Pay after placement with no upfront fees? What you pay before a job
Masai's earlier pay after placement programmes ran with zero upfront fees. The programme it resumes with MICA, Ahmedabad charges ₹99, ₹10,000 plus GST and ₹5,000 before a job. Here is each charge, when it falls due and what happens if you are not placed.
Quick answer: Masai's earlier pay after placement programmes ran with no upfront fees. The programme Masai resumes with MICA does not. It charges ₹99 for the qualifier test, ₹10,000 plus GST to enrol and ₹5,000 for Elevate if you reach Unit 6. That is ₹15,099 plus GST before any job, all non-refundable. The main PAP fee falls due only after an eligible placement.
Masai resumes its flagship Pay After Placement (PAP) programme in collaboration with MICA, Ahmedabad. This post lists every charge in it, when each falls due and whether it is refundable. For what else has changed, read Masai Pay After Placement is back: what is different.
Fees and terms as of 4 November 2026.
What you pay at each stage
The programme is the MICA Business Analytics with AI programme. Three small charges come before a job, and the large one comes after.
| Stage | What you pay | Running total before a job |
|---|---|---|
| Before you join | ₹99 for the qualifier test, then ₹10,000 plus GST at counselling to hold your seat. Both are non-refundable. | ₹10,099 plus GST |
| Foundation Unit and Units 2 to 5 | No further charge. | ₹10,099 plus GST |
| Elevate (Unit 6, in Bengaluru) | ₹5,000, only if you reach Unit 6. Food, stay and travel are not included. Non-refundable. | ₹15,099 plus GST |
| After an eligible job | The PAP fee: ₹1,80,000 or ₹2,50,000 plus GST, by placement CTC. It applies one month after you join. | ₹15,099 plus the PAP fee |
The sum before a job is ₹99 + ₹10,000 + ₹5,000 = ₹15,099, plus GST. A learner who does not reach Elevate pays ₹10,099 plus GST. The optional MICA campus immersion in Ahmedabad is a separate choice at ₹5,000 per participant per day, with travel and stay extra, and it is not part of that total.
What the ₹10,000 holds
The ₹10,000 plus GST enrolment fee is paid at counselling, after you sign the Acceptance Agreement. It holds your seat for the five-week Foundation Unit and, for those selected after the Foundation Test, the Placement Agreement.
By then you have the terms. The ₹99 qualifier test comes first, a mandatory webinar and an information email follow with the terms, FAQs, brochure and acceptance letter, and counselling comes after that. The MICA Masai qualifier test and Foundation Unit guide covers the steps in order.
What leaving can cost
A drop-off fee may apply if you leave or are removed. The ₹10,000 enrolment fee is non-refundable in the first five weeks. From week 6 a drop-off fee of ₹50,000 may apply, and from about week 20 one of ₹1,80,000 may apply.
To stay in, you need a CIBIL score of 700 or above, the signed agreement and your documents to enter Unit 2, then 90% attendance, 80% assignment completion, 60% in assessments, every required project and the Code of Conduct.
What you pay if you are not placed
If you met every requirement, appeared for placements, kept the Code of Conduct and Masai could not place you in an eligible role, the PAP fee is not triggered. What you already paid is not refunded: ₹15,099 plus GST if you reached Elevate.
Placement is not guaranteed. Elevate gives preparation and access to opportunities, and placements happen in a staggered way over several months after the programme ends.
The fee after placement, and the EMI route
An eligible placement is a job offer at or above the minimum CTC in your agreement, typically starting from ₹3 LPA. The fee is triggered only after you secure an eligible offer and join. You cannot reject an eligible offer. If you do, the fee is triggered as if you had accepted it. A job you find yourself still triggers it, because the fee is for the teaching and upskilling. When do you pay in pay after placement covers the rules.
