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XATXavier Aptitude Test

XAT 2027 preparation

Decision Making, a penalty for skipping and GK: XAT asks for things CAT never does.

XAT is XLRI's entrance exam, and many other B-schools across India accept its score. The XAT pack gives you mocks, past XAT questions and strategy notes to go with the CAT prep you're already doing.

Exam date
3 Jan 2027
Duration
180 min
Questions
95
Sections
4

XAT

Xavier Aptitude Test

One payment, for XAT

In the pack

  • Mocks for XAT
  • XAT previous year questions
  • Strategy notes
The packWhat it holds

What's in the XAT pack

No lectures to sit through: mocks, past questions and strategy notes for this exam.

Mocks for XAT

Practise on mocks made for XAT, so the real paper holds fewer surprises.

Previous year questions

Past XAT questions, to learn what the paper actually asks.

Strategy notes

How to approach XAT, section by section.

Where to focus for XAT

  • Decision Making: caselets, arrangements and conditions, until you have a method
  • Verbal: critical reasoning and tougher passages than CAT's
  • GK: 12 current-affairs and 8 static questions, no negative marking
  • Skipping: plan for the 0.10 penalty after your first 8 blanks
CATWhat carries over

Already preparing for CAT?

Most XAT takers are. Here's what carries over, and what the pack adds.

CAT prep already covers

Reading comprehension, verbal reasoning, arithmetic, algebra, geometry and data interpretation: most of XAT's verbal and quant sections come from chapters CAT already tests.

XAT adds

A 21-question Decision Making section CAT doesn't have, 20 GK questions, and marking that charges you for leaving more than 8 questions blank.

PatternHow the paper runs

XAT 2027 exam pattern

Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning
Questions
26
Time
170 minShared
Decision Making
Questions
21
Time
170 minShared
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
Questions
28
Time
170 minShared
General Knowledge
Questions
20
Time
10 min

Part 1 (verbal, Decision Making, quant) is one 170-minute block: start with any section and switch freely. GK is a separate 10-minute window. An on-screen scientific calculator is provided.

Marking

  • +1 for a correct answer, −0.25 for a wrong one
  • The first 8 unanswered questions are free; each one after that costs 0.10
  • GK has no negative marking and doesn't count towards the XAT percentile; only XLRI uses it
SyllabusWhat to study

XAT syllabus

Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning

8 topics
  1. 01Reading comprehension
  2. 02Critical reasoning
  3. 03Para jumbles
  4. 04Sentence correction
  5. 05Grammar
  6. 06Vocabulary
  7. 07Analogies
  8. 08Assumptions and inferences

Decision Making

6 topics
  1. 01Caselets
  2. 02Complex arrangements
  3. 03Grouping and conditions
  4. 04Data arrangement
  5. 05Practical reasoning
  6. 06Quantitative decision-making

Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation

8 topics
  1. 01Number system
  2. 02Arithmetic
  3. 03Algebra
  4. 04Geometry and mensuration
  5. 05Permutation and combination
  6. 06Probability
  7. 07Trigonometry
  8. 08Tables, charts and graphs

General Knowledge

6 topics
  1. 01Current affairs
  2. 02History
  3. 03Geography
  4. 04Economy
  5. 05Polity
  6. 06Science and technology
DatesWhat to plan around

XAT 2027 dates

Registration
Date
15 Jul – 6 Dec 2026
Status
Official
Admit card
Date
From 20 Dec 2026
Status
Tentative
Exam
Date
Sun 3 Jan 2027, 2–5 pm
Status
Official
Result
Date
Last week of Jan 2027
Status
Official
CollegesWho takes the score

Colleges that take XAT

Last cycle's cutoffs (XAT 2026). Only XISS publishes its own; XLRI's, GIM's and IRMA's are as reported. Most institutes don't publish one, and every cutoff moves each year.

XLRI Jamshedpur, Business Management
Indicative cutoff
94 percentile (men), 88 (women)
XLRI Jamshedpur, HR Management
Indicative cutoff
84 to 92 percentile, by gender and degree
Goa Institute of Management
Indicative cutoff
85 percentile
IRMA, Anand
Indicative cutoff
80 percentile
XISS Ranchi, PGDM-HRM
Indicative cutoff
60 percentile (unreserved)
XIM University, Bhubaneswar
Indicative cutoff
Shared only with applicants
IMT Ghaziabad
Indicative cutoff
Not published
MICA, Ahmedabad
Indicative cutoff
No separate XAT cutoff
IMI, New Delhi
Indicative cutoff
No fixed cutoff
TAPMI, Manipal
Indicative cutoff
Not published
Great Lakes, Chennai
Indicative cutoff
No minimum score
K J Somaiya, Mumbai
Indicative cutoff
Not published
Not CATWhere takers trip

How XAT is not CAT

The things CAT takers trip on.

1

Verbal, Decision Making and quant share one 170-minute block with no sectional limits: start anywhere and switch freely. GK gets its own 10 minutes.

2

Skipping costs marks: the first 8 blanks are free, then each costs 0.10, on top of −0.25 for a wrong answer.

3

GK carries no negative marking and doesn't count towards the XAT percentile; only XLRI uses it in selection.

4

There's an on-screen scientific calculator, where CAT gives you a basic one.

5

SPJIMR isn't on the XAT 2027 list of accepting institutes, though seven new associate institutes are.

Not sure which exams to write?

Tell us your CAT target and the colleges you want. A mentor will call and tell you which of XAT, SNAP, NMAT, CET and CMAT are worth your time.

FAQQuick answers

XAT: frequently asked questions

What XAT takers ask before they buy a pack.

Sunday 3 January 2027, from 2 to 5 pm, at test centres in 100+ cities. Registration is open until 6 December 2026, and admit cards are due from 20 December.

Yes: −0.25 for each wrong answer. You can also leave up to 8 questions blank for free; every unanswered question after that costs 0.10. GK has no negative marking.

No. Verbal, Decision Making and quant share one 170-minute block, in any order. GK has a separate 10 minutes.

Mocks for XAT, previous year XAT questions and strategy notes. It's material only: no lectures and no mentor.

Usually, yes. Most of the syllabus overlaps, and XAT comes about five weeks after CAT. The extra work is Decision Making and GK.

₹2,300 to register, plus ₹200 for each XLRI programme you apply to. The fees aren't refundable.

Facts checked on 28 Oct 2026 against xatonline.in, the XAT 2027 bulletin, the XAT FAQ, XISS admissions and Careers360 (syllabus, XLRI cutoffs). Dates and cutoffs change; the exam's official site has the final word.