XAT 2025 Exam Analysis and Review (Available): Check Difficulty Level of Paper, Expected Cut Offs
Xavier Aptitude Test 2026 ( XAT )
XAT 2025 exam analysis and review is now available. The XAT exam was of moderate difficulty level. It had quite a few DI questions, which is unusual for this exam. Check out in-depth XAT 2025 analysis and expected cut offs here.
XAT 2025 exam analysis
XAT 2025 exam analysis - The question paper of XAT 2025 exam was of moderate difficulty. Decision Making questions were slightly lengthy but doable. Quantitative Aptitude questions were moderate, VALR and GK were easy.
The in-depth XAT analysis, has been shared below. It includes detailed review of sectional difficulty level, topic wise weightage, types of questions, number of good attempts and expected XAT cut offs for XLRI admission. The XAT exam analysis 2025 will help XAT candidates in assessing their performance and evaluating their admission chances to XLRI and other top B Schools.
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Latest: XAT response sheet 2025 live updates- check date and process to download
XAT 2025 question paper and answer key (memory based) PDF download
- XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Highlights
- XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Sectional Weightage
- XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Number of Good Attempts
- XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Decision Making
- XAT Exam Analysis 2025: VALR
- XAT 2025 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
- XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: General Knowledge
- Expected XAT Cutoffs 2025: Percentile VS Raw Score
XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Highlights
Check below key highlights of XAT 2025 exam:
- XAT 2025 question paper had 95 questions in MCQ format
- Part 1 (English, Quantitative Ability, Decision Making) of the paper was of 170 minutes.
- Part 2 (GK) of the test was of 10 minutes
- Quantitative Ability had moderately tough questions
- Decision Making questions were lengthy but moderate
- English and LR questions were easy
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XAT 2025 exam was of moderate difficulty level. The students who had appeared for the exam last year, said the XAT 2025 question paper was not much different. Section wise, Quantitative Aptitude questions were on the tougher side, Verbal Ability and Decision Making were easy to moderate and GK was easy.
There was one poem for RC as always. Quantitative Aptitude section was dominated by Arithmetic and GK had questions on very recent events.
Yes six months are enough to prepare for XAT if you plan it well. You will need about 8 hours every day for it. Use first four months to cover exam syllabus and last two months for practice.
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XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Sectional Weightage
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section has the maximum weightage in XAT with 28 questions and 28 marks. And GK has minimum weightage. Given below is the sectional break-up of the XAT 2025 question paper.
| XAT Sections |
No. of Questions |
Total Marks |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Making |
21 |
21 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| Verbal and Logical Ability |
26 |
26 |
Moderate |
| Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation |
28 |
28 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| General Knowledge |
20 |
20 |
Easy |
| Total |
95 |
95 |
Moderate |
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XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Number of Good Attempts
Check below section wise number of good attempts in XAT exam 2025:
| XAT sections |
Number of good attempts |
|---|---|
| VALR |
13-14 |
| Decision Making |
11-12 |
| QA DI |
18-19 |
| GK |
10-11 |
XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Decision Making
There were no Quant based DM questions this year. There were 7 sets of 3 questions each. Some of the questions were tricky and inference based. The difficulty level can be considered as moderate. About 11-12 questions with 75-80% accuracy will be considered good in this section.
XAT Exam Analysis 2025: VALR
As per the XAT 2025 exam analysis, this section was moderately difficult. Out of 26 questions, 17 were Reading Comprehension based and 9 were Verbal Ability/Reasoning based. There were 5 RC passages including a poem. The poem-based RC was difficult. Check below the break of VALR section of XAT question paper 2025.
