Top MBA Colleges (B Schools) in India

India is home to more than 5500 B-schools offering the coveted Masters of Business Administration programme. A significant number of those schools boast of offering great quality management education and great placements. The majority of these boastful claims are just limited to being boastful claims having no value to it. However there are a few schools which can offer the correct springboard to launch your career successfully into the business world.

Therefore MBA aspirants face the unenviable task of choosing the right b school to apply to prior to enrolling. An MBA benefits the aspirant only if it is pursued from a top management college. Now the definition of a top management college is always subjective and candidates have to rattle their brains and go through several websites in order to arrive at a suitable college. At MathOratory we believe that this research should be left to the experts and therefore it is the experts who have burned the midnight oil and undergone extensive research prior to compiling a list of top B schools for the candidates so that they may focus on the gargantuan task of preparation.

What this list has:

The MathOratory Top 50 B schools list has been arrived by considering the following factors:

1. Placements: Reports from the college website as well as having a word with the current/ex students of the colleges gave us insights on the veracity of placement reports. That knowledge is filtered into this list to aid the students make an informed decision.

2. Cut off in entrance examinations: Higher the cut off, better the pedigree of the students, better the peer learning. It all adds up, doesn’t it?

3. Fee: Fee should never be the sole deciding factor when selecting a B school but when there are marginal differences between two schools; fees can be used as a qualifier to aid selection. For example DoMS IIT Madras and IIM Raipur have a similar ranking on the table but Madras’ fee is ₹8.1lacs while Raipur’s is ~₹12.6 lacs. This factor can make some inch towards the former since ROI is a critical factor when evaluating colleges outside the Top 20 list.

4. Location: Like fees, Location can never be the sole deciding factor when selecting a B school. There are good colleges in remote locations- XLRI is a prime example. The reverse can also be true. However location does play a role when it comes to attracting faculties and industry personnel. A few of the new IIMs suffer because of this.

5. Faculty: B schools make claims of a large number of PhD faculties belonging on their roster. This should be taken at face value because a few of the mentioned names might not be teaching there at all. The full time faculty vs part time faculty data can also be a misleading piece of stat.

6. Infrastructure: Lack of good infrastructure can be considered a crippling factor when it comes to B schools. Although quite a few colleges have done well at a temporary campus due to the parent brand (IIM Ranchi, Raipur are examples).

7. Expert Opinion: The brains working behind the scenes at MathOratory list IIMs, IITs and a host of elite B schools in India and abroad as their alma mater. The above mentioned factors were consulted with them and based on their counsel, the final list has been drafted.

What this list doesn’t have

Non flagship courses: HR programmes of IIM Ranchi, IIT Kharagpur, XIMB; SM programme of IIM Lucknow, Global MBA of XLRI are not considered here. This list features only the flagship courses

Categorisation

The Ivy League Colleges:

The crème-de-la-crème colleges are a part of this category. Old IIMs dominate this category as it should. Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta are at the top of the rankings. FMS, IIM Lucknow, XLRI are of a similar pedigree and one should choose any of these colleges based on one’s preferences. JBIMS and SJSOM have comparatively lower fees and should attract students seeking a high ROI. If the candidate has more than 3 years of work experience then ISB Hyderabad can be considered as a brilliant option.

AAA+ ranking:

Several IIMs and non IIMs are a part of this category. The list shows that a lot of non IIM B schools can provide a better trajectory for your career with a superior management education as compared to several IIMs. IIT Bombay beats IIM Indore here and the IIM Ranchi catches up with IIM Shillong due to location and proximity to major cities. Specialist colleges like NITIE (for Operations), TISS (for HR) occupy a spot in this category. It must be understood that in terms of this specialization these 2 colleges are among the top 2 in the country, if not the best.

AA Ranking:

The IITs, new IIMs dominate this category apart from more specialist colleges like MICA and IRMA. MICA is the very best in Advertisement and amongst the best in Marketing, while IRMA’s rural management programme is unparalleled. Candidates may choose IITs if they are into studying Operations or Analytics, IIMs for Finance or Marketing and the better private colleges of the country like XIMB, IMT-G, Tapmi IMI Delhi (ranked based on their location and quality opportunities) as alternatives.

A Ranking:

This category has the bulk of the baby IIMs and other private B schools. IIM Brand is the only thing pushing several of these colleges and it struggles to paper over the lack of proper amenities and permanent faculties available. If you’re brand conscious and have been unable to convert your other calls then these can be an alternative for you. MFC DU, SIMSREE and IISc are good colleges in terms of ROI. Other colleges like KJSom and Fore have the location factor working in their favour apart from a history of quality opportunities afforded to the students.

All the very best!!

-Team MathOratory