The PAP fee can be paid one time or in 36 monthly EMIs through NBFC partners.
| Placement CTC | PAP fee, one time | PAP fee on 36 EMIs | EMI route costs more by | Total if placed, one time | Total if placed, on EMI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ₹3.00 to ₹4.99 LPA | ₹1,80,000 | ₹6,944 x 36 = ₹2,49,984 | ₹69,984 | ₹1,95,099 | ₹2,65,083 |
| ₹5.00 LPA and above | ₹2,50,000 | ₹9,722 x 36 = ₹3,49,992 | ₹99,992 | ₹2,65,099 | ₹3,65,091 |
The totals add the ₹15,099 paid before a job: ₹15,099 + ₹1,80,000 = ₹1,95,099, ₹15,099 + ₹2,50,000 = ₹2,65,099, ₹15,099 + ₹2,49,984 = ₹2,65,083 and ₹15,099 + ₹3,49,992 = ₹3,65,091. GST is extra where it applies, and the EMI route costs more in total. The breakdown of MICA Business Analytics with AI fees works out each outcome.
What a no upfront fees pay after placement offer should state
A claim of no upfront fees means something only when the offer spells out the following:
- Each charge before a job, with its amount and the stage at which it falls due, including test and registration fees.
- Which payments are refundable. Here, the ₹99, the ₹10,000 and the ₹5,000 are all non-refundable.
- Whether GST is included. Here, it is extra.
- Lender charges and the total on the EMI route.
- Exit fees: what leaving or removal costs, and from which week.
- What counts as a job: the minimum CTC, whether offers can be rejected and whether a job you find yourself triggers the fee.
- What you pay if no eligible job comes.
Where an offer leaves any of these out, the headline tells you little. The MICA x Masai programme sets out its fees, refund terms and EMI option, and pay after placement vs upfront fee vs education loan vs ISA sets pay after placement beside the other ways to pay.
Placement record, hiring partners and resume support
Masai's published record is a 94% placement rate, an average alumni salary of ₹6.9 LPA and a highest package of ₹36 LPA, with 4,000+ hiring partners and 10,000+ graduates placed in top companies. Placement figures as published on masaischool.com on 4 November 2026.
Employers on the Masai placements page include BharatPe, Ajio, GlobalLogic, smallcase, Vyapar, Leap Finance and Kapiva.
These figures describe Masai's programmes to date, not the MICA Business Analytics with AI programme, whose first learners have yet to complete it.
The ₹5,000 Elevate fee covers the in-person placement-readiness unit in Bengaluru, which includes resume building, LinkedIn profile optimisation, mock interviews, interview preparation and communication skills training. The PAP fee depends on your own placement CTC, and the average and highest salary figures are history, not a promise.
Read next
- MICA Business Analytics with AI fees: every fee and EMI sum, outcome by outcome.
- When do you pay in pay after placement: the fee trigger and the rules on eligible offers.
- Pay after placement vs upfront fee vs education loan vs ISA: four ways to pay compared.
Frequently asked questions
Is there any upfront cost in this pay after placement programme?
Yes. You pay ₹99 for the qualifier test, ₹10,000 plus GST to enrol and ₹5,000 for Elevate if you reach Unit 6, which is ₹15,099 plus GST in all. Masai's earlier PAP programmes had no upfront fee; this one does.
Is the ₹10,000 refundable?
No. The ₹99, the ₹10,000 plus GST and the ₹5,000 are all non-refundable. A drop-off fee may also apply if you leave or are removed: the ₹10,000 itself in the first five weeks, then a fee that starts at ₹50,000 from week 6 and reaches ₹1,80,000 from about week 20.
What do I pay if I am not placed?
If you met every requirement, appeared for placements, kept the Code of Conduct and Masai could not place you in an eligible role, the PAP fee is not triggered. What you already paid is not refunded, which is ₹15,099 plus GST if you reached Elevate.
Can I pay the PAP fee in EMIs?
Yes, in 36 monthly EMIs through NBFC partners: ₹6,944 for the ₹1,80,000 fee and ₹9,722 for the ₹2,50,000 fee. The EMI totals are ₹2,49,984 and ₹3,49,992, which is ₹69,984 and ₹99,992 more than the one-time fee.
Are GST and EMI charges extra?
Fees are stated plus GST where it applies. On the EMI route, subvention cost and GST apply in addition to the fee amount, and interest and any associated charges are borne by the learner as per the lender's terms.
The fee tables, units and admission steps are on the Pay After Placement Certification Programme in Business Analytics with AI page.
Placement support is not a job guarantee. Past record is no guarantee of future prospects. The programme is offered by Masai in collaboration with MICA, Ahmedabad.