Important Instructions and Last Minute Tips
Xavier Aptitude Test 2027 ( XAT )
XAT 2027 Registration
15 Jul '26 - 6 Dec '26
By: Kandarp Patel
Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is one of the important exams for MBA Aspirants. The countdown for XAT 2020 has begun already as it going to be conducted on 5th of January 2020.
In this article, we will discuss some important instructions and tips to score well in XAT 2020, which you might not be aware of.
XAT is the second most important exam in India after CAT for MBA aspirants. XAT is basically the second chance to do well, especially if your CAT did not go well. Around 150 institutes accept its score. Some of the well-known institutes which consider XAT score are XLRI, SP Jain, IMT, XIM, etc. A new campus of XLRI is coming up this year in Delhi NCR, which makes XAT a bit more interesting this year.
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Exam Pattern
Since 2018, XAT is conducted online. XAT consists of two parts (Part A & B):
Part A
It consists of 3 sections and a total of 74 questions. The time duration for this part is 165 minutes.
VA & LR: 26 Questions
DM: 21 Questions
QA & DI: 27 Questions
Part B
It consists of a total of 25 questions and the time duration for it is 15 minutes.
No negative marking is there in it, so try to answer all the questions.
GK score is not used for calculating percentiles. Only XLRI, during the PI round, will look at this score.
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Marking Scheme
+1 is there for every correct answer and -0.25 for every incorrect answer.
Apart from this, XAT has a different definition for different negative markings for unanswered questions in Part A.
The first 8 unanswered questions that you have to attempt will carry no negative marking. But, beyond that, each unanswered question will carry -0.1 marking. You will get a clear idea of this by an example:- let’s suppose you do not answer 18 questions in XAT Part A, hence 18 – 8 = 10. Therefore, 10*0.1 = 1 mark (Negative).
Basically, XAT aims at confusing students and hoping that the students will get into this trap and they will try attempting more and more questions.
Please do not fall into this trap. Just try to understand that the negative marking is only 0.1 per question.
About the Author:
Kandarp Patel is a student at Nirma University, Ahemdabad, pursuing Bachelor of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (final year). He is also a campus representative with Shiksha.com since 2016.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 23 hours ago
No. XAT score is the marks obtained by a candidate in the exam. XAT percentile shows the candidate's relative performance compared with other test takers.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
Yes. XAT has negative marking. Candidates lose 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer. A penalty also applies to unattempted questions beyond the first eight.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
The XAT score calculator formula is Correct Answers - (Incorrect Answers * 0.25) - Unattempted Question Penalty.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 23 hours ago
XAT score is calculated by adding one mark for every correct answer and deducting 0.25 marks for every incorrect answer.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
Yes. XLRI specifies sectional cutoffs along with overall XAT cutoff. Candidates need to meet required percentile in QADI, VALR and DM for respective programme and category.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
For XAT 2026, overall HRM cutoff was 92 percentile for Engineering Male candidates and 90 percentile for Non-Engineering Male candidates. Cutoff was 87 percentile for Engineering Female and Engineering Transgender candidates and 84 percentile for Non-Engineering Female and Non-Engineering Transgende
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
For XAT 2026, overall XLRI BM cutoff was 94 percentile for Engineering Male and Non-Engineering Male candidates. It was 88 percentile for Engineering Female, Engineering Transgender, Non-Engineering Female and Non-Engineering Transgender candidates.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
Required XAT score varies every year because the percentile depends on difficulty level of exam and candidate performance. In XAT 2026, overall cutoff for XLRI BM was 94 percentile for Engineering Male and Non-Engineering Male candidates.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
The first eight XAT unattempted questions do not attract any penalty. After eight unattempted questions, 0.10 mark is deducted for every additional unattempted question.
P
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Candidates get 1 mark for every correct answer in XAT.
P
Contributor-Level 10
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