XAT 2018: Prepare with CAT in revised online exam pattern; last date to apply closes on November 30

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MBAUniverse.com News Desk |
November 15, 2017
It has become easier now to prepare for online XAT 2018 while preparing for CAT 2017 exam since both the exams have now become computer based tests. Moreover the test sections in XAT 2018 are not much different than CAT except that XAT has standalone Decision Making section which is very important also.
XAT 2018 preparation
XAT 2018 has introduced more aspirant friendly changes in the online computer based test and its exam content is proposed to be brought to easier pattern

It has become easier now to prepare for online XAT 2018 while preparing for CAT 2017 exam since both the exams have now become computer based exams. Moreover the test sections in XAT 2018 are not much different than CAT except that XAT has standalone Decision Making section which is very important also.

XAT 2018 is the gateway to XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, TAPMI, XIMB and around 145 other B-schools. XLRI the XAT 2018 convening institute is closing XAT 2018 registration on November 30 without late fee and on December 15, 2017 with late fee. XAT 2018 exam will be held in a single session single day on January 7, 2018 as an online computer based test. In the 60 years history of XAT exam, this is the first time that XAT will be held as a computer based test. So far it was held as a paper-pen based test.

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XAT 2018 on January 7, 2018 after CAT 2017 is the second largest national level MBA/PGDM entrance test offering admission opportunity in 2018 to XLRI and other more than 145 highly ranked B-schools.

XAT 2018 will only be around a month away from CAT 2017 and in view of Prof S K Agarwal, expert on Verbal Ability in CAT & XAT, due to the close gap between both the exams, you have to synchronise your preparation for CAT 2017 as well as for XAT 2018 especially when there are more common topics to prepare in both the exams.

XAT 2018: Offers much more than CAT
XAT 2018 with around 1 lakh candidates registered for the exam, will be as important as CAT, more so when many top B-schools are accepting XAT 2018 scores. Accordingly, XAT 2017 has much to offer like CAT 2017.

More time fewer questions
In terms of time availability to attempt the exam, XAT 2018 will be of 3½ hours duration and will have fewer questions to solve as against CAT 2017 which will be of 3 hours duration with more number questions responsible to determine the percentile score.

XAT 2018 has introduced more aspirant friendly changes in the online computer based test and its exam content is proposed to be brought to easier pattern. Besides there are more number of B-schools accepting XAT 2018 scores than the number of B-schools accepting CAT 2017 scores in academic session commencing 2018.

Thousands of CAT 2017 test takers are preparing for XAT 2018 also as there are many top rated B-schools like XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, XIMB, BIMTECH who accept scores of both the exams. Accordingly, the candidates who are preparing for CAT 2017 are also preparing for XAT 2018 so that they do not miss the chance to get high score in either of the 2 exams.

XAT 2018: Preparation pattern same as CAT on many topics
The fear of not getting a good B-school is unfounded as you forget that the experience of preparing for CAT 2017 will help you a lot while preparing for XAT 2018. The synchronised preparation for both the exam will come handy to maximise your attempts in XAT 2018 also thereby helping you to improve your percentile.

The fact is that most of the candidates who are going to appear in CAT 2017 have also registered or going to register for XAT 2018. It appears that their well planned preparation strategy to take XAT 2018 will get a boost if they synchronise it with CAT 2017.

According to the experts, if you analyse your expected performance in CAT 2017 and go for the mocks on XAT 2018, you will be in for a pleasant surprise as you will find that you are scoring equally well in sample tests for XAT 2018.

The need is to judicially utilize the opportunity and synchronise your stock of preparation and level of performance to get best out of XAT 2018. Prof S K Agarwal shares how you can utilise best your preparation for CAT 2017 to increase your score in various sections in XAT 2018.

Prepare on Common topics
On a scale of 100 if you think you will perform at level 70 in CAT 2017, you have all the opportunity to perform at 100 in XAT 2018 in the changed pattern  and on the basis of your well prepared stock of topics on Quant, Verbal, Data Interpretation and Logical reasoning which are common to both the exams, you can score a high percentile in both the exams.

