XAT 2023: Updates, Application, Dates, Eligibility, Fees, Syllabus & More

Last Updated on August 5, 2023 by Vishnu Nambiar

Are you all set to crack XAT test in 2021? If yes, this post will be of help to you. Here, I’ve covered all the important details about this competitive exam. Here, readers will find the following details – important dates, application process, fees, syllabus, preparation tips, eligibility criteria and more.

XAT known as Xavier Aptitude Test is one of the largest aptitude tests that helps the students in pursuing PGDM/MBA. There are around 140 associate institutes and 11 member institutes that accept the scores of XAT exam. Till the year 2017 XAT entrance examination was held offline.

 

But with the effect from the year 2018, the examination will be held online. Following the past trends of the XAT examination dates, the XAT 2021 exam is going to be on the first Sunday of the January month. According to the sources of XLRI, the conducting authority of the XAT 2021 will announce the date of the examination as January 2021

 

The Xavier School of Management and many other top business institutes of India will accept the score of the XAT examination. XLRI will conduct the XAT examination for the admission of the PGDM/MBA 2021 batch. Around 150 business colleges all over India will accept the XAT score.

 

Instead of holding the examination for a number of days, the authority of the XAT examination has decided that the examination will be on a single day and a single session. The exam has always been held on a single session for the last sixty years and it will not be any different in 2021. The duration of the XAT examination is of three and a half hours. The authority conducts the exam from 10 am to 1.30 PM.

 

The date of the XAT exam will remain same all over the country as well as across the international centres. The XAT exam 2021 will be held over 47 XAT test cities across India and two abroad cities namely Dubai and Kathmandu. You may also check – list of MBA entrance exams.

 

XAT 2021 Dates

The notifications related to XAT exam and the date of the exam will or other relevant information of the examination will be on 3rd week of August 2020 on the XAT website. All the notification that contains XAT exam centre information, the format of the XAT exam and the date of the exam will be published in the newspaper too.

All the dates of XAT 2021 along with other information and FAQs will be available on the website of XAT 2021. The registration and application process of XAT 2021 will begin from the 3rd week of August 2020. The date for downloading the admit card of XAT 2021 exam will be out on the 2nd week of December 2020.

 

Eligibility Criteria Of XAT Exam

The eligibility of XAT is one of the simplest one out of all the National level MBA entrance exam that is held in India every year. All you need to have is a bachelor degree to sit in for the XAT 2021 entrance exam while other entrance examinations require a particular percentage of marks in the bachelor or Master’s degree. The eligibility criteria of the XAT exam has not changed over the past sixty years.

 

The XLRI exam authority doesn’t tend to change the eligibility criteria of XAT 2021 either. Below here are some basic eligibility criteria that one must meet to sit for the XAT entrance exam 2021 –

• Age Limitation: The eligibility of XAT 2021 exam proposes ‘No Age Bar” in order to sit in the XAT exam 2021. It means that XLRI doesn’t put any age restriction for the candidates who want to appear the XAT entrance exam. It doesn’t restrict any candidates to take admission in the MBA college on the basis of the age bar
• No Minimum Marks Required For Qualification: According to the eligibility criteria set by XAT entrance exam, any candidate is eligible to sit on XAT entrance exam 2021 if the candidate has a minimum three year’s bachelor degree course from a recognised board. Any equivalent course will also do. So, the mark is also not an issue at all. Candidate having a bachelor degree can easily apply for the XAM without worrying about the minimum marks.
• Graduation Should Be Complete By June 2020: Those who are going to be graduate by next year can also apply for the XAT 2021 entrance exam. But the candidate should be graduated by Jun 10, 2020. The eligibility criteria of XAT 2021 also says that those students who are in the final year of their graduation can also apply for the examination
• Certificate From The Head Of The College Will Be Enough For Admission: According to the eligibility criteria of XAT exam 2021, if the candidates who are in the final year of their bachelorette degree are selected then they will be allowed to join the MBA program provisionally. Now if we elaborate the criteria of XAT exam 2021, then it says that if the candidate who is selected submits a certificate from the head of the college or institution saying that the candidate has fulfilled all the requirements that are needed to obtain a bachelorette degree then the candidate easily fulfils the XAT 2021 eligibility
• XAT Eligibility For The NRIs: The eligibility criteria for the local students require that the student should sit in the XAT exam 2021, as this is mandatory for the students to get admission in any B-schools in India for PGDM/MBA. But the scenario is a lot more different for the foreign candidates. The eligibility criteria for the foreign and the NRI candidates are quite relaxed as they can apply for admission with the help of their valid scores of GMAT. Moreover, for the candidates who are from Kathmandu and Dubai get more relaxation on XAT exam 2021 eligibility. They get the option to apply in XAT 2021 or through the scores of GMAT.

