XLRI Jamshedpur conducted XAT 2020 on January 5 in online mode in a single session for 3 hours. Results for the 2020 session have been declared in the form of Scorecard by XLRI on January 16, 2020 at xatonline.in. XAT Score Cards are valid till December 31, 2020.
XAT 2020 is one of the last exams in the MBA entrance test season and a bright opportunity for candidates disappointed with other management entrance exams like CAT to make through other leading B schools like Xaviers management schools, SP Jain, TAPMI, IMT, MICA etc. There are approximately 700 B-Schools, which are offering MBA/PGDM programs, once the aspirants complete their XAT 2020 exam.
Taking about the XAT Exam Pattern it has undergone a lot of changes in recent times. XAT 2019 was conducted online for the first time, given below are a few of the changes the management exam has undergone. It is useful for candidates to get a hold on the essence of paper and make a difference with the rest of MBA entrances.
Know How to Prepare for XAT 2020?
Features | Details |
---|---|
Name of the Exam | Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) |
Conducting Body | XLRI, Jamshedpur |
Exam Level | National |
Exam Frequency | Once a year |
Exam Mode | Online |
Exam Duration | 3 hours |
Exam Syllabus | Verbal & logical ability, general knowledge, decision making and quantitative ability and data interpretation |
Exam Pattern | 99-100 questions in MCQ format |
Number of test takers | Approximately 80000 |
Number of test cities | 46 |
Language | English |
Exam Fees | Rs 1700 (General category) |
Exam Purpose | Admission into 800+ MBA colleges |
Course Offered | MBA/PGDM |
Exam Helpdesk No. | 18002674008 |
XAT Contact number | 0657 665 3203/04 |
Exam Website | http://www.xatonline.in/per/g21/pub/2076/ASM/WebPortal/1/index.html?utm_source=shiksha&utm_medium=CM13 |
XAT Eligibility | 3 years Bachelors Degree |
In order to appear in the XAT 2020 exam, you require to meet the below mentioned eligibility crietria:
Some of the essential dates related to the XAT 2020 exam are highlighted in the following table. These dates will be released in the official website of the exam that is xatonline.in.
Important days | Tentative dates |
---|---|
XAT 2020 Exam | 5th January, 2020 |
Answer key release | 10th January, 2020 |
Result declaration | 16th January, 2020 |
The candidates are able to apply for several course works in one attempt. If the applicants apply for multiple programs, then they must be called for several group discussion or interview rounds.
Program Name | Eligibility criteria |
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PGDM in General Management |
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Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) - Doctoral Level Programme |
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PGDM in Business Management and Human Resource Management |
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Business Management Programme (Part-Time) |
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The XAT 2020 registration process will be started from August third week and will be continued till December second week, 2020. If you want to complete the registration process, you should visit the official website, xatonline.in. Read the following instructions to find the necessary steps:
Find the following table to get the detailed information about the scanned photograph and signature of the candidates.
Documents | Particulars |
---|---|
Scanned of passport size photo of the candidates | Image size: 200*300 pixels File Type: JPG/JPEG Size of the file: 20Kbs-50Kbs |
Scanned Candidate’s Signature | Image size: 140*160 pixels File type: JPG/JPEG Size of the file: 10Kbs-20Kbs |
If you face any problem or difficulty related to the online payment process, then you can contact them by ringing to the helpdesk number that is 18002674008 (from 8 AM to 8 PM IST)
XAT 2020 admit card will be issued from the third week of December, 2020. In order to download the admit card, the applicants need to visit the official website, xatonline.in. For downloading the admit card, you should only require to provide the password and student’s XAT ID.
Once you download the admit card, you can get the exam centre, date, tinings, candidate’s detailed information along with the exam instructions. If you find any discrepancy in admit card with your submitted data, you need to resolve it, otherwise it will be difficult for you to appear in the exam). You should keep the XAT 2020 admit card safely until your admission process is completed.
