What is XAT Exam?

XAT: What is it?

The Xavier Labor Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur administers the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT), a national-level MBA entrance exam, on behalf of the Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI). For the past 70 years, XLRI has been conducting the XAT at the national level in India to choose the best candidates for its management programs. XAT results, which are approved for admission to MBA/PGDM programs provided by 11 XAMI member institutes, 83 associate institutes, and more than 600 additional B-schools, are regarded as some of the toughest entrance tests.

Many students aim to get admission to XLRI and pursue management courses. XLRI is considered one of the top B-schools and lately, it has also added many executive and certificate programmes to meet the emerging demands of the business sector. XLRI has a host of courses to offer namely, PGDM HRM, PGDM BM (Full-time residential programmes), Exec- FPM, and BM (Part-time Programmes for Working Executives), to name a few.

The best brains of the country aspire to seek admission in the programs offered by XLRI and related institutes. More than 90,000 aspirants appear for the exam every year.

What is the structure of XAT exam?

Similar to other top competitive exams, XAT is moderately difficult in the level and type of questions. Until 2017, XAT was held in paper-based mode. But since 2018, XAT is a computer-based test. Its duration is 205 minutes and has five sections:

1. Verbal Ability & Logical/Analytical Reasoning

2. Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation

3. Decision Making

4. General knowledge

5. Essay Writing

XAT consisted of 100 objective questions and 1 essay topic. The paper used to be divided into two parts. Part-I comprised the first three sections that were considered for the final score, whereas Part-II was composed of GK section and Essay Writing. The exam pattern in XAT 2023 has slightly changed, with an increase in the amount of questions and duration to complete the exam. The exam is divided into three parts with a sectional time limit of 175 minutes, 5 Minutes and 30 minutes for part-I, Part II and Part III respectively. For Part-I, there is a negative marking of 0.25 for each incorrect answer and a penalty of 0.10 after every 8 unattempted questions. However, no marks are deducted in GK section. Although your GK score doesn’t count in the final XAT percentile, yet it plays a deciding role in B-school admission process. Besides, the essay is evaluated only after the candidate is shortlisted for interview.

Syllabus for XAT 2024

As there is no predefined syllabus for XAT, candidates have to prepare as per the exam pattern and question types of the previous year papers. Over the last few years, the exam pattern of XAT has varied and so has the type of questions.

The exam is designed to assess the candidate’s proficiency in reasoning, data analysis, interpretation, and mathematics. Further, the candidate is also evaluated for his/her decision-making skills and general awareness. Listed below are important points to remember for XAT syllabus:

• Quantitative ability mainly focuses on arithmetic, geometry, and algebra.
• Verbal and Logical ability includes critical reasoning, inference-based questions, reading comprehensions, sentence corrections, etc.
• Decision-making section involves ethical dilemmas, managerial issues, and other situational questions. This section is unique to XAT, since other entrance tests don’t generally feature any such section.
• GK section emphasizes on static general knowledge as well as current happenings from the fields of economics, polity, etc.
• Essay Topics are mostly general or abstract in nature. These are also based on the latest issues and current events.

When is the XAT exam conducted?

XAT is conducted in the first week of January. It is held on a single day in one session. The detailed notification is released around August-September on the official website (xatonline.in). You will get to know about the important dates, application fees, MBA/PGP programmes and other requisite information from the notification. The registration process for XAT and XLRI is through the same application form. You may have to pay an additional amount as per your choice of XLRI program.

The exam is conducted in 80+ cities across India, but the number of cities may vary every year. The official XAT answer key and OMR sheet is released by XLRI in the last week of January. The result is declared online in the first week of February.

The selection procedure of XAT for all the participating institutes begins after the announcement of the result and cut-off. XLRI sends the hard copy of XAT score card to the candidates' registered address. Candidates are advised to preserve the scorecard until the admission process gets over. After clearing the entrance exam, students are called for Personal Interview and Group Discussion session.

Note that XLRI admits on the basis of XAT scores only whereas the other associated colleges also accept the scores of other entrances like CAT.

Who can appear for XAT exam?

Ever since its inception, XAT eligibility conditions have remained same and are considered the simplest for any exam. XAT Applicants are required to possess a bachelor’s degree/ equivalent of at least 3 years duration. But there is no criterion of minimum qualifying marks for appearing in XAT. Further, final year students can also apply for XAT.

However, XLRI also specifies programme-wise eligibility criteria for the candidates.

How to Prepare for XAT 2024?

Acing the XAT exam calls for smart work, dedication, and focus. Experts advise that you need around 6-8 months to prepare for XAT. So, it is important to plan your preparation schedule and exam strategy well. In XAR, the aim is not only to increase your number of attempts, but also the accuracy of your answers. In order to get a high percentile in the exam, you must keep the following things in mind:

• Firstly, start your preparation early. Many students tend to postpone their serious preparation to the last few months, which ultimately has a negative impact on their performance in XAT.
• Once you have gone through the latest exam pattern and syllabus, divide your preparation plan in 2-3 stages, beginning with concept-building and ending with regular mock test practice.
• Make reading a part of your daily routine. This will help you built good reading and comprehension skills, strong vocabulary, and general awareness. The important thing is to read widely from top-rated books, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. Besides, reading financial and business articles will assist you while tackling decision-making questions.
• Keep a note of basic formulae, tricks, and shortcuts while learning about mathematical concepts.
• Practice chapter-wise/ topic-wise tests after revising the essential concepts and formulae.
• Once you get a hold of the crucial topics through chapter-wise tests, start taking sectional tests in timed manner.
• Finally, start attempting previous year XAT papers and mock tests in the stated time limits.
• After every test, you must analyze your performance and identify your strengths and weaknesses. Test analysis will let you modify your exam strategy and ace the exam with high score.
• Remember to use shortcuts, approximation techniques, elimination method, and similar ways in the exam, wherever possible. The only way to adopt such methods is to put them into regular practice.
• Since XAT imposes no sectional time limits, you must decide the specific time to spend on each section. For instance, you can invest 55-60 minutes on Quant section, 50-55 minutes on Decision-making, etc.

Lastly, never stick to solving only those questions that interest you. More than often, there are a few surprise elements in the exam every year.