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Maharashtra’s MBA admission season wrapped up, but the results are surprising; over 20% of seats remain unfilled this year. Out of 53,509 MBA seats on offer, only 42,642 students confirmed their admission, leaving 10,867 seats vacant. That’s a noticeable jump from last year, when 42,176 students got in and roughly 16.4% of seats remained empty.
The rise in vacancies isn’t because fewer students are interested. This year, 71,245 candidates registered for MBA admissions, slightly fewer than 71,715 last year. The bigger issue is that the number of seats has increased, 50,497 were offered last year, compared to 53,509 this year. So even with a similar number of applicants, more seats are left unclaimed.
Experts say the problem is less about demand for MBAs and more about how it’s distributed. Students are moving to colleges with strong placement rates, leaving newer or lesser-known institutions struggling to fill seats. Dr. Shrinivas Dhure, Director of SIMSREE, points out that students naturally choose colleges that offer the best career opportunities, which makes it harder for smaller or newer colleges to attract applicants.
The Maharashtra CET Cell data highlights this trend clearly: while registrations stayed almost the same, the expanded intake capacity has caused the vacancy rate to jump.
This situation demonstrates an important lesson for colleges: increasing seats does not always result in more students. To attract students, institutions must match enrollment growth with quality education, career support, and placement opportunities. Otherwise, seats will remain empty, wasting valuable resources.
For the time being, Maharashtra's MBA colleges face a difficult challenge: balancing expansion with real demand while maintaining the appeal that draws students in.
