Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is one of India’s most prominent MBA entrance exams for admissions in XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, XIMB, TAPMI, and other 160+ MBA colleges. Annually, over 1,00,000 individuals from a variety of fields, including engineering, commerce, humanities, science, and law, apply and sit for the XAT exam to get into one of the top B-school’s MBA programmes. The XAT exam has now become easier over time, yet a high percentile (90+) requires 4-5 months of diligent preparation.
Check – List of Colleges accepting XAT Score
In place of XAMI, XLRI administers the XAT exam. XLRI has been conducting the XAT exam at the national level for over 70 years to choose the most qualified candidates for management studies.
Preparing for the XAT exam demands a significant amount of effort and commitment. Because the XAT is one of the most difficult MBA entry examinations, one must devise a preparation strategy that addresses all facets of the test.
First and foremost, candidates must pick when they want to begin their XAT prep. Six to nine months is optimum for preparing for the XAT, however, the key is how many hours a day one can spend studying for the exam. A daily average of six to eight hours is required.
XAT 2022 Exam highlights
Mode of exam – online
Duration -180 minutes
- Part 1- 165 minutes
- Part 2- 15 minutes
XAT paper break up
- Part 1- Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation
- Part 2- General Knowledge
Blueprint (questions per section )
- Decision making -21
- Verbal & logical ability -26
- Quantitative ability & data interpretation -28
- General knowledge- 25
Marking scheme – For every correct answer +1 marks and for every incorrect answer -0.25 will be deducted. -0.10 marks will be deducted for more than 8 unattempted questions. For part 2 that is GK, there is no negative marking.
XAT Syllabus Section wise
Part 1 : Verbal and Logical Ability
XAT will surely put tough questions of Verbal ability than the CAT as the main focus part of the exam. The question came from to verbal ability are critical reasoning featuring assumptions, Para jumbles, logical discontinuity, vocabulary based analogy and para completion, apart from the RCs (reading comprehension).
How to prepare for verbal ability
This part tests the person’s language proficiency. As a lengthy part, candidates must have a good time management strategy. Read about current articles related to psychology, technology etc. Increase your reading time and do RCs practice. This section is also inference based. Develop your vocabulary, learn how to use words, synonyms and antonyms, prefixes, suffixes.
Part 2 : Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
How to Prepare for QA & DI
Work on your calculation and approximation skills. Study line graphs, pie charts, tabular graphs and fraction values. Solve sets of Data Interpretation. This section consists of more mathematical questions which need good practice and also analytical skills.
Part 3 : Decision Making and Analytical Skills
This section consists of very tricky questions. That’s why it’s very hard to plan how to prepare for this section. Your Decision making should be unbiased and should favour both parties. The questions consist of Ethical Dilemmas, Management Issues, Critical Reasoning, Situational Case Sets, Data Arrangement Sets, and Analytical/ Logical Reasoning.
How to Prepare for DM & AS section
Make a habit of reading the whole question properly, so that you never miss any point at the time of answering. Believe in yourself, don’t think what answers others were thinking, your prediction should be thoroughly analysed.
Part 4 : General Awareness
This section is an indispensable part of the XAT exam. Yet it is important but candidates leave this section Because they often focus more on the other 3 sections, but little did they know that leaving this section can actually question their chances for an MBA seat.
How to Prepare for GA
You should know the past of any topic you are preparing. Study the Practical and Theoretical Aspects of the Global Economy. Make a habit of reading newspapers which will increase your reading skills plus enhance your GK. You should know what’s happening around the world, especially in the management, finance, and economy sectors.
Tips for Preparing XAT Exam
- Identify the strong and weak areas
- Revise all the concepts
- Daily Exercise mocks
- Solve the previous year question paper
- Make your XAT Preparation timetable, and follow it.
- Do some recreational activities also to relax your mind, and have a good diet.
- Discipline lifestyle also affects one’s preparation stage.