Updated on Dec 19, 2019 10:33 IST
Xavier's Aptitude Test (XAT 2020) will be conducted on January 5 next year by XLRI on behalf of XAMI. A national-level management exam conducted from the past six decades, XAT score is widely accepted by over 150 management colleges in the country.

By: Abdullah Salman

Xavier's Aptitude Test (XAT 2020) will be conducted on January 5 next year by  XLRI on behalf of XAMI. A national-level management exam conducted from the past six decades, XAT score is widely accepted by over 150 management colleges in the country.

The exam is considered to be tougher than Common Admission Test (CAT), therefore, the level of preparation becomes rigorous. To be able to prepare smart, here is some exam-related information that could be helpful for you.

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Exam Structure

Time allocation:

  • Verbal and Logical Ability: 40 minutes
  • Decision Making: 50 minutes
  • Quantitative Ability: 60 minutes 
  • General Knowledge: 30 minutes

Change in XAT exam pattern:

The conducting body of XAT, apart from this, has also introduced some more changes that you must know before appearing for the exam. The conducting time for XAT 2020 exam has changed from earlier 10 am-1 pm to 9.30 am-12.30 pm now.

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In XAT 2020, one of the major changes in the pattern is the removal of essay writing. So, students can skip preparing for this section. This year, for XAT 2020, all the questions will be multiple-choice-questions (MCQ) type. A new category in the form of Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions will be available in the XAT Exam 2020. Other than this, the score obtained in the GK section will not be included in the final calculation of score and the incorrect responses for questions from this section will not be considered for percentile calculation. You can move on to Part-II of the GK section only after the completion of Part-I of the XAT 2020 Exam. So, taking all these changes into consideration you should start preparing for the exam.

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XAT Syllabus 2020

XAT 2020 is an objective-type paper. An indicative list of topics covered in these sections is given below:

Section Name

Max. Questions

Time Limit (in minutes)

Verbal and Logical Ability

26

165

Decision Making

21

Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation

27

General Knowledge

25

15

Total

99 

180

Some important topics, which you could undergo before a week to exam based on your strength and weakness are:

  • Quants & DI: P&L, Time Speed & Distance, Tables, Graph, Arithmetic, Clocks.
  • Verbal & Logical: RC, Para based, Grammar, Vocabs.
  • Decision-Making: Case lets, Analytical Based, Situational, Data Sets.
  • General Knowledge: Business, International Relations, Economics, History, National & State wise.

About the Author:

Abdullah Salman

Abdullah Salman M. is currently pursuing an MBA in General Management from TSM, Madurai. He has 15 months of work experience as a Network Engineer. He hails from Vellore, Tamil Nadu and has previously completed BE (ECE), from Anna University, Chennai.

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Answered a week ago

GIBS Business School situated in Bangalore acknowledges CAT, MAT, and XAT as authorized admission tests for both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

Approved Admission Exams

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No, you cannot join Jindal Global Business School without an entrance exam if you want admission to the MBA course. For admission to the management courses, the institute accepts various national-level exams, like

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Neerja Rohatgi

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Answered a week ago

OP Jindal Global University XAT cutoff 2026 was released for admission to the MBA course offered by the Jindal Global Business School. The cutoff was released for various All India categories. 

For the General AI category, the XAT percentile was 50 for the General AI categories. Hence, students who w

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Neerja Rohatgi

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No, you cannot join UPES Dehradun for its MBA programme without appearing for the accepted entrance examination. To gain admission to this institute, students would need to take one of the following exams after they clear the basic eligibility rules. 

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Neerja Rohatgi

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Answered 2 weeks ago

After XAT exam is conducted successfully, XLRI releases XAT answer keys with response sheet. However, candidates need to login to download XAT answer keys.

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Shruti Shukla

Contributor-Level 7

Answered 2 weeks ago

The percentile needed for admission would depend on the category you belong to. JAGSoM accepts various entrance examinations for admission to the MBA/PGDM course, like CAT, XAT, MAT, etc.

As per the estimated XAT cutoff in 2026, a percentile of 70 would be good enough to secure a chance at admission

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Neerja Rohatgi

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Answered 3 weeks ago

XIM University XAT cutoff 2026 was released for admission to the MBA course and its specialisations, namely MBA in Rural Management and MBA in Sustainability Management. 

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Note - The cutoff d

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Neerja Rohatgi

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Answered 3 weeks ago

IMT Ghaziabad official cutoff information are not released on a public platform, and students can view the cutoff using their registered login ID and password. Based on the past years' trend, the XAT 2026 estimated cutoff is in the range of 90 to 92 for the General AI category students. 

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Rashmi Sinha

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 3 weeks ago

Yes, apart from CAT, the International Management Institute, New Delhi, also accepts the XAT score for admission to its PGDM courses. Only the shortlisted candidates are invited to the Individual Assessment Process (Essay Writing and Personal Interview, etc.) for final admission. The institute also

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Rashmi Sinha

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Final selection will be based on performance in BAAT, PI, and CAT/XAT/GMAT. BITS will also consider prior work experience, and academic history.

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