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Cycle update · 12 September 2026

What changed in MBA admissions this month (September 2026)

By Piyush Agarwal, 10 years in direct admissions counselling · 12 September 2026

The short answer

As of 12 September 2026: CAT 2026 registration closes in three days (15 September, 5 pm); KMAT Karnataka tests on 20 September; SNAP's bulletin confirms 13, 19 and 26 December tests and a 12 January 2027 result; NMIMS applications close 10 October; ISB's Round 1 closes 20 September; Masters' Union has reprinted its PGP fee upward.

What changed?

ItemBeforeNow
CAT 2026 registrationOpen since 3 August 2026Closes 15 September 2026 at 5 pm — three days away. The official advertisement (hosted on iimcal.ac.in) was re-read today: test 29 November 2026 in three sessions, admit cards 4-29 November, results first week of January 2027 (tentative), fee Rs 2,700 / Rs 1,350
KMAT Karnataka 2026Registration ran into early SeptemberRegistration closed 6 September 2026; practice test 17-18 September; online MBA test Sunday 20 September 2026, 2-4 pm; admit card date still TBA on the official key-dates page, re-read today
SNAP 2026 calendarTest dates announced in AugustOfficial bulletin re-read today: registration and payment close 25 November 2026 (Wednesday); tests 13, 19 and 26 December 2026; result 12 January 2027 (Tuesday); first official mock test 24 September for candidates who complete the SNAP application by 22 September
NMIMS MBA application, NMAT 2026 cycleApplication window openAdmission handout re-downloaded today: NMIMS application closes 10 October 2026, charge Rs 3,000, and only the first NMAT attempt's score counts; the handout instructs candidates to complete NMIMS registration on or before the day preceding their NMAT exam date
XAT 2027 calendarRegistration open since 15 July 2026The site's Important Timelines table re-read today: registration closes 6 December 2026, exam 3 January 2027, 2:00-5:00 pm, admit card from 20 December 2026 (tentative). The homepage banner still prints a stale 'January 5, 2027' line — the registration timeline governs
Masters' Union PGP TBM feeRs 33,65,384 total programme fee (read 6 September 2026)Reprinted on the official page, read today: tuition Rs 37,66,692 before scholarship and benefit, plus Rs 90,000 admission fee — Rs 38,56,692 total; application Rs 500; Round 1 still closes 27 September 2026, 11:59 pm; MU-BAAT window 28 September-4 October
ISB PGP Round 1On the deadlines tracker since 24 August 2026Re-verified on ISB's deadlines page today: Round 1 closes 20 September 2026, Round 2 on 6 December 2026, Round 3 on 17 January 2027; eligibility is 24+ months of work experience and a test-centre GMAT or GRE score (at-home scores not accepted)
BIM Trichy MBA 2027-29 windowAdmissions announced for the 2027-29 batchRe-read in a real browser today (the site refuses plain downloads): registration running since 7 September 2026, window closes 31 January 2027, shortlisting on CAT 2026 / XAT 2027 / GMAT, GD-PI in February 2027

What should you do now?

  1. Writing CAT 2026? Register before 15 September 2026, 5 pm, on iimcat.ac.in — type the address yourself; the IIMs warn that lookalike portals circulate in the final week of registration.
  2. Targeting ISB's one-year PGP? Round 1 closes 20 September 2026, and only test-centre GMAT or GRE scores count — at-home scores are not accepted.
  3. Targeting Masters' Union? Round 1 closes 27 September 2026 at 11:59 pm; the no-score MU-BAAT window runs 28 September to 4 October 2026.
  4. KMAT candidates: the online MBA test is Sunday 20 September 2026, 2-4 pm, with the practice test on 17-18 September — and registration is already closed, so this line is for registered candidates only.
  5. Planning SNAP? Fix the calendar now: registration closes 25 November 2026, tests run 13, 19 and 26 December 2026, and the result lands 12 January 2027.

September is the month the 2027-intake MBA cycle compresses: the big national registrations close within days of each other while the December tests come into view. This digest is the verified movement in one place — every line above was opened on an official page today, 12 September 2026.

The loudest clock is CAT 2026: registration closes 15 September at 5 pm, three days away, and the official advertisement adds the date every family should plan around next — results in the first week of January 2027, tentative. One honesty note: the iimcat.ac.in portal would not serve our network today (its TCS iON edge blocks come and go daily), so today’s re-verification reads the IIM-Calcutta-hosted advertisement PDF directly; the dates match what the portal printed when last rendered on 9 September. At the other end of the season, Masters’ Union has reprinted its PGP TBM fee upward mid-cycle — Rs 38,56,692 against the Rs 33,65,384 we verified on 6 September — and our city pages carry the new figure today. That is why this site re-opens official pages instead of trusting its own archive.

Two doors deserve a mark on the calendar even if CAT is not your path. ISB’s Round 1 closes 20 September 2026 — before CAT registration even ends — and ISB accepts only test-centre GMAT or GRE scores. BIM Trichy’s 2027-29 window, open since 7 September, runs to 31 January 2027 and shortlists on CAT 2026, XAT 2027 or GMAT — the widest January door we have verified this season. As always: dates move only on official pages, and we re-check them daily.

Where does this fit?

Sources