Students’ Speak: Here’s what you must do while preparing for XAT 2020

By: Shaurya Shaktiman

XAT is not difficult to crack. It is more about the rigorous practice and follow up. Solving the last five years' question papers will help with accuracy.

Unlike the Common Admission Test (CAT), which is more on your ability to think on your feet in the examination, Xavier’s Admission Test (XAT) is about the rigorous practice and follow up. Here I present to you with my tips and tricks to crack XAT 2020.

XAT 2018, my first encounter with the XLRI’s entrance aptitude test, in which I scored in the 98th percentile, taught me a few critical lessons about the exam. First, it's remarkably different from CAT exams and second, the three sections that you are presented with, including Decision Making, Verbal and Logical Ability, and Quantitative Ability and Data interpretation, need special care, especially in the exam set-up.

Let me start by a simple premise, XAT is not difficult to crack, and irrespective of your preparation levels in CAT, you can still manage to score well if you get your priorities right. Start by Quantitative Ability, for this will be a score-fetcher in the section. Questions are almost at the same difficulty level as those of CAT; however, unlike CAT, the Data Interpretation section is embedded in the same set. Advantage, if you are good at any one of the two sections, you have an excellent chance to score well. Don't get me wrong, it's imperative that you attempt at least three sets of Data Interpretation questions and solve them with high accuracy (80 per cent accuracy or higher is considered best, and you'd know this if you have given any online mock test).

Quants, on the other hand, cannot be left unanswered as they are on easy to medium level difficulty, and can be answered reasonably quickly. Hence, it all comes down to time management. My suggestion is that you go on attempting all quants questions first, taking caution on calculation errors, and avoiding traps and pitfalls. Questions that are calculation intensive, and look innocuous on the outside but require lengthy computations. Once you are through with all Quant questions, which shouldn't ideally take more than 55 per cent of your total time (a case can be made for 60 per cent. However, if you are spending more time on Quants than this, you need to work on your speed. I would suggest you take as many mock tests as you can and brush up your basic quants), start working on the Data Interpretation set (easy ones first), and solve with high accuracy.

Decision Making is relatively less complicated. In my experience, solving the last five years’ XAT papers helped a lot, especially the accuracy part. The decision-making section is all about accuracy, and students usually score very high in this section, which is why if you want to score well in XAT, this section holds the key. Practice previous year questions and dig deep into the reasoning that goes behind each of those questions. Every problem that appears in Decision Making has a purpose - to test the students in certain facets of Management. Know your 'Why' of the questions; do not try to mug up the answer. If you 'get' why and the answer is 'right' or, for that matter, 'wrong', job well done. Apply the logic in exams and rest assured that you will be scoring pretty well. Do take mock tests, as they will help you familiarise more with concepts, and if you get lucky, you might find questions on similar lines of logic and concepts in the exams as well.

Verbal and Logical Ability is one section that can make or break your entire year's preparation. I cannot stress this enough, and aspirants do seem to make this mistake, do not guess an answer if you are not sure about it. Accuracy is the key, and XAT is infamous for its unforgiving attitude towards silly mistakes. Read the questions carefully, answer exactly what's been asked for, rather than what your gut tells you. We often tend to skew the data or the logic to fit our opinion or view, which is a mistake. Do not assume any data, no matter how obvious it seems. Stay alert and suspicious, answer only what logically follows from the 'Given' data, and you will score well.

Finally, with less than 20 days to go, it's all about nerves on the exam day. Can you pull it together in those exam hours? We've all been there. I distinctly remember my XAT 2018. Shaky, cold fingers, sweaty palms, and nervous sighs as we all wait for the time to reset to zero, and then the race begins, for we believe that what we do in the next few hours will determine the course of our lives. Sounds like the script of a horror movie, but I am here to tell you, it doesn't have to be. Not every person scores in the 99th percentile, not every person can, it's mathematically impossible. However, everyone who has the passion and determination makes it to their sought after colleges one way or the other; it's all about the belief that no matter how bad things go, it'll be okay.

Exam anxiety prevents you from giving your 100 per cent, but some people are affected by it less than others. Why? It's because they know that XAT is just one step in the direction of a successful life, it's not the most important step, and neither it's the only step. Don't get me wrong, it's one of the most important exams, but getting it right doesn't guarantee success, and getting it wrong wouldn't mean failure.

Far from it, there are many avenues just waiting for you. All you have to do is believe in yourself, believe that you'll be okay. Trust me, if you believe in your abilities, your brain will run like a machine, and answers will come easily and more accurately. It's alright if you couldn't solve a few questions in a row; you still have plenty of questions left, plenty of exams coming. Just do your job and let the pieces fall as they may. You have me as an example. After scoring well in XAT 2018, I was rejected in the GDPI round (I had a fabulous PI but a terrible GD). I am still doing really well and chasing my dreams of making it to the big leagues.

About the Author:

Shaurya Shaktiman is an MBA student at Indian Institute of Management, Ranchi (IIM). He has a work experience of four years as an IT analyst and a specialist in Banking and Financial Services and Insurance for Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. His area of expertise is in RFI and RFP of projects related to Financial Regulations, Risk Management, Information Management, and Capital Marketing Instruments. Currently, he is an Executive Member of Media and PR Cell, and Representative in the Council of Student Affairs at IIM Ranchi.