The candidates not only require to carry the admit card, but also, they need to carry some of the other essential documents with them, these are:
It is already mentioned that students will get the opportunity to choose their preferable exam centre during the time of registration XAT 2020. The exam centres will be published in the official brochure by XLRI Jamshedpur.
Ambala | Amravati | Agra | Ambala |
Bokaro Steel City | Bhilai Nagar | Durgapur | Dibrugarh |
Ahmedabad | Kanpur | Rourkela | Dehradun |
Delhi | Sambalpur | Allahabad | Kolkata |
Amritsar | Surat | Lucknow | Goa |
Tiruchirapalli | Greater Noida | Mangalore | Bengaluru |
Tirupathi | Mumbai | Berhampur | Gurgaon |
Udaipur | Bhopal | Nagpur | Guwahati |
Hyderabad | Vadodara | Bhubaneswar | Nasik |
Chandigarh | Noida | Varanasi | Indore |
Vijayawada | Patna | Chennai | Jabalpur |
Pune | Dhanbad | Jaipur | Visakhapatnam |
Jammu | Ernakulam | Coimbatore | Raipur |
Jamshedpur | Gandhinagar | Cuttack | Ranchi |
Hooghly | Gorakhpur | Gwalior | Hubly |
Kurnool | Kannur | Kota | Kottayam |
Ludhiana | Mysore | Kurukshetra | Madurai |
Roorkee | Thiruvananthapuram | Rajahmundry | Siliguri |
Udupi | Warangal | Tiruvallur | - |
Compared to other competitive exams XAT is considered a notch above when it comes to difficult levels. In order to ensure acceptability XAT over the past few years has reduced the number of questions along with difficulty level.
Year | Changes Introduced |
---|---|
XAT 2013 | 140 minutes for the aptitude section with additional 40 minutes for 30 GK and Essay questions. |
XAT 2014 | 150 minutes for combined Aptitude and GK while additional 20 minutes for Essay. |
XAT 2015 | 140 minutes for Aptitude section and 30 minutes for GK and Essay both. |
XAT 2016 | 170 minutes for Aptitude section and 35 minutes for GK and Essay. |
The same pattern was followed in subsequent years. XAT 2019 saw removal of Essay type questions and reduction in time duration. There was also a decline in the level of difficulty as well. Keeping in mind such constant changes, it is necessary to have a holistic view on the XAT 2020 exam pattern.
It is a 180 minute long paper consisting of two parts to evaluate candidates' aptitude and general awareness. Part 1 consists of 74 questions on Verbal/Logical ability, Decision Making and Quantitative Aptitude is to be attempted in 165 minutes. Part 2 contains 25 questions on General Awareness with a time limit of 15 minutes.
Section | Number of Questions (Approx) | Time Duration | |
---|---|---|---|
Verbal and Logical Ability | 26 | Total 74 MCQ Question | 165 Minutes |
Decision Making | 21 | ||
Quantitative Ability | 27 | ||
General Knowledge | 25 | Total 25 MCQ Questions | 15 Minutes |
Total | 99 | 180 Minutes |
The XAT 2020 questions will carry equal weightage marks irrespective of the difficulty of the questions. However, you will not be negatively marked in case of incorrect answers (this is applicable for only general knowledge section). In addition, the marks of this section will not be added with the overall marks.
Nevertheless, you will be deducted by -.25 marks for every single incorrect answer of the other sections. If you do not attempt more than eight questions, then you will get a deduction of 0.05 mark for each wrong answer.
Sections | Allotted time |
---|---|
Quantitative ability | 60 minutes |
Verbal and logical ability | 40 minutes |
Decision making | 50 minutes |
General knowledge | 30 minutes |
Getting Familiar with the type of questions to be asked is the essence to crack management entrance exams. Thus along with the exam pattern, knowing XAT syllabus is essential.
