XAT 2019 Exam Pattern, Important Dates, Admit Card & Eligibility

XAT or Xavier Aptitude Test is the entrance exam organized by Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur on the behalf of Xavier Association of Management Institutes (XAMI). XAT 2019 will be conducted in January 2019. The exam duration is 3½ hours from 10 AM to 1:35 PM. The Mode for XAT Exam is Online.

The exam is accepted by XLRI and many other top tier management institutes in India. The XAT score is being used by more than 150 institutes for the admission. XLRI has been conducting XAT for last 60 years. It is one of the oldest competitive examination in India to select most appropriate students for the management education. Till 2017 XAT was conducted as paper based test, onwoards has announced to be an online computer based test.

XLRI application has been embedded with XAT application. Candidates applying to XLRI do not have to fill up two separate forms. XAT is the second largest MBA entrance exam for MBA/PGDM after CAT. It is considered to be one of the toughest MBA entrance exams in India that calls for complete dedication and awareness.

XAT exam Pattern

The XAT exam pattern for 2019 is divided into 2 parts:

• Part 1 – Verbal Ability, Decision Making and Analytical Reasoning, Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation
• Part 2 – GK and Essay

Based on previous years exam patterns. Accordingly, all questions will carry equal marks. Candidate has to choose the right option. Otherwise, one fourth mark will be deducted for every incorrect attempt. Each question in XAT 2019 test paper will have 5 answer options. Apart from overall cut-off percentile, the XAT 2019 exam will also have sectional cut-offs. There will be no negative marking for writing section.

What makes XAT different from CAT is the Essay Writing Section besides Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs). Students are evaluated on their writing skills as well.

XAT Registration

XAT 2019 will be conducted in January 2019 and the registration for the same are open. Register at http://forms.xatonline.in/xat2018/. Detailed bulletin is available on http://www.xatonline.in/.

Modes of Payment – Online, Offline via Cash or Demand Draft Candidates only interested in XAT but not in XLRI need to pay a fee of Rs. 1650/-Candidates interested in XLRI programme(s) needs to pay an additional fee of Rs.300/- each.

Admit Card

• MBA Aspirants can download their admit card from XAT Official website www.xatonline. in from December 20, 2017 onwards.
• XAT office will not be sending admit cards to the candidates.
• Students must download their admit cards and represent it at the time of exam at the examination centre.

Instructions for XAT 2019

Applicants should note that registration for XAT 2019 and appearing for XAT 2019 is the preliminary step towards applying to XLRI and XAT Associate Institutes. Applicants to different institutes, besides XLRI have to apply separately to Institutes of their choice. Applicants for XAT 2018 can choose to pay online using credit card/ debit card/ online banking.

Candidates can also make payment through a demand draft made from any bank (in favour of XLRI Jamshedpur). Third alternative for making payment can be “cash”. This can be done from any of the IDBI Bank branches located in India to make payment for XAT 2019.

This year, for the first time Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) was conducted in Online Mode in 314 centres across 49 cities including Dubai and Kathmandu in January, 2019.

However, at 2 centres due to server related technical issues, the exam couldn’t be conducted. Re-examination will be conducted at these centres for the affected students. The new date will be will be announced very soon and communicated to the affected students.

Stated by Official Spokesperson, XLRI – Xavier School of Management.

• Know your Exam – Although there is no any written syllabus for competitive exams like XAT or CAT, but still, by observing the past trends, you can get a lot of idea of what sort of question is expected to appear in the question paper. The sections are usually announced in advance like verbal ability, quantitative aptitude, decision making, essay writing, general awareness, etc. So, what you really need to work upon is the basics of these subject areas, like Maths formulas for QA, English grammar for VA & essay writing and regular current news updates for general awareness. Thus, if you are aware of the essentials of the paper, you will come out with flying colours.
• Know the Difference - XAT is pretty different from all the other MBA entrance exams that you plan to appear for. That doesn’t mean it is the toughest but undoubtedly the one that checks your academic skills as well as IQ and expression power. It does not require you to be the master of any one field while ignoring others; rather it looks out for a jack of all trade who could be transformed into the master of business administration/management in near future.

