Every year, the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur conducts the Xavier Admission Test (XAT) for admission into the post graduate management programmes at XLRI and a host of premier institutes in India. Primarily developed as a screening test for MBA entrants into the Xavier institutes, XAT scores are now accepted by more than 30 B schools all over the country.

XAT Paper Pattern:

XAT is usually scheduled for the first Sunday of January and is considered to be the toughest of all management entrance tests. XAT aspirants are never sure what to expect out of the paper. Some of the recent surprises have been:

• The option of 5 instead of 4 answers per question
  

•  Introduction of 'Management Decision Making' questions involving Case studies

•  Certain questions in the Logical Reasoning section having true/false statements which effectively removed the elimination process 

Duration:

The main XAT exam is for 2 hours. This is followed by a 20 minutes essay writing test on any one topic.

Negative Marking & Scoring System

XAT awards 1 mark for each correct answer. But its negative marking schema is quite tough: 1/3rd marking for the first 5 wrong questions in each section & ½ for errors beyond 5 mistakes. Traditionally, the XAT paper can generally be segregated into three main sections commonly known as:

• English
  

•  Reasoning & Quantitative Aptitude
  

•  General Awareness

A brief three year comparison of XAT test patterns is given below. As you will see, every year some innovation is introduced to the paper pattern.

Eligibility Criteria for XAT :

To be eligible for XAT, the candidate must be a graduate from a recognized institute. The minimum aggregate requirement is 50% for general category and 45% for OBC/ST/SC/Physically Handicapped candidates.

XAT Registration

You can get the XAT bulletin from the following sources:

• Selected branches of State Bank of India

•  The XAT office at XLRI, Jamshedpur

• Candidates can also fill up the form online by logging onto the website http://www.xlri.com/

Note: you have to apply separately for the all the colleges including XLRI.

Some Dos and Don’ts for XAT:

• Do solve as many sample tests as possible. This will give you a clear picture of your strengths and weakness.  

• Do start your paper with the section which is your strongpoint. It will give you the psychological edge.

• Do time yourself. Time management is crucial for XAT as there is no sectional time limit.
  

• Do be prepared for changes in the paper pattern. It won’t be XAT if there were no surprising elements in the package.
  

•  Do have a strategy but don’t be rigid about it. If the paper doesn’t come according to your own predictions, don’t lose hope.  

• Don’t try to take wild guesses. The penalty for negative marking in XAT is very heavy and may cost you a seat in your college of choice.

• Don’t focus only on one section. Just because there are no sectional cutoffs, it doesn’t mean that you can leave out any section altogether.
  

•  Don’t take your essay paper lightly. It will prove decisive in your GD and PI round.

•         Don’t panic while giving the exam. More than being a test of your knowledge base, it’s a test of how you handle pressure. 

Dates and Deadlines :

• Date of Entrance Exam: 3th January 2010  

• Date of result : Last week of  January 2010