XAT
Entrance test for XLRI Jamshedpur's flagship management programmes and 250+ B-schools including XIM University Bhubaneswar, IMT Ghaziabad, TAPMI, MICA and GIM Goa.
Eligibility
A recognised bachelor's degree of at least three years' duration in any discipline; final-year students are eligible. There is no minimum percentage requirement for the test itself, no age limit and no restriction on attempts. NRI and foreign candidates may apply through GMAT scores for most programmes.
Age limit: No age limit
Exam pattern
Computer-based test of 180 minutes (2 pm to 5 pm). Part 1 (170 minutes) carries the scored sections: Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (around 26 questions), Decision Making (around 21) and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation (around 28) — roughly 75 questions in total, with free movement between sections and an on-screen calculator. Part 2 is a 10-minute, 20-question General Knowledge section that does not count in the percentile and is used only at the XLRI shortlist/selection stage; the essay-writing section was dropped from XAT 2026. Marking is +1 for a correct answer and -0.25 for a wrong one, with an additional penalty of -0.10 per unattempted question beyond the first eight left blank; General Knowledge has no negative marking. Questions carry five answer options rather than CAT's four.
Syllabus at a glance
Decision Making — XAT's signature section — presents business and ethical caselets with judgement-based questions. Verbal and Logical Ability covers dense reading comprehension, critical reasoning, vocabulary and poems/abstract passages. Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation spans arithmetic, algebra, geometry, probability and chart/table-based sets, generally a notch harder than CAT. General Knowledge mixes static GK with current affairs and is scored only at the selection stage.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Registration window (XAT 2027) | 15 Jul – 6 Dec 2026 | confirmed |
| Admit card download | Third week of Dec 2026 | expected |
| Exam date | 3 Jan 2027 (Sunday, 2 pm – 5 pm) | confirmed |
| Result declaration | Late Jan 2027 | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- Jabbing the XAT (with previous years' papers) — R.K. Jha
- Target XAT — Disha Experts
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for the CAT — Arun Sharma
- Word Power Made Easy — Norman Lewis
- Manorama Yearbook (for General Knowledge)
How toppers play it
- Treat Decision Making as a separate subject: solve every DM question from XAT papers of the last 10+ years — patterns in 'stakeholder-balanced' correct options repeat.
- Mind the unattempted-question penalty: leaving more than eight questions blank costs -0.10 each, so make calculated attempts on borderline questions rather than skipping freely.
- Do not neglect General Knowledge — it does not affect the percentile but matters at the XLRI shortlist and conversion stage (the essay has been dropped since XAT 2026).
- XAT Quant is harder and less arithmetic-heavy than CAT; practise probability, functions and geometry at a higher difficulty level.
- After CAT in late November, you get about five weeks — use them on DM, GK and XAT-style verbal (poems, critical reasoning) rather than re-doing CAT basics.