Columnist & Author, MBAUniverse.com

Updated on August 21, 2014

Despite being a preferred management entrance test in India XAT 2015 will be much different from CAT in many ways

XAT remains pen-paper based to ensure that candidates of all backgrounds are at par

Despite being a preferred management entrance test in India XAT 2015 will be much different from CAT in many ways. Candidates preparing for XAT 2015, have to understand the key differences and proceed accordingly in their preparation strategy.

XAT-2015 conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur is going to be held in the single session on the first Sunday in the new year 2015, January 4, 2015. XAT 2015, another prestigious entrance examination like CAT, is expected to be taken by around 1 lakh aspirants. XAT 2015 will open gates of 134 B schools in the session 2015-16. Apart from XLRI and its member institutes there will be 123 B-schools, who have been shaping the career aspirations of thousands of candidates every year, will accept XAT 2015 scores.

XAT & CAT; exam Pattern

XAT is based on conventional paper pencil mode which opens the gates of XLRI and other reputed B schools whereas CAT is a computer based test . Candidates have to mark their answers with ball point pen on OMR sheet. Ink or gel pens will not be allowed while attempting XAT 2015.

XAT remains pen-paper based to ensure that candidates of all backgrounds are at par, so that those who have pre-familiarity of operating computers, specially coming from privileged background or having worked in IT sector, do not get any advantage over others who do not have access to computers. The paper-pen mode also ensures that all candidates are tested on exactly the same set of questions, and not on different sets.

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XAT Test Duration

XAT 2015 will be conducted on a single day all across the country and in a single session whereas CAT 2014 will have a window of 2 days with 4 sessions in all. XAT 2015 will be a 180 minutes’ test while CAT 2014 will be of 170 minutes. XAT however does not publish exact number of questions to be asked in the test.

Number of questions and marking process in XAT & CAT

While CAT 2014 will place 100 questions divided in its two sections with equal weightage of marking, there has been variation in number of questions and weightage in XAT during past three years. There were 101 questions in 2011; 85 in 2012, 91 in 2013 and 103 in 2014, divided in 4 sections of Verbal & Logical Ability; Decision making; Quantitative Ability and General Knowledge. The time allotted was 180 minutes to solve these questions. On the top of it, in 2011 and 2012, XAT had differential marking system from 1 to 5 i.e. one question carried 1.5 marks and the other carried 4 or 5 marks. It was from 2013 only that all the XAT questions carried equal marks.

GK and Essay writing; integral part of XAT 2015

There will be two more sections in XAT 2015 which comprise questions on General Awareness and descriptive essay writing test. 20 minutes each are awarded to solve these two parts. The General Awareness section will have 30 questions and 20 minutes will be given to solve them. Similarly writing skill is assessed with essay writing test in 20 minutes. A few institutes take into account the score of General Awareness while finalising their admission process.

Penalty for wrong answer in XAT and CAT

Negative marking in XAT is less than that of CAT. XAT penalises by one fourth mark whereas CAT penalises by one third. For example – if one mark is awarded for every correct answer, 1/3 and 1/4 will be deducted by CAT and XAT for every wrong answer, respectively.

Sectional division in XAT and CAT

In contrast to CAT 2014 which will have two sections namely Quantitative Ability and Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning with 50 questions in each section, XAT-2015 is expected to have following question pattern

• Section-A Verbal and logical Ability -30 questions;

• Section-B Decision making – 25 questions;

• Section-C Quantitative Ability -30 questions.

• Section-D General awareness -20 questions to be solved in another 20 minutes

• In part two, there will be one or two Essay Topics and the aspirants will be required to write a well worded essay in 20 minutes on either of the two topics.

How important are General Awareness and Essay Writing Tests

XAT scores, despite having sectional cut-off leave its General Awareness and Essay Writing Part, out of the purview of percentile calculation. A few of the prestigious B-schools like XLRI use the General awareness test before finalising their admissions. XAT tests the thought process and writing skill of a candidate with Essay writing along with their written objective examination, while institutions associated to CAT, puts the candidate to Writing Ability Test (WAT) before the final selection round with the same objective in mind.

Calculation of Percentile

CAT and XAT both have sectional cut-offs. The difference, however, lies in acceptance of lower marks in some section by the institutes associated to XAT. CAT has individual daily session wise cut-off percentile calculation for all the 4 sessions and will place the result accordingly.

XAT 2015 exam date: notification out, exam on January 4

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on XAT 2015