XAT 2025 Exam Analysis and Review (Available): Check Difficulty Level of Paper, Expected Cut Offs
Xavier Aptitude Test 2025 ( XAT )
XAT 2025 exam analysis and review is now available. The XAT exam was of moderate difficulty level. It had quite a few DI questions, which is unusual for this exam. Check out in-depth XAT 2025 analysis and expected cut offs here.
XAT 2025 exam analysis
XAT 2025 exam analysis - The question paper of XAT 2025 exam was of moderate difficulty. Decision Making questions were slightly lengthy but doable. Quantitative Aptitude questions were moderate, VALR and GK were easy.
The in-depth XAT analysis, has been shared below. It includes detailed review of sectional difficulty level, topic wise weightage, types of questions, number of good attempts and expected XAT cut offs for XLRI admission. The XAT exam analysis 2025 will help XAT candidates in assessing their performance and evaluating their admission chances to XLRI and other top B Schools.
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XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Highlights
Check below key highlights of XAT 2025 exam:
- XAT 2025 question paper had 95 questions in MCQ format
- Part 1 (English, Quantitative Ability, Decision Making) of the paper was of 170 minutes.
- Part 2 (GK) of the test was of 10 minutes
- Quantitative Ability had moderately tough questions
- Decision Making questions were lengthy but moderate
- English and LR questions were easy
Also Read:
Q: In how many months can I prepare for XAT?
Q: Is XAT tough for candidates from non-Engineering background?
Yes, XAT is slightly tougher for candidates with non-Engineering background as the Quantitative Aptitude section is of higher difficulty level. However, they can crack it if they work on the fundamentals of Math and practice questions of all difficulty levels. It will take time but they will be able to crack XAT's quant section if they dedicate extra hours to it. Aspirants can find XAT study material online in various online study groups. Students’ groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, Telegram, etc. share study material with each other. One can also download MBA exam preparation apps to get relevant and useful study material.
The good part about XAT is that, it has different cut offs for candidates belonging to different academic backgrounds. As part of its commitment to academic diversity, the institute has lower cut offs for candidates from non-engineering background than candidates from engineering background.
Q: How can I prepare for XAT by self study?
If you are planning to prepare for XAT 2025 exam by self study, you need to start early. At least six months before. XAT exam is conducted on the first Sunday of January every year. So, if you start preparing for the XAT 2025 in June or July, you will have good six months to prepare. Make a preparation plan that includes XAT syllabus coverage, problem solving sessions, mock tests and revision. Get hold of best books for XAT. Consult mentors or previous year toppers for selecting the best books for preparation. Join online study groups where you can get the help of mentors and peers for problem solving and clearing of doubts in topics. Work in tough topics first and then move to easier topics.
Solve a large number and variety of XAT mock tests to master the syllabus. You will need to do a rigorous work on XAT mock tests as for candidates who opt for self study, have to rely on practice.
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XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Sectional Weightage
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section has the maximum weightage in XAT with 28 questions and 28 marks. And GK has minimum weightage. Given below is the sectional break-up of the XAT 2025 question paper.
| XAT Sections |
No. of Questions |
Total Marks |
Level of Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Decision Making |
21 |
21 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| Verbal and Logical Ability |
26 |
26 |
Moderate |
| Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation |
28 |
28 |
Moderate to Difficult |
| General Knowledge |
20 |
20 |
Easy |
| Total |
95 |
95 |
Moderate |
Also Read:
Q: Can I prepare for XAT with CAT preparation material?
Q: Which is the best book for the Quantitative Aptitude section of XAT?
Q: How can I cover the XAT syllabus by self study?
If you are planning to appear for the XAT exam by self study, you must start early as the syllabus is vast and tough. To cover the XAT syllabus by self study, candidates must refer to the books recommended for XAT preparation. You can take help from the following books to cover the XAT syllabus but do join a study forum to get help from mentors and peers when need be:
- How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma
- Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT Common Admission Tests for Admission into IIMs by Sarvesh K Verma
- Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by Abhijit Guha
- Data Interpretation and Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha/Arihant
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- Objective General English by Dr RS Agarwal and Vikas Agarwal
- High School English Grammar by Wren & Martin
- Data Interpretation & Logical Reasoning by Gautam Puri
- Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation for the CAT by Nishit K. Sinha
- Data Interpretation & Data Sufficiency by Ananta Ashisha
- How to Prepare for Data Interpretation for CAT by Arun Sharma
Q: What is the difficulty level of the XAT exam?
XAT is one of the tougher MBA entrance exams. The difficulty level of the XAT question paper is usually moderate to high. The XAT 2024 question paper was of moderate difficulty level. The Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation section is usually tougher than other sections. Verbal and Logical Reasoning section is usually moderate. However, some candidates find the Verbal Ability section tough as it has questions based on Reading Comprehension passages and poem. Decision Making and General Knowledge sections are moderate to easy.
Out of 100 questions, about 70-75 attempts with 70 to 80 per cent accuracy is considered a good attempt in the XAT exam. The test takers must strive to attempt 2/3 rd of the total questions in each section for a decent overall score. If a candidate scores 95 percentile, they will be in a position to get a good college.
Q: What is the difficulty level of the Quantitative Aptitude questions in XAT?
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XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Number of Good Attempts
Check below section wise number of good attempts in XAT exam 2025:
| XAT sections |
Number of good attempts |
|---|---|
| VALR |
13-14 |
| Decision Making |
11-12 |
| QA DI |
18-19 |
| GK |
10-11 |
XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: Decision Making
There were no Quant based DM questions this year. There were 7 sets of 3 questions each. Some of the questions were tricky and inference based. The difficulty level can be considered as moderate. About 11-12 questions with 75-80% accuracy will be considered good in this section.
XAT Exam Analysis 2025: VALR
As per the XAT 2025 exam analysis, this section was moderately difficult. Out of 26 questions, 17 were Reading Comprehension based and 9 were Verbal Ability/Reasoning based. There were 5 RC passages including a poem. The poem-based RC was difficult. Check below the break of VALR section of XAT question paper 2025.
| VALR Section |
No. of Questions |
|---|---|
| RC Passages – 5 (300-450 words) |
15 |
| Grammatically correct sentence |
2 |
| Fill in the blanks (4 blanks) |
1 |
| Jumbled Paragraphs (5 statements) |
2 |
| Critical Reasoning |
3 |
| Main idea/message of the given image |
1 |
| Poem-based passage |
2 |
XAT 2025 Analysis: Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation
In the QA DI section of XAT 2025 question paper, 16 questions were on Quantitative Ability and 12 were on Data Interpretation. Arithmetic and Mensuration dominated QA, while DI had four sets of three questions each. