XAT 2018 (Xavier Aptitude Test), an all India level examination for admission to post graduate management programs in XLRI (Xavier Labour Relations Institute) and 150 other institutions, will be held on January 7, 2018.
A pen and paper mode test, XAT will be held across 47 Indian cities and 2 International locations in a single shift of 3 hours 30 minutes. The paper-pen mode, also ensures that all candidates are tested on exactly the same set of questions, and not on different sets.
The test centres are: Agartala, Ahmedabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Berhampur, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Cuttack, Dehradun, Delhi, Goa, Greater Noida, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Jaipur, Jammu, Jamshedpur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, Noida, Patna, Pune, Raipur, Ranchi, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Surat, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram, Udaipur, Vadodara, Varanasi, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. The international test centres are in Dubai and Kathmandu.
Candidates only interested in XAT need to pay a fee of Rs 1600. Applicants for XLRI program(s) needs to pay an additional fee of Rs 300 each.
The registration for XAT exam is expected to begin in the third week of August. Candidates will have time till late December to complete the registration after which the admission cards will be issued. Results will be announced by January end. However, admissions to the business schools would start much earlier and applicants would have to fill in the applications along with the required documents well ahead of the deadlines.
For registration, you need to visit xatonline.net.in click on Register and create a new account with your personal email id. You will receive a unique XAT ID and registration link. You have to click on the link and create your own password. The next step is to select the test city, fill in your name and other particulars including address and phone number, upload your photo and signature and save it.
If you are interested in applying for XLRI, select the programme of your choice Business Management (BM)/Human Resource Management (HRM)/General Management Programme (GMP). Candidates not interested in any of the XLRI programmes can skip this step.
You will be required to provide your educational qualification starting from 10th class onwards and details of work experience starting from the latest job. Candidates applying to GMP must have total experience of five years until March 31, 2018.
Next step is to select the mode of payment that includes an online payment gateway through VISA/Master Credit/Debit Cards (American Express Card is inadmissible), IDBI Net Banking (available only for IDBI account holder). You could also make a cash payment by taking a print out of the XAT Pay-In-Slip to the nearest IDBI bank and make the payment. Yet another option is to make a Demand Draft from any Bank in favour of “XLRI Jamshedpur A/c XAT” payable at Jamshedpur.
Candidates only interested in XAT need to pay a fee of Rs 1600. Applicants for XLRI program(s) needs to pay an additional fee of Rs 300 each.
Those making the payment by DD have to print XAT Confirmation page and send it along with the demand draft within 15 days of its issuance to the Chairperson Admission, XLRI, Circuit House Area (East), Jamshedpur- 831001. The same must be sent within fifteen days from the issuance of DD.
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The XAT question paper is divided into two sections. Candidates have to complete section 1 in 170 minutes (2 hours and 50 minutes) and section 2 in 40 minutes.
Section 1 has a total 78 questions dealing with Quantitative ability, English language and Logical Reasoning and Decision making. Section 2 is a mix of objective as well as subjective questions to test General knowledge and writing skills in the form of an essay.
From 2016, XAT marking scheme underwent some changes. A candidate could leave out 13 questions unanswered, beyond which there will be negative marking of 0.05 marks per unanswered question. Each question carries 1 mark, while 0.25 marks will be deducted for each wrong answer.
Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of the cut-offs set by XLRI and other participating institutes on the basis of their cut-offs. Selected candidates will be invited for a group discussion, written ability test, and personal interview rounds. The B-schools may also consider criteria like past academic records and work experience.
