XAT Exam Analysis 2025 (Available): Get detailed Analysis, Paper Review, Expected Cutoff Here

Q: When are XAT cut offs released?

XLRI Jamshedpur releases the XAT cut offs every year in the month of February after the result announcement. The XAT exam is held on the first Sunday of January and the result is announced in the last week of January. And within a week of result announcement, the XAT cut offs are released. The XAT cut offs are released at the official website of XLRI Jamshedpur and are available for download without login. The XAT cut offs are released for PGDM-HRM and PGDM-BM gender and academic stream wise. The document contains sectional and overall cut off percentiles for male, female, male non engineering and female non-engineering categories. Selection of candidates for the Personal Interview and Group Discussion round of XLRI admission is done on the basis of these category wise cut offs.

Q: How is XAT score calculated?

XAT score is calculated on the basis of raw scores obtained a candidate in each section. In the XAT exam, every correct answer carries 1 mark and every incorrect entry carries – 0.25 marks. There is no negative marking for skipping a question. But, in case of eight consecutive unanswered questions, 0.10 marks will be deducted. XAT has about 99 questions on which the score calculation is done. So, for example, if you have got 70 questions correct and 8 questions in correct, then your raw XAT score will be 70 – 1 = 69. If you have not answered 8 questions consecutively, then your score will be 69- 0.10 = 68.90. This raw score will be further calculated to arrive at XAT percentile. Check here the XAT percentile calculation process: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/xat-score-vs-percentile-how-much-xat-score-will-get-me-99-percentile-blogId-52337

Q: What is the XAT section wise weightage?

XAT exam is more Quantitative Ability and Verbal and Logical Ability based. Which is why these two sections have more weightage than rest of the section. And between these two, Quantitative Ability has more weightage. In terms of marks too, the Quantitative Ability has maximum weightage, i.e. 28 marks, followed by Verbal and Logical Ability with 26 marks, General Knowledge carries 25 marks and Decision Making carries 22 marks. XAT Sections Number of Questions Total Marks Decision Making 22 22 Verbal and Logical Ability 26 26 Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation 28 28 General Knowledge 25 25 Essay Writing 1 (out of 3 options) To be evaluated at the time of shortlisting

Q: What is the difficulty level of the XAT exam?

XAT is one of the tougher MBA entrance exams. The difficulty level of the XAT question paper is usually moderate to high. The XAT 2024 question paper was of moderate difficulty level. The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section is usually tougher than other sections. Verbal and Logical Reasoning section is usually moderate. However, some candidates find the Verbal Ability section tough as it has questions based on Reading Comprehension passages and poem. Decision Making and General Knowledge sections are moderate to easy. Out of 100 questions, about 70-75 attempts with 70 to 80 per cent accuracy is considered a good attempt in the XAT exam. The test takers must strive to attempt 2/3 rd of the total questions in each section for a decent overall score. If a candidate scores 95 percentile, they will be in a position to get a good college.

Q: Which section of XAT question paper is lengthiest?

It depends upon each candidate which section of XAT exam paper they find lengthy. It also depends on the questions chosen for the exam in that particular year. However, it has been seen that Data Interpretation questions are usually lengthy. Overall, the Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section has the maximum number of questions i.e. 28 and candidates have to solve at least 22-24 questions to meet the desired cut off. So, this section may appear lengthy to the candidate. To some candidates, the Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section appears to be lengthy, because of dense reading comprehension passages and reasoning questions based on analogy, series, etc. The fact that both these sections are from the Part 1 of the XAT exam which is of 175 minutes makes it manageable as along with Decision Making, one can solve a decent number of QA-DI and VA-LR questions in 175 minutes.

Q: Are XAT Decision Making questions tough?

XAT Decision Making questions can be tricky. The key is to understand the gist of the passages and what solution is being discussed in it. Some candidates may find XAT Decision Making questions difficult as they may be unfamiliar with business situations that require ethical decisions to be taken. To crack this section of XAT, practice a variety of Decision Making questions.

Q: What is the XAT section wise weightage?