| VALR Section |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| RC Passages – 5 (300-450 words) |
15 |
| Grammatically correct sentence |
2 |
| Fill in the blanks (4 blanks) |
1 |
| Jumbled Paragraphs (5 statements) |
2 |
| Critical Reasoning |
3 |
| Main idea/message of the given image |
1 |
| Poem-based passage |
2 |
XAT 2025 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
In the QA DI section of XAT 2025 question paper, 16 questions were on Quantitative Ability and 12 were on Data Interpretation. Arithmetic and Mensuration dominated QA, while DI had four sets of three questions each. Check below topic wise break up of XAT 2025 QA DI section:
| Quantitative Aptitude/Data Interpretation |
Total |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
3 |
| Geometry |
5 |
| Modern Math |
3 |
| Algebra |
3 |
| Numbers |
2 |
| Scatter Plot / Line Graph (observation) based set |
3 |
| Arithmetic based set |
3 |
| Average based set |
3 |
| Number-matrix based set |
3 |
| Total QA-DI |
28 |
XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: General Knowledge
There were 20 easy questions in GK questions. This year, more questions were asked on current affairs. Many questions were on recent events. The break up was:
Current Affairs: 12 questions
Static GK: 8 questions
Expected XAT Cutoffs 2025: Percentile VS Raw Score
Given below is the table indicating how much XAT score will convert into how much XAT percentile. XAT cut offs 2025 are expected to be in the same range.
| XAT Percentile |
VA & LR |
DM |
QA & DI |
Overall XAT score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 |
16-17 |
14-15 |
16-17 |
42-44 |
| 95 |
13-14 |
12-13 |
12-13 |
35-37 |
| 90 |
11-12 |
11-12 |
11-12 |
30-32 |
| 75 |
8-9 |
9-10 |
7-8 |
25-27 |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 hours ago
One will need 3-4 hours of preparation if they are planning to complete XAT syllabus in 6 months.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 hours ago
The best study materials to prepare for XAT exam include a mix of books, previous years' papers, and mock test. Some books focused at XAT preparation are tabulated below:
| Best Books | Author |
|---|---|
| Jabbing the XAT | RK Jha |
| Analytical & Logical Reasoning | Arihant Publications |
| Target XAT | Disha Publications |
B
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 hours ago
Sections in the XAT exam, including Decision Making, Verbal & Logical Ability, and Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation remain consistent. However, the exam pattern, question count, and structure may change annually.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 hours ago
Important topics from XAT quantitative aptitude section include Arithmetic (Percentages, Profit & Loss, Time-Speed-Distance, Averages), Geometry & Mensuration, Algebra (Equations, Progressions), Number Systems, and Modern Math (Probability, P&C).
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 hours ago
Completing XAT syllabus requires 3 to 6 months, with 6-8 months for thorough preparation, including mock test analysis and practise using previous year XAT question papers.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 hours ago
Some of the top books to cover XAT syllabus include
| Book | Author |
|---|---|
| Jabbing the XAT | RK Jha |
| Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
| QA/LR books | Arun Sharma or RS Aggarwal |
For Decision Making, candidates can refer to past papers for XAT preparation
A
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 hours ago
XAT syllabus is considered extensive and challenging. It is often viewed as more comprehensive than other management exams. Sections like Decision Making and an Essay is also included in the XAT exam syllabus.
R
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 hours ago
The XAT Decision Making section consists of approximately 21-22 case-based questions designed to evaluate the ability to analyse complex, real-life, and professional scenarios.
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 5 hours ago
Some of the important topics for XAT preparation include:
- Decision Making: Managerial/ethical dilemmas
- Quantitative Ability: Arithmetic, geometry, and algebra
- Verbal Ability: Reading comprehension, often with poetic passages.
L
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 8 hours ago
Major topics under XAT and CAT syllabus are similar. Common sections include Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation, and Verbal Ability. While the sections are same the syllabus is not identical. XAT also includes unique sections, namely Decision Making and General Knowledge.
V
Contributor-Level 6
Yes, XAT is slightly tougher for candidates with non-Engineering background as the Quantitative Aptitude section is of higher difficulty level. However, they can crack it if they work on the fundamentals of Math and practice questions of all difficulty levels. It will take time but they will be able to crack XAT's quant section if they dedicate extra hours to it. Aspirants can find XAT study material online in various online study groups. Students’ groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. share study material with each other. One can also download MBA exam preparation apps to get relevant and useful study material.
The good part about XAT is that, it has different cut offs for candidates belonging to different academic backgrounds. As part of its commitment to academic diversity, the institute has lower cut offs for candidates from non-engineering background than candidates from engineering background.