The top international MBA programs offered by reputed business schools usually have a professional work experience requirement which could range from three to eight years, depending upon the school and its geography.
Typically, US business schools attract a much younger cohort for the two year MBA programs whereas MBA programs in Europe and UK, which have a shorter duration of around a year, see a much more experienced peer group.
Regardless of that differentiation, the common element across these global programs is that they accept GMAT or GRE scores.
In India, it is a popular trend to pursue a post-graduate management degree right out of undergraduate school and before venturing into the professional world.
The most sought-after IIM’s two year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP) tends to be the foremost choice for a majority of aspirants, for which a good Common Admission Test (CAT) score is an essential requirement.
To get into the top Indian Institutes of Management (IIM), you’d be expected to get an obscenely high CAT percentile score. There are lakhs of CAT tests takers vying for a few thousand MBA seats in the top ranking MBA colleges.
This demand-supply imbalance puts the following two not-so-ideal scenarios in front of thousands of MBA applicants with good (but not great) CAT scores.
- Attend a low ranking business school that they weren’t particularly interested in.
- Drop or defer their business school plans.
But there’s another option that’s gaining in popularity among this group of ambitious CAT test takers that aren’t willing to settle for any of these two traditional choices (GMAT vs CAT). More on this a little later.
CAT score validity
The CAT score is valid for a period of one year.
Other scores like the GMAT and the GRE scores are valid for a five year duration. However, in this case, if you wish to apply the following year, you’d be required to re-take the CAT exam.
There has been a gradual rise in the number of CAT test takers, with more than two lakh candidates appearing for the CAT in the recent years.
CAT score accepting colleges
The CAT score is not just the gateway to the IIMs, but numerous other top MBA colleges across India including Great Lakes Chennai, MDI Gurgaon, TAPMI Manipal, SPJIMR Mumbai, to name a few.
So, in addition to applying to the IIMs, candidates are very likely to consider applying to other programs in India as well.
A lesser known fact is that there are some international programs too that accept CAT scores.
To get you started, we’ll list out several such international management programs that accept the CAT score.
MiM programs accept CAT scores
Remember the two choices we listed earlier, for CAT test takers who weren’t lucky enough to get into their top MBA colleges in India?
Rather than being content with low-ranking MBA colleges in India, many have now started considering global alternatives.
Internationally, an MiM degree would be a better fit for candidates without work experience (or very less work experience) rather than an MBA program.
MiM (Master in Management) programs are offered by the same business schools that offer an MBA degree.
There is similarity in the course content, with the biggest advantage being that the program is of shorter duration and its cost is much lower than an MBA program.
Most MiM programs expect GMAT scores. But there are a few reputed business schools that accept CAT scores from India too. We’ve listed some of them below.
International business schools that accept CAT scores
Business School | Program name | Location | Score accepted | Program fees |
---|---|---|---|---|
ESSEC business school | Master in Management | Paris, Singapore, Morocco | CAT/GMAT/GRE | €36,500 for EU nationals, €42,500 for non-EU nationals |
ESCP Business School | Master in Management | Berlin, London, Madrid, Paris, Turin, Warsaw | CAT scores | €18,250 for EU citizens per year
€21,850 for non-EU citizens per year |
EDHEC Business School | MiM in Business Management | Lille, France | CAT score | €35,900 (EU students) / € 41,400 (non-EU students |
MIM Financial Economics | Nice, France | CAT score | €35,900 (EU students) / €41,000 (non-EU students) | |
MiM Global Economic Transformation & Technology | Paris, France Seoul, Korea Berkeley, USA | CAT score | · €53,100 for EU students & Korean students – €64,600 for non-EU students | |
Emlyon Business School | MSc in management – Grande Ecole | Lyon, France | CAT/GMAT/GRE | €17,500 per year |
Skema Business School | Master in Management | Lille, France | CAT/GMAT/GRE | €14 000 per year |
ESSEC and ESCP have consistently ranked among the top six in the prestigious Financial Times (FT) Masters in Management rankings.
This list may have changed, depending on when you come across this article. So make sure you validate it directly with the official program site.
If you are aware of any other reputed international colleges that accept CAT scores, let us know.
We have a detailed video on MiM programs, how they compare with MBA programs, how much they pay and much more. Check it out here: All about MiM programs
Read on to gain more insights on MiM student experience in Europe.
Find out more about career options and average salaries after MiM degree.
There are other top MiM programs as well which we’ve covered in our other articles.
Here’s a list of these articles:
– Masters in Management (MiM) Program Rankings in the world
– List of MiM Scholarships
– Is the Masters in Management (MiM) degree worth it?
– Best Masters in Management (MiM) Programs
– Multiple GMAT MBA admits after CAT failure
References: 1 2 3 4 5