Recommended Books for XAT 2020 | |
---|---|
How to prepare for Data Interpretation | Arun Sharma |
Data Interpretation for CAT | Nishit K Sinha |
Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension | Ajay Singh |
Analytical Reasoning | M.K Pandey |
A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non Verbal Reasoning | R.S Aggarwal |
Analytical and Logical Reasoning | Arihant Publications |
Target XAT 2020 (Past Papers & Mock Test) | Disha Experts |
For General Knowledge Candidates should refer to General Knowledge by Manohar Pandey and XAT 2020 Simplified by Dsha Experts. Along with these Newspapers (The Hindu, Economic Times etc) reading on a daily basis is a healthy practice. Apart from Books, certain magazines like Business Line, Business Chronicle etc.
Past few years Reading comprehension has comprised a major portion in Verbal and Logical Ability. Though not long enough, they are inferential and difficult to articulate. Candidates should try to attempt para jumbles, sentence completion and lighter questions and then switch to RC. Emphasise on understanding the passage and demand of questions rather than going through the passage again and again.
Decision Making is a unique section in XAT compared to other management exams. Questions test the understanding of decisions as well, thus applying the elimination theory. On a fair, legal and completely objective basis. Also, mathematical decision making should be considered as Data Interpretation but should be attempted after the behavioral questions are done. Analyse-think a possible answer-Eliminate the incorrect option is the go to way for decision making section.
With a decreasing level of difficulty XAT Quantitative Aptitude is almost at the same level of CAT. Practicing past papers is essential for acing the exam. Solve sample papers weekly in a time restraint manner. As the XAT exam pattern kept on evolving, cue for the type of questions should be taken. A mock test is beneficial to formulate a strategy and identify areas to be worked upon.
Time allocation: Spending time on each section depends on the strengths and weaknesses of the candidate. As every candidate is not equally comfortable with all the sections. On a neutral note equal time should be allocated to all the three sections in Part 1 that is 55 minutes each. In case any section specific is your strength try to spend additional few minutes on it.
Aptitude scores obtained by the candidate are a basic parameter for the institutes to shortlist candidates for the second round of selection. There are sectional as well as overall cutoffs by certain big institutes like XLRI, SP Jain and XIMB. Most of the B schools prepare their final merit list based on XAT score only. GD/PI rounds will be conducted in the month of February after release of XAT 2020 Result on January 16 on official website xatonline.in
XAT 2020 Answer Key and Question Paper-Prior to the release of result and score card, XLRI releases answer key along with the question paper for candidates to evaluate for themselves. In case of any discrepancy, candidates have the opportunity to raise objections. XAT score is calculated by the number of attempted, unattempted and correct answers. The following formula is undertaken:
XAT Score= (No of correct answer x1) -( No of wrong answer x 0.25) - (8 Unattempted question x 0.10) |
XAT Raw Score to Percentile is converted into percentile, the process for which is not disclosed by XLRI. Scores are calculated based on the marking scheme but shortlisting of candidates takes place based on percentile gained.
If aiming for XLRI BM, a double digit score in each section should be acquired with an overall score of more than 35. Percentile is calculated on the basis of 2 sections only Verbal ability, Quantitative Aptitude and DEcision making. General Awareness is not considered in final scoring, but is definitely undertaken by institutes to shortlist desired candidates at interview stage.
