Good performance in XAT 2025 exam will majorly depend on how you prepare, strategise and utilize the time given in solving the questions. It is all about the balance between theory and practice. Here are some pro tips to score above 95 percentile in XAT 2025 by previous years' XAT toppers.
XAT topper tips to score above 95 percentile
XAT 2025 exam will be moderate to high in terms of difficulty level, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible to score high. Most of the candidates feel that XAT is a tough nut to crack because of Decision Making and Essay Writing. It is not true. If you have your basics in place and you’ve done enough practice, scoring above 95 percentile is not difficult in XAT. The best part about XAT is that XLRI cut offs usually hover between 94-95 percentile. Thus, there is no pressure of 100 or 99.99 percentile to make it to this top tier B-school.
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There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.In XAT, both Quantitative Aptitude as well as Data Interpretation questions are slightly tougher as compared to that of CAT questions. So, make sure you have clear understanding of basics. You should pay special attention to Decision Making. In XAT 2025, there is no pressure of Essay Writing as it has been removed from the test. It will be conducted along with XLRI PI. English and Verbal Ability will have typical questions including a poem. XAT 2025 preparation should have a good scope of practice, XAT mock tests and self analysis, apart from covering the syllabus.
Q: Which MBA colleges are available with XAT cut offs of 85 percentile and above?
If you score above 85 percentile in XAT you may get selected for admission to top tier 1 and tier 2 MBA colleges such as XIMB-Bhubaneswar, SPJIMR-Mumbai, IMT-Ghaziabad, GIM-Goa, TAPMI-Manipal, IRMA-Anand, MICA-Ahmedabad, Great Lakes Institute of Management, LIBA-Chennai, KJ Somaiya-Mumbai, Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad, Institute of Finance and International Management, Bangalore, Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship, Amity Business School, Noida, Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad, Xavier Institute of Social Services, Ranchi.
The XAT cut offs of the abovementioned colleges fall in the range of 85 to 95 percentile. However, in different admission years, the cut offs could be different. You should check the XAT cut offs for these colleges individually to have a better understanding of admission process for that year.
Q: How is the XAT percentile calculated?
Q: What is sectional cut off for XAT?
Sectional cut off for XAT refers to the minimum percentile fixed for each section of the exam that candidates have to meet. For example, if the Quantitative Aptitude cut off is 85 percentile for XAT, that means a candidate must have scored 85 percentile or more in the section of XAT to be eligible for group discussion and personal interview shortlisting. Check the below tables for PGDM BM and PGDM HRM for XAT 2023.
XAT Sectional cut offs for PGDM BM
General Engineers | VA | DM | QA | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Males | 75 | 75 | 85 | 95 |
Females | 75 | 75 | 80 | 92 |
General Non-Engineers | VA | DM | QA | Overall |
Males | 75 | 75 | 85 | 95 |
Females | 75 | 75 | 80 | 92 |
XAT Sectional cut offs for PGDM HRM
General Engineers | VA | DM | QA | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Males | 90 | 75 | 85 | 93 |
Females | 90 | 75 | 65 | 91 |
General Non-Engineers | VA | DM | QA | Overall |
Males | 90 | 75 | 70 | 90 |
Females | 75 | 75 | 60 | 88 |
In the XAT 2025 exam, time your attempts well. There is sectional time limit in XAT, so you need to be mindful of completing a certain number of questions in every section in the given time limit. The first section of the XAT question paper is of 170 minutes in which one has to attempt Decision Making, Verbal Ability and Quants questions. Time yourself well. It shouldn’t happen that all a major part of the time is consumed in one section and you’re left with less than desired time for other sections. Sectional cut offs are very important in XAT.
