Which IIM is a better choice – IIM Lucknow or IIM Bangalore?

 Are you stuck trying to choose between IIM Lucknow and IIM Bangalore? Well, you aren’t alone. Both happen to be among the top business schools in India, which naturally makes it a tough choice. This article will help you decide whether to apply to IIM Lucknow admission  or try to join IIM Bangalore. Generally speaking, however, both these IIMs are nice options in terms of academics, reputation, and placement opportunities. 

A comparison between IIM Bangalore and IIM Lucknow

In terms of rankings alone, IIM Bangalore appears to be the better choice. This institute is rated by NIRF as the second-best business school in the country, while IIM Lucknow holds the seventh spot. However, let’s compare the two institutes on different aspects and see if IIM Lucknow is better in any way. 

Let’s face it – studying at a top business school is always expensive unless you have a scholarship program covering you. However, the fees at IIM Lucknow are a little more affordable compared to the IIM Bangalore fees. The MBA and executive MBA programs at IIM Bangalore cost INR 23 lakhs and INR 29 lakhs respectively. At IIM Lucknow, the fees for the respective courses are INR 20.75 lakhs and INR 23.7 lakhs. 

The lucrative placement opportunities at the IIMs are a key reason behind the popularity of these reputed institutes. Between IIM Lucknow and IIM Bungalow, both business schools fare quite well in this regard. Both institutes attract PPOs from numerous reputed companies, including Microsoft, Accenture, Amazon, Myntra, etc. They’re quite close in terms of salary packages too. The average salary at IIM Bangalore’s 2022 placement drive was INR 33.8 LPA. In the same year, IIM Lucknow achieved an average CTC of INR 31.03 LPA during their placement drive. 

Now, this is an area of consideration where you might find IIM Lucknow to be a more suitable option, depending on what course you seek. Apart from their MBA programs, the two IIMs differ in the courses offered. If you’d prefer to opt for PGP-ABM, PGP-SM, FPM, EFPM, IPMX, or PGPWE, IIM Lucknow is where you need to apply. IIM Bangalore, on the other hand, offers PGPEM, PGPPM, PGPBA, and PhD programs. 

Which IIM is easier to join?

Like most IIMs, both IIM Lucknow and IIM Bangalore have set their eligibility criteria based on CAT scores. The IIM Bangalore cutoff score is 85 percentile, while IIM Lucknow requires candidates to score at least 90% to be eligible. While this might make IIM Lucknow admission seem more difficult, it doesn’t really matter.

This is because both IIMs in question are highly coveted business schools, which makes the admission process very competitive. For both institutes, the actual cut-off is 98 to 99 percentile. 

Endnote

Since the relatively low IIM Bangalore cutoff doesn't matter and the placement prospects are similar, it mostly comes down to the course you seek to pursue. If your preferred program is available in both IIMs, consider the course fee and ranking instead. Studying at IIM Bangalore would cost a little more, but this business school also holds a better ranking than IIM Lucknow. You can’t really go wrong with either choice, considering the track record of both institutes.

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