Students’ Speak: Practice mocks for the last minute preparation

By: Aman Kumar

XAT 2020 is scheduled for January 5, 2020. Over the years, candidates have found the difficulty level of the exam quite high. However, management student Aman Kumar strongly believes that mock test practice during last-minute preparation can set you on course for a high score.

SNAP is scheduled for December 15, 2019, by SIU and XAT will be also conducted in January 2020. Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI) conducts XAT for admitting candidates in management programmes of XLRI and other associated members. XLRI is considered among the top management institutions in the country.

XAT/ SNAP is among the toughest entrance tests for management students. Everyone needs a rigorous preparation for these exams. However, rather than diving headlong into the syllabus, it is important to understand the structure of the exam and devise a smart strategy to target only the important topics with the limited time available at your disposal. Read the following tips before starting with the preparation for either XAT or SNAP.

• Use lower risk of percentile that is 25 percent instead of 33 percent. In several MBA entrance exams such as CAT, negative marking is one-third for every wrong answer but in XAT, it is one-fourth.
• Use your time wisely, i.e. don’t give more than 100 seconds per question.
• Earlier, the difficulty level of XAT exam was far too high. Students could not solve more than 50 per cent questions but from 2019 onwards, they have revised the difficulty level. So, use this opportunity judiciously.
• For XAT/ SNAP exam, do not put too much stress on lengthy questions such as reading comprehension or essay writing. Now is the time to focus more on short questions that are also high scoring.
• For the last-minute preparation, you can devote complete time to practice mocks.
• Last year many of the students selected in XAT/SNAP, emphasized that preparation through mock test was very helpful. The more you solve, the better your chances of scoring well. Many people start preparing through mock test three months before these exams but practicing through Mock test one week before the exam is quite helpful and give you hands-on experience for exam day pressure.
• In the final week of preparation, you should focus more on self-study instead of going from door to door. Don’t waste too much money on the coaching institutes by taking up crash courses.

Certain changes are expected in XAT 2020. There will be five choices in multiple-choice questions and also the paper will be divided among four sections that are Verbal ability and Logical reasoning, Decision Making, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation and General Knowledge. (No negative marking in General Knowledge).

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).