspirants Should Interpret This Data
  5. Rise in Vacant Seats: a warning sign?
The MBA Seats IITs Can’t Seem to Fill, A Growing Red Flag
Empty Seats at IITs

However, a glance at the data on admissions, seat vacancies, intake, and placement outcomes across IITs and IIMs reveals a widening gap in market perception, trust in the program, and actual placement numbers. These numbers are extremely critical for MBA aspirants, especially those who are planning to make their admission decisions based on brand value, return on investment and career stability.

This article studies the data in context and with direct relevance for MBA aspirants.

A struggle to fill the seats

Market perception has played a significant role in the number of students admitted to MBA programs across IITs. In the past three years, there has been a consistent rise in the number of vacant MBA seats.

Compare this with IIMs, where vacant seats are almost non-existent.

Vacant Seats at IIT DoMS (Delhi)

Over three years, IIT Delhi’s DoMS saw its vacancy rate increase dramatically:

Year

IntakeAdmittedVacant SeatsVacancy %

2020–21

144

117

27

18.75%

2021–22

144

128

16

11.11%

2022–23

144

93

51

35.42%


Observation: The 2022–23 cycle shows one in three seats left vacant at one of India’s most prestigious institutes.

IIT Kharagpur (VGSOM): Vacancy Jumps From 2% to 39%

In 2022–23, the institute increased its intake from around 100 to 206. However, the number of admitted students did not increase in proportion in comparison to previous years. 81 seats remained unfilled.

YearIntakeAdmittedVacant SeatsVacancy %

2020–21

99

97

2

2.02%

2021–22

101

94

7

6.93%

2022–23

206

125

81

39.32%


Observation: The 2022-23 cycle saw the steepest vacancy increases across all IITs.

IIT Bombay (SJMSOM): Vacancy Remains Highly Volatile

SJMSOM’s vacancy jumped to its highest level in recent times:

YearIntake

Admitted

Vacant SeatsVacancy%

2020–21

182

148

34

18.68%

2021–22

182

115

67

36.81%

2022–23

182

114

68

37.36%


Observation: The intake consistently stays at 182 seats, but admissions stay stuck far below.

100% Placement on Admitted Students but Not on Intake?

We often find claims of 100 per cent placements. Although this is technically true, but it can be misleading as the calculation is based on the number of students who are admitted in the programme and not the number of seats available. This leads to vacant seats being excluded, which creates a perception of a higher placement success than what the full seat capacity suggests.

The More Accurate Metric: Placement % on Total Intake

IITs

In the academic year 2022-23, IITs reflected high placement rates when it comes to admitted students, but once we bring sanctioned intake in the equation, the picture changes dramatically as the majority of the IITs fall between 55-65 per cent, with exceptions being IIT Madras and IIT Roorkee.

InstitutePlacement% on AdmittedPlacement % on Intake

IIT Delhi

95.70%

61.81%

IIT Kharagpur

99.20%

60.19%

IIT Madras

96.51%

86.46%

IIT Bombay

97.37%

60.99%

IIT Roorkee

96.34%

83.16%

IIT Kanpur

81.48%

55.00%

IIT Dhanbad

78.67%

64.13%


Observation: The average placement percentage on intake for the IITs is around 67.39%

IIMs

In 2022–23, top IIMs recorded near-perfect admissions and placements, with almost no vacant seats and placement rates consistently above 97 per cent. This reflects strong demand, full utilisation of seats, and placement reliability across the leading IIMs.

Institute

Intake

Admitted

Placed

Vacancy

Placement % on Admitted

Placement % on Intake

IIM Ahmedabad

444

444

434

0.00%

97.75%

97.75%

IIM Bangalore

525

525

517

0.00%

98.48%

98.48%

IIM Kozhikode

562

547

547

2.67%

97.33%

97.33%

IIM Lucknow

621

614

614

1.13%

98.87%

98.87%

IIM Mumbai

536

536

536

0.00%

100.00%

100.00%

IIM Calcutta

540

540

528

0.00%

97.78%

97.78%


Observation: Top IIMs had almost full intake and almost 100 per cent placement. In the academic year 2022-23 the vacant seats remained below three per cent. IIM Lucknow, Calcutta and Mumbai also showed negligible or zero vacancies. This data clearly indicates that the demand for IIM programmes remains exceptionally strong and consistent.

A Comparison That MBA Aspirants Cannot Ignore

DetailsIIT DoMS (7 institutes)IIMs (21 institutes)

Sanctioned Intake

895

8091

Admitted

629

8017

Vacancy %

29.72%

0.91%

Graduated

615

7793

Placed

589

7728

Total Placement

99.33%

99.73%

Placement % (Admitted)

93.64%

96.40%

Placement % (Intake)

65.81%

95.53%


Observations: If we study the table, we can see that IIMs have nearly full capacity. This shows a strong demand from aspirants (admitted) as well as employers (placed). However, when it comes to IITs the placement percentage on intake is almost 30 per cent lower than that of IIMs. So when it comes to management education, both students as well as companies prefer and trust IIMs more.

How MBA Aspirants Should Interpret This Data

As an MBA candidate, your goal is not only to get admitted but also to graduate into a strong peer cohort, solid corporate network, and predictable placement system.

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Rise in Vacant Seats: a warning sign?

When it comes to MBA programmes from IITs, they still fall short of IIMs, if we consider market trust, seat stability, and consistent outcomes. Increasing vacancies, weaker placements when measured on intake, and yearly fluctuations signify a visible credibility gap. IIMs set a benchmark, whereas IITs offer more niche value. Aspirants should look at more than just brochures; they should study the data that we have provided and then align their decision with their long-term career goals, rather than just go for branding.

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Questions related to CAT

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to CAT ?

Hello there,

Yes, you should surely give a try. Your score and being Non-Engineer gives you an edge. The previous trends shows that cutoff typically hovers around 75-84 for EWS category. Therefore you must give a try.

NIBM  gives proper weightage to academics as well, therefore your 8\8\8 would work

HELLO,

With an overall 98.54 percentile ( QA/DILR 97.55, VARC 94.89) and strong academics 9/9/0, you have a good profile. As a B.Tech candidate you can expect calls from :-

  • IIM Shillong
  • IIM Udaipur
  • IIM Trichy
  • IIM Ranchi
  • IIM Raipur
  • IIM Kashipur
  • IIM Nagpur
  • IIM Indore is Boderline

Hope this

Hello there,

The IIMs you should expect are listed below:

  • A 90-100% chance: IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, IIM Mumbai, and all CAP IIMs( Udaipur, Trichy, Ranchi, etc.).
  • A 50-70% CHANCE: IIM Calcutta and SPJIMR.
  • A very competitive chance, IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Bangalore

Your biotech background

Hello there,

With a 70 percentile it is not easy to make it in the IMT Hyderabad because the cutoff usually reaches 85-90+ for general category, even IMT Nagpur has low chances since the cutoff usually reaches 75-85. However, IMI Kolkata, is your safe option, since the cutoff is around

Hello aspirant,

Your kid has a good profile even in the general category with a BTech from IIT Delhi, three years of excellent job experience in a leading industry, and a 96 percentile in the CAT. He has a strong chance at reputable MBA schools like IIM Shillong, IIM Udaipur,