XAT exam 2025 was held today and the paper was of moderate difficulty level. Check here XAT 2025 student reactions and reviews as shared with Shiksha.
Candidates talk about XAT 2025 exam
XAT 2025 exam was held today. The exam was of moderate to high difficulty level. Shiksha visited a XAT exam centre to speak with candidates who appeared for the exam. XAT 2025 test takers told Shiksha how the paper was and what are their expectations from it.
XAT 2025 score is accepted by over 800 B-schools in India, apart from XLRI Jamshedpur. This year, over 1 lakh candidates are expected to have appeared for the exam. Definite number of test takers is expected to be released by XLRI later. XAT 2025 result will be announced by the third week of January 2025.
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XAT 2025 Student Reactions and Reviews
Prateeksha told Shiksha, “My XAT 2025 exam went okay for me. Not so great, not so bad. Decision Making was quite lengthy as we had to read lengthy paragraphs and to choose the right answer was quite difficult. Quant was fine. I had not prepared for GK section so it was not good for me and I found English section good. I appeared for CAT 2024 also. Time management was easy in XAT, but Quant questions were bit tough and Decision Making was not there in CAT. “
Priyanka told Shiksha, “XAT 2025 was moderate to difficulty level. Reading Comprehension passages were lengthy. Some questions of Quants section were easy in the beginning but the difficulty level rose later. Decision Making was moderate. GK questions were okay. If you knew recent current affairs then you could handle GK. If I compare XAT 2025 with mock tests, then I can say the main exam was easy. I have appeared for CAT 2024, SNAP 2024 and NMAT 2025. XAT’s difficulty level was a bit lower than CAT.”
In XAT, Reading Comprehension passages are usually taken from Philosophy, Psychology, History, Art, research articles. Sometime, the XAT RC section also has poems. These areas are chosen to test the candidates, who are largely Science, Commerce and Engineering graduates, on their ability to come out of their comfort zone and adapt to unfamiliar situations. Out of 26 questions, about 14-16 questions are based on RC passages or a poem. Candidates must target solving about 10 questions accurately to score well. XAT has negative marking so do not mark an option as your answer if you are not 100 percent sure of it.
Tanya told Shiksha that here exam went well. “In Quant, the difficulty level was moderate to difficult. Decision Making, I would say, was between easy to moderate. English too was easy to moderate. The XAT 2025 question paper was not difficult but lengthy as usual. I appeared for SNAP 2024, MAT 2024 and NMAT 2024 too. SNAP and MAT were easy but I felt NMAT was a bit difficult than XAT,” she added.
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Shreya shared with Shiksha, “XAT 2025 was pretty good. I found the DM section, which is hyped as difficult, to be quite easy. Quants was manageable. However, the DI section was pretty interesting and VA was slightly challenging but doable. GK was very easy. Some questions were from events that happened few weeks back, like who won the World Chess Championship. Surprisingly, DI was dominant. We are used to see quant heavy XAT but it was different this time. Arithmetic and mensuration questions were dominant."“
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Paavni said, “XAT 2025 was good. Quants was easy, VARC was a bit subjective. It was more interpretation based. DM questions were a bit tougher than last year but still manageable. GK was relatively good. Previously, more questions were asked from Static GK, this year, there were more current affairs questions. I appeared for CAT 2024, and XAT 2025 was easier than that. I am hoping for 90-95 percentile. “
Another aspirant named Tanya told Shiksha that XAT 2025 was moderately difficult. “My Quant is little weak so I couldn’t attempt a lot of questions. My critical reasoning is very good, according to me (I am not sure of answers I have marked on the paper), so I would say it was okay.DM and VA were okay. This was my second attempt on XAT. If I compare, the DM questions were more difficult last year, and this year because I was prepared more to so could understand DM elaborately. XAT is an adaptive test and it test your logic”, she added.
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Vipra Shrivastava is MA in English Literature from Delhi University with extensive experience in content writing of over 14 years. She has been handling content for Management, Accounting and Commerce streams for 8
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
One will need 3-4 hours of preparation if they are planning to complete XAT syllabus in 6 months.
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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 Yesterday
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
As per the latest XAT exam pattern, there will be 95 questions in XAT 2025 in MCQ format.
There will be no essay writing this year. It will be conducted during the selection process.
It is not mandatory to solve all the questions. Candidates should solve only those questions which they can solve correctly as there is negative marking in XAT. During the exam preparation, focus on the chapters from which majority of the questions are added. This will help them in achieving the sectional and overall cut offs are required.