XAT exam is more Quantitative Ability and Verbal and Logical Ability based. Which is why these two sections have more weightage than rest of the section. And between these two, Quantitative Ability has more weightage. In terms of marks too, the Quantitative Ability has maximum weightage, i.e. 28 marks, followed by Verbal and Logical Ability with 26 marks, General Knowledge carries 25 marks and Decision Making carries 22 marks. XAT Sections Number of Questions Total Marks Decision Making 22 22 Verbal and Logical Ability 26 26 Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation 28 28 General Knowledge 25 25 Essay Writing 1 (out of 3 options) To be evaluated at the time of shortlisting

Q: What is the difficulty level of the XAT exam?

XAT is one of the tougher MBA entrance exams. The difficulty level of the XAT question paper is usually moderate to high. The XAT 2024 question paper was of moderate difficulty level. The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section is usually tougher than other sections. Verbal and Logical Reasoning section is usually moderate. However, some candidates find the Verbal Ability section tough as it has questions based on Reading Comprehension passages and poem. Decision Making and General Knowledge sections are moderate to easy. Out of 100 questions, about 70-75 attempts with 70 to 80 per cent accuracy is considered a good attempt in the XAT exam. The test takers must strive to attempt 2/3 rd of the total questions in each section for a decent overall score. If a candidate scores 95 percentile, they will be in a position to get a good college.

1.7K Students Q&A

Registration - 10 Jul '25 - 5 Dec '25

Updated on Oct 2, 2025 12:23 IST

By Vipra Shrivastava, Senior Manager - Content

XAT 2025 analysis - As per the review of XAT 2025 question paper, the exam was of moderate difficulty level. Quants section was dominated by Arithmetic and Mensuration. Decision Making questions were lengthy but doable, VALR questions were easy to moderate.

The XAT exam analysis 2025 includes indepth discussion of sectional difficulty level, topic wise weightage, types of questions, number of good attempts and expected XAT cut offs for XLRI admission. Exam analysis will help XAT 2026 aspirants in preparing for the exam. Check below analysis of XAT 2025 and previous years.

XAT 2026 exam will be held on January 4, 2026. Shiksha will provide detailed analysis of the XAT 2026 question paper here on the exam day.

Table of content

XAT 2025 Analysis
XAT 2024 Analysis
XAT 2023 Analysis
XAT 2022 Analysis

XAT 2025 Analysis

In XAT 2025, the VA and LR section was moderate, Decision Making was also moderate, but QA-DI was slightly tough. Check below, section wise difficulty level of XAT question paper 2025:

XAT section	Topics	Difficulty level
VA & LR	RC passages Poem Sentence Correction Para Jumble Fill in the blanks Conclusion/Inference	Moderate
DM	Event Management Company Law Firm Newspaper: The Pluralist Kindercare Hospital MBA Postgraduate Leadership Trade Suburb	Moderate
QA & DI	Linear Equation Coordinate Geometry Mensuration Ratio & Proportion Simple Interest, Compound Interest Probability Surds Averages Circles Grid Numbers Height & Distance Log Data Interpretation	Moderate to Difficult
GK	History Geography Economics and Business Personality and awards Science and Tech Sports Entertainment	Easy
Essay Topics		Moderate

Read Here: Detailed XAT 2025 Exam Analysis

Watch XAT 2025 Student Reactions and Reviews

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Commonly asked questions

Q: Which section of XAT question paper is lengthiest?

Q: Are XAT Decision Making questions tough?

XAT 2024 Analysis

The XAT 2024 exam was moderately difficult. The QA & DI section was tougher than DM and VA & LR sections check the table below for sectional break up and difficulty level:

XAT section	Topics	Difficulty level
VA & LR	RC, Poem, fill in the blanks, Critical Reasoning, Grammar (Correct-incorrect sentence), Para jumble	Moderate
DM	Raman & Flying Grocery Store, Shalini & Nalini Incentive Given for Loyalty, Prabhu Tax Service, Go Valve & Safe Valve, Vinita Lama & SUV Decision, Vimal & Sharda Stolen Ring, ABC Business School	Moderate
QA & DI	Linear Equation, Quadratic Equation, Logarithm, Time, speed, distance, Profit and loss, Arithmetic progression, Geometry, Number system, Data Sufficiency, PnC, Polynomials, data interpretation	Moderate to Difficult
GK	History, Geography, Economics and business , Personality and awards, Science and tech, Sports, Books and authors , Current affairs, Nobel Prize, Entertainment	Difficult
Essay Topics	Tech prediction, Social media regulation and fake news, Abstract topic	Moderate