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Pro Tips to Score Above 95 Percentile by Previous years' XAT Toppers
With XAT 2025 date being January 5, 2025, aspirants must have started practicing mock tests, revising important topics and learning tricks and shortcuts to solve questions quickly. As the exam gets closer, you will need to work on the exam day plan to be able to optimise your score. Check below some pro tips to score above 95 percentile in XAT by previous years’ toppers:
Siddharth Lilani, XAT 2023, 99.64 percentile
“I believe that every candidate is different and there is no formula to crack any exam or interview. Working hard is definitely essential and so is consistency. But in the end, results matter and how they come becomes less relevant (unless they come from unfair means). So, every candidate must work on developing a process that works well for them - physically, psychologically, and intellectually.” Read full interview
Q: What is the cutoff for XAT 2024?
XAT 2024 cut-offs are listed below, course-wise:
XLRI XAT cut off: Human Resource Management
Category | Overall XAT percentile | QA percentile | VALR percentile | DM percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Engineer Male | 95 | 80 | 90 | 85 |
Engineer Female | 90 | 73 | 85 | 78 |
Non-engineer Male | 93 | 75 | 90 | 85 |
Non-engineer Female | 88 | 68 | 85 | 78 |
XLRI XAT cut-off 2024: Business Management
Category | Overall XAT percentile | QA percentile | VALR percentile | DM percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Engineer Male | 96 | 86 | 83 | 85 |
Engineer Female | 91 | 81 | 80 | 80 |
Non-engineer Male | 95 | 85 | 83 | 86 |
Non-engineer Female | 90 | 80 | 80 | 81 |
Q: Can I get into XLRI with 90 percentile?
Xavier School of Management cut off for XAT has been released as a selection criteria to appear for the PI round. As per the official cutoff data released by XLRI, the overall sectional XAT cut off 2024 for Male engineers is 96 percentile for Business Management (BM) programme and 95 percentile for Human Resource Management (HRM) programme. The XAT 2024 cut offs for Female engineers is 91 percentile for BM programme and 90 percentile for HRM programme.
So basis the recently released sectional XAT cutoff 2024, it is difficult to get into XLRI with 90 percentile for General AI category students.
Q: What is the cut off score for XIMB?
The MBA programme at Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar admits students based on their performance on the XAT, with a personal interview phase following. The institute will announce the XIMB cutoffs for the CAT, XAT, GMAT, and X-GMAT. Candidates who have taken the CAT, XAT, or GMAT exams may also apply for the MBA programme. XIMB administers its own exam for MBA admission, known as the X-GMT. The General AI category students' XAT percentile, according to the XIMB Bhubaneswar XAT cutoff 2023, was 80. However, the MBA in Business Management course's XIMB CAT cutoff for 2023 was the 80th percentile.
Q: How important is XAT cut off for selection to XLRI's PI round?
XAT cut off is the most important factor in selection of candidates for XLRI Jamshedpur’s Personal Interview or PI round. Those who do not meet the cut off are not even taken into consideration for PI shortlisting. The two main parameters upon which candidates are short listed for the PI round are academic scores (class 10,12 and graduation) and XAT cut off.
Aspirants must note that they need to score as much or above the XAT cut off and should have a consistent academic record of high score to have greater chances of getting selected. It is not necessary that they will be called for the PI round if their XAT score matches the cut off. If any candidate with the same score has a better academic record, he/she will be selected over the other.
Q: How is XAT score calculated?
XAT score is calculated on the basis of raw scores obtained a candidate in each section. In the XAT exam, every correct answer carries 1 mark and every incorrect entry carries – 0.25 marks. There is no negative marking for skipping a question. But, in case of eight consecutive unanswered questions, 0.10 marks will be deducted. XAT has about 99 questions on which the score calculation is done. So, for example, if you have got 70 questions correct and 8 questions in correct, then your raw XAT score will be 70 – 1 = 69.