Overall Score | Expected Percentile |
---|---|
35+ | 98+ |
33-34 | 96+ |
30-32 | 95+ |
27.5-29 | 94+ |
27-27.5 | 93+ |
25.5-27 | 92+ |
26-26.5 | 90+ |
25.5-26 | 88+ |
24.2-24.4 | 85+ |
22-22.5 | 80+ |
The XAT 2020 result was released on 16th January, 2020. Though, a lot of students get scores of more than 90 percentile, nonetheless, no one gets a perfect 100 percentile score. The names of the top rankers are mentioned in the following table:
Name of the Toppers | Percentile |
---|---|
Rini James | 99 |
Rishabh Sharma | 99.65 |
Vandan Shah | 99.70 |
Pranaysinh Parmar | 99.45 |
Rayan Jain | 99.4 |
Vrishank Singh | 99.37 |
Shubham Sharma | 99.36 |
Aarti Misra | 98.75 |
Satyam Sharma | 98.12 |
Pratik Agarwal | 99.6 |
XAT cut off is released by respective colleges, candidates have to check the same for the colleges they applied for. Once candidates have cleared the cut off they will be called for subsequent rounds of Group Discussion and personal Interview. Factors that determine the cut off are:
Category | VALR | DM | QA | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|
XLRI Business Management | ||||
Male | 79.46 | 80 | 90 | 96 |
Female | 75 | 75 | 75 | 95 |
XLRI Human Resource Management | ||||
Male | 85 | 75 | 72 | 94 |
Female | 80 | 70 | 67 | 93 |
Coaching Institutes | Business Management | Human Resource Management |
---|---|---|
T.I.M.E | 32-34 | 30-32 |
IMS | 34-36 | 32-34 |
Career Launcher | 32-34 | 30-32 |
Vista Mind | 32 | 29 |
HitbullsEye | 34 | 32 |
B Schools accepting XAT score do not rest on the aptitude score only. The next step is the GD/Essay and PI round. The shortlisting process varies from each institute. Generally these steps are undertaken:
Selection of questions to be attempted is a very crucial aspect of XAT compared to other exams. Accuracy needs to be focussed rather than a number of questions attempted. XAT in a few years has experienced low cut offs, targeted percentile should be 80 for verbal ability, 80 for decision making, 90 for quants and overall 95 percentile should work in favour of candidates to expect a call from XIMB, SP Jain and other top B schools accepting XAT 2020 scores.
The below mentioned table shows the seat intake of XAT 2020 exam and the respective fees of the colleges:
Name of the college/institute | Total available seats | Course fees (In Lakhs) |
---|---|---|
XIM Bhubaneswar | 360 | 17.30 |
MICA Ahmedabad | 180 | 18.50 |
TAPMI Manipal | 285 | 16.90 |
IRMA Anand (Gujarat) | 180 | 12.10 |
SPJIMR Mumbai | 276 | 16.00 |
XLRI Jamshedpur | 360 | 23.00 |
IMT Ghaziabad | 180 | 17.50 |
In order to calculate the raw score of part 1 of XAT 2020 exam, the following formula is followed, which is consisting of VLR, DM and QA sectios:
Formula: (Number of correct answer*1)-(Number of incorrect responses*0.25)-(*0.1)
Approximately 150 colleges/institutes accept the marks XAT exam. In the following, name of some of the popular colleges are going to be mentioned:
XIM Bhubaneswar | IMT Ghaziabad |
MICA Ahmedabad | GIM Goa |
TAPMI Manipal | KJ Somaiya Mumbai |
IRMA | Great Lakes Institute of Management |
XIME Bangalore | FORE New Delhi |
Xavier Business School (XBS), St. Xavier’s University, Kolkata | IFMR |
SPJIMR Mumbai | SFIMR Mumbai |
XISS Ranchi | LIBA Chennai |
Merit list of the XAT 2020 exam is not only dependent upon the score of the XAT exam, but also relies upon the performance in GD and PI, work experience and also on academic records.
Components | Weight |
---|---|
XAT 2020 score (Part A) | 65% |
GD/PI Performance | 20% |
Academic Profile/Work Experience | 5% |
GK (Part B) | 10% |
It was previously mentioned that the counselling of XAT 2020 exam would start from 2020 and will end in April. However, due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the date has been postponed. The students, who are on the top of the merit list (as per the score of GD, PI and XAT 2020), are called for the counselling process.
For the counselling, the candidates require to carry few of the essential documents like: