FLAME University, Pune

FLAME University is Pune’s liberal-education university, and its MBA is a two-year, fully residential programme at the Lavale campus, not a quota product. The published door is a mandatory national test score plus FLAME’s own holistic assessment. Notably, MH-CET is on the accepted list — rare among Maharashtra’s private universities — which makes FLAME a genuine option for state-CET holders who want a residential Pune MBA.

What should an applicant plan for?

Three numbers and one trait. The numbers: a 50% aggregate floor in any bachelor’s degree from a UGC-recognised university, a two-year fee of Rs 20,95,000 for the incoming 2026 class (plus a Rs 75,000 refundable caution deposit), and an admission calendar that runs in online cycles roughly December to April. The trait: FLAME reads the whole applicant. Its selection page says plainly that a below-average score in one parameter can be offset by strength in others — academics, SOP, extracurriculars and the 60-second “Why FLAME” video all count, and strong performance can feed into scholarships.

For the 2027 incoming class, the schedule page says details will be updated shortly. The 2026 pattern — four online cycles from early December to late April, all conducted online — is the reasonable planning template, but confirm the live calendar on the official page before paying anything.

Where does FLAME fit in a Pune shortlist?

Between the SNAP gate and the university own-test routes. SIBM Pune admits only through SNAP; MIT-WPU leans on its own online test alongside national scores; FLAME sits in the middle with the widest accepted-test list in the city, including MH-CET. Its fee is in the same band as its private-university peers, and the residential format and liberal-education courses are the genuine differentiators. Compare the city-wide picture in our Pune MBA guide and the route map in Direct MBA admission in Pune.

What FLAME does not offer is a back door. No management quota is published, no donation route exists on its pages, and any agent claiming a FLAME seat for a premium is contradicting the university’s own published process.

How Udaan helps with FLAME

Udaan helps you time the cycle correctly, choose which of your scores to present, and weigh FLAME’s residential, liberal-education format against Pune’s other honest options at the same fee band. Applications and payments stay on FLAME’s own portal.

Official sources: FLAME MBA programme · MBA selection process · MBA fees · MBA admission schedule