Students’ Speak: Check exam review for SNAP, XAT and IIFT

By: Aman Kumar

Management aspirants often apply and appear for several management entrance exams. This usually results in chaos and confusion among students while dabbling with the preparation of multiple exams. Aman Kumar reviews three popular management exams, namely SNAP, XAT and IIFT to find out common grounds for preparation and understand the nature of each test.

With management entrance exams taking place in full sway, aspirants are juggling between preparations from one exam to another. It is important to understand that all these exams have certain sections and topics which are common to all. However, the overall difficulty level and the main objective of the assessment usually vary in each case.

Let’s take a look at three major management exams taking place in this management season—SNAP, XAT and IIFT exam.

Comparing SNAP 2019 and SNAP 2018

As compared to SNAP 2018, Symbiosis introduced certain changes last year such as not asking any questions from Current affairs and reducing the total number of questions from 130 to 110.  Test duration remained two hours and contained broadly two categories of questions—normal and special. The total marks allotted for the exam was 150.

One mark was awarded for the correct answer in Quantitative, and Data interpretation while 1.5 marks were awarded in General English and Analytical & Logical reasoning sections. For the special type questions, two marks were awarded. There was a deduction of 25 percent marks for every incorrect response. For SNAP 2018, the total number of questions was 130, included the current affairs section and no changes from the aforementioned marking scheme. The difficulty level in 2019 was comparatively low because the general awareness section was removed.

The section-wise distribution of questions in SNAP: General English-34 (Normal), Data interpretation and Data Sufficiency-5 (Special) and 35 (Normal), Logical and Analytical Reasoning – 36 (Normal).

Expected difficulty level in XAT 2020

As compared to XAT 2019, XAT 2020 is expected to be quite complex. The XAT exam is scheduled for January 5, 2020. The mode of test will be computer-based while the questions will be both objective and subjective type. For every wrong answer, 0.25 marks will be deducted.  The total number of test cities is increased from 45 cities to 71 cities. The test duration remains 180 minutes. The exam is divided into four sections, namely Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability, Data Interpretation and GK. From 2019 exam onwards, the essay writing section will no longer be there.

The section-wise question distribution: VA and LR, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation: 74 and General Knowledge: 25. Compared to 2019, the overall difficulty level may increase while the paper pattern may remain the same for XAT 2020.

Comparing IIFT 2019 and IIFT 2018

IIFT is among the top institutes of management in India for International Business. In 2018, students who scored 34 out of 100 were shortlisted for admission to the prestigious MBA-IB programme. The exam pattern comprised six sections—English Grammar, Vocabulary and Comprehension, General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation and Quantitative Analysis. The test duration was 120 minutes with all the multiple-choice questions.

In 2019, the only major change was the exam difficulty level, which was quite low as compared to last year. NTA has already declared the results on December 13.  Here is the section-wise distribution of questions in IIFT 2019: Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehensions-35, General Knowledge and Current affairs-20, Quantitative Ability-25 and DI & LR-30. The first two sections were comparatively easier than the last year while the DI & LR and Quant sections were difficult. The total number of questions in the exam were 110. 

The IIFT 2019 cutoffs are the following:

• General–32.25
• OBC (NCL)–27.25
• SC–22.25
• ST–20.26
• PH–22.25

About the Author:

Aman Kumar is an MBA student at Lovely Professional University with experience in marketing, banking, educational management and strategy. Some of the key skills include leadership, team building and strategy-focused work along with problem-handling skills. Experienced in crop residue management, Kumar has worked as an intern at Bihar State Milk Federation (COMFED).