 

Here are some key points that will ensure the candidates about their eligibility in XAT 2021 –

• There is no age bar imposed to appear in XAT exam 2021
• The candidate who will appear for XAT exam must at least one of the following criteria –
1. Have a bachelor degree
2. Or complete any professional degree like CA/CS etc
3. Students who are in the final year of their bachelorette degree can also apply for the exam
• The percentage of the marks that the candidate has scored will generally be calculated based on the practice that is followed by the respective college or University
• In case of CGPA or grades, converting the marks to a percentage will be based on the procedure that has been certified by the respective college or institution and in accordance with the eligibility criteria of XAT exam
• If the candidates fulfil the criteria of XAT simply then it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t mean that will surely be shortlisted by XLRI or other business in which the candidates applies for admission
• One more key point that is prescribed by the XAT eligibility 2021 is that the candidate should maintain a unique and valid email address and phone number through the whole process of selection

 

Registration Of XAT 2021 And Application Form

The application form and registration is expected to be out by the third week of August 2020. The registration of XAT 2021 will be open for around 100 days. The registration for the XAT exams is an online process, so, you have to complete the registration for XAT 2021 exams online only.

 

The application form of XAT is also to be filled online through the XAT exam website ‘onlinexat’. The Registration fee of XAT includes the fees of the application form and the registration fee of the XAT 2021 exam.

 

The Application Process of XAT 2021 involves the process of registering and completing the application form first. A candidate can complete the XAt 2021 registration and the application form in a single go or they can also do it in different stages. Since the offline process of the XAT exam registration has been discontinued, so, the candidates have no other option than to do it online.

 

For registering themselves, the students can visit the XAT test website. The XAT exam application form and the XAT exam registration can be completed only after the candidate has made the payment for XAT 2021 registration fee. The Application Process of the XAT exam will open after the XLRI has released the notification of XAT 2021.

 

Registration Process Of XAT 2021

Applicants may follow these steps to register –

• Candidate can register online from the XLRI-XAT website which will be commencing from the third week of August
• Candidate should upload their latest passport size photo during the time of XAT registration
• It is mandatory that the candidate should provide the correct name, mobile number, address, Email ID. The candidates should keep in mind that once they have entered the details, it cannot be changed later
• The registration of XAT and the process of the application fee is simplified further by XLRI. The candidates can pay the XAT application fee as well as the exam fee through the onlinexat test website
• However, once the dates are closed, no changes will be permitted
• Make sure that the information that you have provided in the registration form is accurate

 

XAT 2021 Guidelines For The Application Process

In order to apply and register for the XAT, one should keep the following things in mind –

• Validate And Update Your Computer And Email Account: If the candidate wants to register from his computer then the computer should be equipped with Google Chrome/Mozilla Firefox or the latest version of Internet Explorer. The candidates should also keep the e-mail account validated through the XAT registration till the admission is complete
• Keep The Important Documents: Before the candidates start to register for XAT, it is compulsory that they should keep the documents ready with them from before like the photos, academic details, signature etc. No one will like to search for all those in the middle of the registration process
• Read The Instructions Carefully: Before the candidates start to complete the application process, it is important that they should read all the instructions carefully. Before applying, they should know how to complete the application form
• Pay The Application Fee Through Website: The Application Process of XAT exam offers the candidate a number of opportunities to apply for the XLRI Jamshedpur MBA programs. The application form of the XAT has separate columns to apply for the MBA programs
• The XAT Application Is Completed Quickly: Once the candidates have entered all the details that are asked in the application form of XAT, it will take a maximum of 15 minutes to complete the form
• Submit The Application Form Early: It is better for the candidate if they register the application as early as they can. However, if the candidates register lately then there might be a problem of exam centre preference

 

Exam Pattern Of XAT 2021

The XAT exam pattern basically has 5 sections and the number of questions and section remains unchanged every year. However, the XAT exam will be online based instead of those like the paper-based. In the first part of the exam, the candidates will be asked 24 questions on verbal and logical ability, 27 questions on aptitude and data and 21 questions on decision making. The candidates will get a total 170 minutes for this section.

 

The next section consists of 25 question on General Knowledge and 1 topic which the candidates have to write an essay. They will get 35 minutes in total for this section. So, the XAT exam will be computer-based and have 98 questions in total. Out of the 98 questions, 97 questions will be multiple choice questions and one of them will be essay writing.