With the introduction of Non-MCQs in CAT, now you need to solve the questions to get the right answer. This will further help you to score high in XAT 2018.

The additional section that needs your attention is Decision Making which stands alone in XAT 2018 but has no role in CAT 2017. A bit more practice on Decision making can help you crack this section with high score. This section is expected to be easier in XAT 2018 with 21-23 questions as against the earlier XAT exams after announcement of significant changes by XLRI in the exam format of XAT.

XAT easier, if combined with CAT preparation
XAT 2018, now the computer based online test, will have 3 core sections namely Verbal and Logical Ability with 24 questions; Decision Making & Analytical Reasoning with 21 questions; Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation with 27 questions, making a total of 72 questions to be solved in 170 minutes without any sectional time limit that will account for calculation of sectional as well as overall percentile scores.

The scores in these sections will be used to prepare the merit list for shortlisting the candidates at XLRI, SPJIMR, XIMB, IMT, TAPMI, XIME, Great Lakes, LIBA among other highly ranked B-schools. All the questions in these sections will be in MCQ format.

The similarity of question pattern in all the 3 sections in XAT 2018 to that of CAT 2017 will give an edge to the candidates who are preparing meticulously for CAT 2017.

Quant & DI in XAT
XAT 2018 has good news for the test takers. The section on Quantitative Ability will have questions on Data Interpretation (DI) clubbed to it. Usually DI questions are considered more time consuming and in CAT 2017 the questions on DI will be clubbed to Logical Reasoning. The test takers will need to practice on more of them to attempt more DI questions.

It will also be a win-win situation for XAT 2018 takers. You can devote time to Quant as well as to DI questions as per your convenience. If you can attempt more of Quant questions and almost negligible DI questions, it may not have any adverse affect on your sectional cut offs. Besides, there is no time constraint to toggle among the sections. It will offer opportunity to maximise your attempts to the preferred section and increase your score in XAT 2018. You may attempt more in Quant or more in DI. The sectional percentile will based on overall sectional score and not on individual score in Quant or DI.

Quant section proposes to have total 27 questions in XAT 2018 as against 34 questions in CAT 2017. All the questions in Quant section in XAT 2018 will be in MCQ form as compared to CAT 2017 which would have 29 MCQs and 5 non-MCQs that require you to write the answers on computer screen.

Verbal Ability & Logical Ability in XAT 2018
The 24 questions in Verbal Ability section in XAT 2018 are expected to consist of few questions on Logical Ability also. Again, unlike CAT 2017 which will have 16 MCQs and Non-MCQs only on Logical Reasoning and are more time consuming, XAT 2018 is expected to have around 5-6 questions on Logical Ability. Instead of long question sets, XAT prefers to ask short questions on Logical Ability. Most of the questions are based on Statements and you can find easy direct links to answer options.

Your preparation on Logical Reasoning for CAT 2017 will be a great tool to crack questions on Logical Ability in XAT 2018. The best part is that you are not bound by time constraint to attempt the section nor your sectional percentile will adversely be affected if you choose to attempt  more questions from Verbal Ability than from Logical Ability or vice versa.

However, please remember CAT 2017 does not propose to have questions on sentence correction, grammar usage, vocabulary, idioms, phrases, figures of speech, errors in usage among others, but XAT 2018 will have all such questions with 1 or 2 questions of each type. Although you have prepared them also, you will need a few hours practice to brush up and update your preparation level. 

Decision Making: Practice more
21 MCQs in Decision Making section need your more time in the testing hall.  Scores in Decision Making Section in XAT 2018 can be a turning point in getting shortlisted for XLRI admission batch 2018-20.

Question in Decision Making section are in sets. A passage with certain information is followed by a set of 4-5 questions. Each of the questions is again followed by 4-5 close decision making answer options. The best way to prepare is to develop the analytical skills by practicing more and more questions of different type.