A Day at XL

The mobile phone below the pillow wakes you up in the harshest way, just at the stoke of 8:00 and another day filled with adventure starts. First things first, Check the mailbox for your daily dose of surprises. ‘You have a quiz scheduled at 12:45:00 today’ and you start reading your notes while you get ready for the day. A five-minute breakfast is all you get before you rush to the classroom for the 9:00 am lecture. The lecture begins with a case presentation followed by some intense discussions. Hour and a half rushed by and the urge for coffee arises. This half an hour break goes at the coffee shop with your group, preparing for the quiz.

The second lecture requires extensive concentration maintain your focus on every word said by the professor. In the last part of the lecture, prof. gives an in-class assignment to review the learning from the lecture. Clock ticks 12:30 and you rush to the examination hall. Quiz is structured as an application based MCQ. The trickier part was negative marks for both wrong and un-attempted questions. The stressful quiz ends in half an hour and the mess reverberates with Quiz discussions. Remaining part of the lunch break is spent on pre-lecture readings.

Top 10 Things to do at XL

10. Have a plate of Masala Cheese Pav at Bishuda’s with Chai while you’re engrossed in running errands and brainstorming ideas for an event. This, while you have no idea of how much time has passed, brings its own sense of bliss.

9.Attend classes in LC2 in the monsoons, while the clouds rumble outside and you can hear the rain patter against the building. Try to concentrate on the lectures while your mind wanders off to have a warm cuppa coffee. (You’ll get to experience this in the first couple months itself.)

The XL Experience

Trust me when I say this, and I am not being the least bit cheesy – XLRI has been a dream come true. After two years of preparations and interviews and results and the vicious cycle all over again, there came a day when I had finally made it to this premier institute. I was the ‘bright kid’ all over again and it felt good to see so many friends and acquaintances and long-lost kindred souls coming out of their cocoons to congratulate me on this feat. For the first time in my life, I made an internal attribution (sorry about Organizational Behavior creeping in to this article but I can’t really help it). It had, after all, taken a lot of perseverance to keep holding on to this dream.

A TYPICAL DAY IN THE LIFE OF AN HR STUDENT

HR. The moment we think about it, some typical images flash through our eyes, right? ‘Soft’ skills, lots of ‘communication’, some ‘hiring’ and ‘firing’ training, with some dispute management thrown in. And of course, sophisticated get up and cosy offices. To say the truth, all the above are true in a sense, but it is just the tip of the iceberg called Human Resource Management. A student of HRM in undisputedly the most reputed institute for HR education in the country, I can say this with absolute conviction that this is not at all what I had expected when I had filled up application for XAT. And what do I mean by ‘this’? Here goes.

A BM Perspective by Roshan Desai

Engineers are accustomed to being classified and painted in different colors based on the branches they study in. Facebook is filled with memes poking fun at the gender disparity prevalent in mechanical engineering or the humongous salaries offered to students of Computer Science. In comparison to this comic categorization, MBA has always portrayed itself as the ocean where all rivers flow. Not for no reason have B-schools across the country emphasized the importance of ‘diversity’ in their admission processes, much to the dismay of engineers.

An HR Perspective by Ishita Acharya

When you talk about XLRI, you’re inherently also speaking about Human Resource Management, the name itself appreciates Labour Relations. Earlier known as PM-IR which has now evolved into PGDHRM, it is the oldest teaching program in the institute. As the website itself states, “Ranked as the best programme in India and the Asia-Pacific region, it aims to equip the students with the knowledge and skills required for managing HR in a way that contributes to the development of individuals and organizations.”

Question (1) What should I do if there is lot of delay in accessing the page ?

Speed for Registration of On-Line Application on Internet, is based on various factors like Internet Speed, large number of applicants trying to register the application at the same time etc. Therefore, if you are not able to get the pages for registration immediately, please retry after a gap of 15 minutes or during off-peak hours during the night.

Question (2) How do I know that my application is registered ?

Successful Registration is indicated by the Page displayed after clicking the Submit Button indicating the generated "XAT ID". Please note down the same carefully and preserve it. If you do not preserve it, you will not be able to Re-Print the Application and download the Admit Card.

Question (3) What details should I retain while replying to auto-response emails ?

While writing back by replying the confirmation emails for genuine problem, please retain the text containing "XAT ID" and "PASSWORD" details on the email.