If you have not answered 8 questions consecutively, then your score will be 69- 0.10 = 68.90. This raw score will be further calculated to arrive at XAT percentile. Check here the XAT percentile calculation process: https://www.shiksha.com/mba/articles/xat-score-vs-percentile-how-much-xat-score-will-get-me-99-percentile-blogId-52337
Lavisha Taneja, XAT 2023, 98.66 percentile
“To prepare for the exam, I had taken regular mock tests and analysed them thoroughly, even though it was demotivating to see my scores not improving initially. However, I learned to trust the process and be patient. I experimented with different methods and found what worked best for me. Therefore, I suggest MBA aspirants do not avoid taking mocks regularly and analyse them in-depth. Remember, it's not just about taking the tests, but also about learning from them and adapting your strategies accordingly.” Read full interview
Farzan Shaikh, XAT 2021, 99.94 percentile
“I Actively read and summarised articles, books and essays from Aeon, The Economist, WSJ etc. in my own language to improve my reading comprehension. Basic preparation of Quantitative Aptitude was being covered by my coaching material and randomised practice and revision by solving doubts for others. Mock analysis and all the practice helped my scores and percentiles go up as my rank went down, started being in top 200 consistently with 98.5+ percentile in most of my mocks.” Read full interview
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 5 days ago
Hello Sudhanshu,
If you're aiming for MBA colleges that accept XAT scores up to the 90th percentile and require separate registration before the exam, here are some options:
XLRI Jamshedpur
XAT Cutoff: 94-95 percentile Fees: ?24.80 Lacs Average Salary: ?32.70 LPA Registration: Separate registration re
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 5 days ago
For the General AI category students, the Manipal University XAT cutoff 2023 was 85 percentile for admission to the MBA in Banking and Financial Services, MBA in Human Resources Management, MBA in Marketing, and MBA in International Business courses. For Master of Business Administration (MBA), the
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, Osmania University does accept XAT scores for admission to their MBA program. However, the cutoff for XAT scores can vary each year based on the number of applicants and the competition. For the academic year 2024-25, the cutoff for XAT scores is around 25-27 percentile.
It's always a good idea
A
Contributor-Level 8
Answered a week ago
EMPI Business School accepts multiple national-level management exams, including XAT, for admitting students to its PGDM courses. In 2024, the XAT cutoff percentile for admission to the PGDM in International Business course was 60 for the students belonging to the General AI quota. So, candidates se
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 weeks ago
The expected CAT/XAT percentile for GLIM G is about 80+.
Scholar-Level 18
Answered 3 weeks ago
Top MBA colleges offering average CTCs above 12 LPA, with ST out-of-state reservations and accepting CMAT or XAT scores, include XLRI Jamshedpur (32 LPA, XAT), XIM Bhubaneswar (20 LPA, XAT), Great Lakes Institute of Management (15–17 LPA, CMAT/XAT), Goa Institute of Management (14–15 LPA, CMAT/XAT),
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Hii, The difficulty of XAT, CAT, or CMAT depends on individual aptitude and preparation, but generally:
- CAT: Considered the toughest, with high competition and emphasis on VARC, DILR, and Quant.
- XAT: Moderate, with an additional Decision-Making section and essay writing, testing analytical thinking.
- CM
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a month ago
No, a college ID card is not considered valid for identity verification in the XAT 2025 exam. Acceptable documents typically include a government-issued photo ID such as an Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID, passport, or driving license. Ensure your ID is original, valid, and matches the name on your
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, IIFT (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade) admits students through XAT and GMAT scores other than the CAT scores for their MBA (International Business) program. Here are the respective :-
XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test):
The candidate using XAT can apply at IIFT for the MBA (IB). XAT is one of the tests
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a month ago
Sandip University accepts various national-level exams for MBA admissions, including XAT. The XAT 2025 dates have been released. As per that, the exam is scheduled to be held on 5 Jan, 2025. Moreover, the applications for the same are expected to be released in the middle of December 2024.
S
Contributor-Level 10
i need the colleges name through XAT exam upto 90 percentile which need to be separately registered before exam?