If you prepare well for this section and are able to crack maximum questions with accuracy in this section in XAT 2018, you can reap multiple benefits like you will be able to ace the PI round of top B-schools who put you to solve caselets, ask you to take decision in a difficult situation and the like. Out of 21 questions in this section, if you are able to crack 7-8 questions with accuracy, you could be the winner.

GK & Essay Writing
These 2 sections in XAT 2018 will be of qualifying nature and the top B-schools like XLRI will use the score of these sections while preparing final merit list before making final admission offers to the candidates.

General Knowledge (GK) section in XAT 2018 proposes to have 25 questions in MCQ format which are supposed to be solved in 10 minutes. Rest 25 minutes in view of the expert should be utilized to write a well worded essay of around 300 words on the given topic. Please make sure whatever you write in your essay, you should be able to clarify and explain the points in it, as questions may be asked on them in the PI round at XLRI or other top B-schools.

In fact, most of the top rated B schools, except IIMs and a few others, will also use XAT 2018 scores along with CAT 2017 scores to short list candidates for admission in MBA/PGDM batch 2018-20. The list of member and associated B schools to XAT 2018 has more than 145 management institutes and you will not be able to avail this opportunity after January 7, 2018 the date of XAT 2018 exam. Registration for XAT 2018 is open till November 30 without late fee and till December 15, 2017 with late fee.  

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates and tips on XAT 2018

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MBA/PGDM Admissions 2018 Open - Important Dates
For your benefit, MBAUniverse.com has listed important MBA/PGDM Admission Application Deadlines. Check now

XLRI – XAT 2018
Application to XAT is open till November 30 without late fee and till December 15 with late fee
MDI Gurgaon
Application for PGPM 2018-20 at MDI Gurgaon is open till November 24, 2017
SPJIMR Mumbai
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at SPJIMR is open till November 24, 2017.
IMI New Delhi
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at IMI New Delhi is open till December 4, 2017
IMT Ghaziabad
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at IMT Ghaziabad is open till November 24, 2017
TAPMI Manipal
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at TAPMI is open till January 31, 2018
XIM Bhubaneshwar
Application for MBA 2018-20 at XIM Bhubaneswar is open till December 8, 2017
SCMHRD, Pune – SNAP 2017
SNAP 2017 registration is open till November 24, 2017
Great Lakes Chennai and Gurgaon
The application for 2 years PGDM 2018-20 is open till Feb 25, 2018
Application for 1 year PGPM 2018-19 is open till Nov 30, 2017
KJ SIMSR Mumbai
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at K J Somaiya is open till January 31, 2018
GIM Goa
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at GIM Goa is open till January 3, 2018
LIBA Chennai
Online Application for PGDM 2018-20 at LIBA is open till January 31, 2018 at a cost of Rs.1500/-
IBSAT 2017
Application to IBSAT 2017 is open till December 12, 2017
CIMP Patna
Application for PGDM 2018-20 at CIMP is open till March 2nd week, 2018
SIBM Hyderabad – SNAP 2017
To apply to SIBM Hyderabad, apply to SNAP 2017 on Dec 17 and also apply to SIBM-H in the SNAP Form
SIBM Bengaluru
To apply to SIBM Bengaluru, apply to SNAP 2017 on Dec 17 and also apply to SIBM-B in the SNAP Form

 

Take CAT 2017 Mock Full LengthTo assess your preparation in revised CAT 2017 exam pattern with 100 questions.
CAT Previous Year Question Papers, Answer With Solution:
CAT 2008    |    CAT 2007    |    CAT 2006    |    CAT 2005   |    CAT 2004
Section 1: Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension CAT 2017: Quiz 1 CAT 2017: Quiz 2
Section 2: Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning CAT 2017: Quiz 1 CAT 2017: Quiz 2
Section 3: Quantitative Ability CAT 2017: Quiz 1 CAT 2017: Quiz 2