Overview
About XAT
XAT, the Xavier Aptitude Test, is a national entrance examination for admission to postgraduate management programmes in India. XLRI Jamshedpur conducts it on behalf of the Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI), and has run the test for more than seven decades. A XAT score opens admission to XLRI's own PGDM programmes and to those of other XAMI member institutes, among them Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar, LIBA Chennai and XISS Ranchi. More than 250 business schools across the country accept it.
The exam is set at the postgraduate level and is held once a year as a computer-based test at centres across India. Eligibility is broad. A bachelor's degree of at least three years in any discipline qualifies you to appear, and students in their final year, awaiting their results, may also apply. There is no upper age limit and no cap on the number of attempts.
XAT has four scored sections: verbal and logical ability, quantitative ability and data interpretation, decision making, and general knowledge. The decision-making section, built around caselets, is distinctive to XAT: it asks you to weigh competing considerations and choose a course of action rather than compute a single answer. XLRI treats that test of judgement as central to what the exam measures.
Sources: XAT Online (official) - XLRI Jamshedpur · Careers360 - XAT exam overview
At a glance
XAT highlights
Every figure traces to an official source.
| Full name | Xavier Aptitude Test |
| Conducting body | XLRI Jamshedpur (on behalf of XAMI) |
| Level | PG |
| Mode of exam | Online Computer-Based Test (CBT) at centres |
| Frequency | 1 per year |
| Scope | National |
| Sections | Part 1: Verbal & Logical Ability; Decision Making; Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation. Part 2: General Knowledge. |
| Marking scheme | Part 1: +1 correct, -0.25 wrong, -0.10 per unattempted beyond 8 free skips. Part 2 (GK): +1, no negative, not in percentile. |
Deep dives
Everything you need to know
Eligibility
- ·Bachelor's degree of at least 3 years in any discipline; final-year students awaiting results eligible. No age limit, no attempt cap.
Exam pattern
- ·Sections: Part 1: Verbal & Logical Ability; Decision Making; Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation. Part 2: General Knowledge.
- ·180 minutes
- ·Marking: Part 1: +1 correct, -0.25 wrong, -0.10 per unattempted beyond 8 free skips. Part 2 (GK): +1, no negative, not in percentile.
Syllabus
- ·Verbal ability and RC, logical/analytical reasoning, decision making (caselets), quantitative ability and DI, general knowledge.
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