 

The word limit of the essay is around 200 words. Talking about the negative marking, 0.25 marks will be deducted from question 1 to 72. However, the general knowledge questions are free from negative marking. The essay writing will be awarded a maximum of three marks. The candidates can submit their papers after 30 mins of the start of the test.

 

Highlights Of The XAT Test 2021

• The XAT test is divided into two parts. The first has A, B, C sections and the second part consists of essay writing and GK sections
• The scores of the candidate in the part I will be taken into consideration for determining the merit position of the candidate and shortlisting them for the interview round
• There are total 72 number of questions in part I
• Between the part I and part II of the question, the candidate will get a break of around 5-10 minutes
• The second part of the exam consists of 25 questions. Out of which 24 are from general knowledge and 1 in essay writing
• It will helpful for the candidate if they try to compete the GK part in 10 minutes and give the rest 25 minutes to essay writing
• The marks scored by the candidates in the GK section will only be taken into consideration during the time of final selection. For shortlisting the candidates for interview, marks from the first round is considered. It is important for the candidate to score well in the second round

 

XAT Examination Syllabus

There is no doubt about the fact that XAT is one of the most popular examinations and entrances that most aspiring MBA students take. It is essential for the students who want to appear in the exam to know a few important details about the syllabus pattern of the XAT entrance test

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It is obvious that the XAT syllabus for the exams coincides completely with the XAT examination pattern as well. With the changes that happen in the exam pattern of XAT, the XAT syllabus also tends to change with that. Also, it is to be noted that the XAT examination test syllabus is not entirely pre-defined by the institute as well.

 

Here we have a sample of the XAT examination syllabus that is based on the different examinations of XAT that have happened in the past year. Make sure that you note down all the important details so that you don’t have any problems in understanding the syllabus and the exam pattern as well.

 

1. Composition

Various examples of the past paper suggest that the XAT examination pattern and the syllabus tend to test all the candidates on different subjects. These subjects include Verbal Ability, Reading Comprehension, Decision Making, Logical Reasoning, Quantitative Aptitude, and along with that, there are some questions from Data Interpretation as well. These are some of the key sections on which the questions are based so as to determine the merit position and the percentile of the candidates that are appearing in the examination.

 

2. General Awareness

This is another important section in the XAT examination for those students who want to apply. Although in this section, there aren’t any pre-defined syllabus examples as well. The students can expect to be asked any particular question from the General Awareness section. Most of the times, the current issues are the ones on which the questions are based. It is really important for the candidates to have a thorough knowledge of the country and other current affairs to strengthen their hold in the General Awareness Front.

 

3. Essay Writing

This is the final section that is present in the XAT examination syllabus. The syllabus for this section is not pre-defined as well. However, the previous patterns suggest that the essay topics are mostly based on the XAT examination syllabus. This section of the syllabus is to test the creative writing skills of the candidates who want to apply to the university. Only the student who can clear this section will be allowed to participate in the admission process which makes it a pretty important section.

 

It is needless to say that the examination pattern of the XAT entrance test and the syllabus for the XAT cover all the above-mentioned section very thoroughly. Also, it is believed that the syllabus for this examination is always based in the previously built question papers. Students could solve these previous years’ papers to get an idea about the examination pattern and the syllabus as well.

 

XAT Examination Cutoff

It is not an unknown fact that students from all over the country want to apply to XLRI by giving the XAT examination in 2021. However, for that, the candidates have to clear the cutoff first. So, it is important for the candidates who want to apply to know the general cutoff requirement of the XAT examination.

 

On the basis of the other prestigious MBA colleges XAT cut off, it is revealed that the cut off that is required for any student to get into XLRI is 96 and the students who want to get into SPJIMR need to have a cutoff that is beyond 93 to get an admission.

 

It is XLRI who declares the cutoff for the XAT entrance examination that is supposed to happen in 2021. After the declaration of the result of the particular examination, other MBA institutes and colleges will also declare their cutoff marks of the XAT examination.

 

Many institutes such as SP Jain and other colleges that provide MBA courses to the aspiring candidates have announced that they will keep their cutoff requirement from the XAT examination the same as the previous years. So, it can be easy for the students to decide whether they will get into the colleges or not.

 

There is another key feature that we have noticed about the XAT entrance examination in 2021. It has been found that the low scores that carry the higher percentile could also result in providing admission to the students in some of the best MBA colleges in the country. The XAT scores are not only accepted by the XLRI and the SPJIMR but there are some other prestigious business schools that also accept the total scores of XAT.

 

So, there is no doubt about the fact that by giving the entrance test of XAT, the students will have their chances increased of getting into some of the top business schools that are in the country. Some of the institutes that also accept the XAT scores are IMT, XIMB, GIM Goa, LIBA, Great Lakes and some other names as well.