Dear Aryan,

Yes, past academics do play a role in getting a call or getting selected in a B-school especially if you are trying to get into Tier-1 colleges. But what you also need to know and understand is that, they are not the only factors that are considered by the colleges but many other factors include your achievements both academic and non-academic, your graduation (if you have done your graduation in some other field other than Engg.) and the most important of all, your percentile in the aptitude test that yo have taken of your choice.

Higher the percentile, higher the chance of you getting an opportunity to crack this game of getting into a good B-school. Check out the link below:

https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/iim-admission-criteria

As you can clearly see that the weightage of CAT,WAT and PI is the highest compared to 10th,12th and graduation marks. Yes you maybe competing with the best of the best but there is nothing to loose for you to try out. Similarly you can also try SNAP,IIFT,XAT etc. It is always best that you do not keep your eggs in the same basket but rather invest your eggs in different baskets. Similarly, you if you believe you want to gain some advantage over the other then you can do certifications in the area of your interest and once you get an opportunity to get in PI then you can showcase that you are someone who is seriously interested in learning and have the required competencies as well as passion and dedication to do so.

Also, I do not get why you have mentioned that you are from Delhi. If it is to indicate that you only want to do your post-graduation in Delhi or nearby area then let us look at the colleges in those areas and their details:

Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), University of delhi

It  selects applicant's application only based on the CAT percentile which is generally 98+ (past trends show applicants with more than 99.5 percentile have been called for the GD and PI) for students who fall in General category while for OBC it is 90+ percentile, SC - 82+ and ST - 58+ in the year 2017.

Once selected you'll have to undergo GD and PI. Also, one good news for you, FMS does not considers your past education records for selection hence the emphasis is on doing very well in CAT as well as in all of their rounds.

Fee : The course fee is also very economical considering how the cost of education in B-school has been on the rising trend. It hovers around INR 40,000 (total two years fee) for MBA regular course.

Summer placement :  Average Stipend – INR 1.01 LPM (Lakh Per Month), Median Stipend - INR 1 LPM and Highest Stipend – INR 2 Lakh per month

Final placement :  Average CTC - INR 23.2 LPA, Median CTC - INR 21.2 LPA and Highest CTC - INR 48 LPA

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT)

It selects applicant's application based on the IIFT score where generally it hovers around 35.5 for students from General category, OBC - 30.5, ST - 22.7 and SC - 20.02. The weightage given for IIFT score is 65%, GD is 15% and PI is 20%.

It also it's branch both in Delhi and Kolkata with Delhi being it's first campus. Also what you need to know is that it does not provide general MBA but MBA in International Business.

Fee : The total fees for two years is INR 13.25 lacs which does not include the cost of living on campus. There is separate hostel fees of INR 50,000 and mess fees which could vary from INR 7000 to 9000 per trimester.

Summer placement (stipend mentioned is for 2 months) :  Average Stipend – INR 1,48,000 and Highest Stipend – INR 3,20,000

Final placement :  Average CTC - INR 20.07 LPA, Median CTC - INR 18 LPA and Highest International compensation -USD 150,000

Delhi School of Economics (DSE)

It also shortlists applicants based on the CAT percentile which should be generally above 85 percentile. You have the option of choosing MBA in IB (International Business) and HRD (Human Resource Development)

Fee : The fee for Delhi School of Economics Admission 2019 is very low.  The expected fee for 2019 was Rs 15,696/- . This is the one-year programme fee. The same has to be paid the department office and the fee is not refundable in any scenario.

Summer placement (stipend mentioned is for 2 months) :

For HRD: Average Stipend – INR 63,074, Median Stipend - INR 45,000 and Highest Stipend – INR 1,70,000

Final placement :

For HRD: Average CTC - INR 10.68 LPA, Median CTC - INR10.33 LPA and Highest CTC - INR 27.5 LPA

For IB: Average CTC - INR 9.5 LPA, Median CTC - 9.51 LPA and Highest CTC - INR 16.25 LPA