Also Read:

XAT exam analysis and review 2024

Also Read:

Check XAT cut offs and predict calls from XLRI and other colleges accepting XAT score for admission. Check Fees, Placement Reviews, Admission, Shortlist Criteria and Eligibility of all XAT participating colleges by clicking the link below:

Predict XAT Admission Calls

Commonly asked questions

Q: What is the XAT section wise weightage?

Q: What is the difficulty level of the XAT exam?

XAT 2023 Analysis

QA-DI was tough and dominated by Arithmetic
Verbal and Logical Ability was easy to moderate
Decision Making was easy to moderate
GK was moderate with current affairs and static GK question
Essay topics were abstract in nature but doable
Verbal and Logical Ability section had four RC passages and one poems.

XAT Analysis 2023: VALR

The XAT Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning section was easy and had 26 questions. The section was dominated by RC questions. This year, there was only one poem which was easy. About 16-18 attempts will be good in XAT Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning. Check the sectional composition of XAT VALR section below:

Type of Questions	No. of Questions	Doable
RC	4 sets with 3 questions	8
Poem	1 set with 2 questions	1
Fill in the Blanks	1	1
Critical Reasoning	7	3
Grammar/ Punctuation	3	2
Para completion	1	1
Total	26	16-18

XAT 2023 Analysis: Decision Making

The total number of Decision Making questions in XAT 2023 was 22, one more than last year. The questions were easy except for one set which was modelled on old DI type decision making questions. About 15-17 attempts will be good in this section:

Check the sectional composition of XAT Decision Making section below:

Type of Questions	No. of Questions	Doable
2 Question Sets	4	2
3 Question Sets	15	2
3 Question DI Type Set	3	3
Total	22	15 - 17

XAT Analysis 2023: QA-DI

This year, the XAT Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section was was dominated by Arithmetic and slightly tougher than last year. About 16-18 attempts will be considered good in this section. Check out the sectional composition of XAT Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section below:

Type of Questions	No. of Questions	Doable
Arithmetic	8	5
Numbers	4	3
Algebra	4	3
Geometry	3	1
DI 1 -Economic activity & subjective well being	3	2
Trigonometry	1	2
Data Sufficiency	2	2
investment	2	1
Probability	1	0
Total	28	16 - 18

XAT 2023 Analysis: General Knowledge

The XAT General Knowledge section as usual comprised 25 questions with a fine between current affairs and static GK. A good score in this section would be 10+.

In the Essay section, the candidates had three topics to choose one frm which were as follows:

Decarbonisation by India is hampering the Indian industries
People with less IQ are more successful
Taking risks in life

Commonly asked questions

Q: When are XAT cut offs released?

Q: How is XAT score calculated?

XAT 2022 Analysis

XAT 2022 analysis indicates that the exam was easier than CAT 2021. Re-introduction of Essay Writing did pose difficutly to some students but the exam was overall doable. The Decision Making and Verbal Ability sections were easy to attempt, whereas Quantitative Aptitude was slightly more difficult than other sections due to lengthiness of some questions. GK section was also moderate.

XAT exam was conducted on January 2 in online mode at various exam centres from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM. The question paper as told by test takers and experts, was moderate to high difficulty level.

XAT 2022 Analysis: Section wise

Section-wise, the highlight of XAT 2022 included easy Decision Making passages, two poems in VARC and DI oriented QADI section. Given below is the table indicating sectional-dificulty levels of XAT 2022:

XAT Sections	No. of Questions	Total Marks	Level of Difficulty
Decision Making	21	21	Moderate
Verbal and Logical Ability	26	26	Moderate
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation	28	28	Tough
General Knowledge	25	25	Tough
Essay Writing	1	To be evaluated after shortlisting	Moderate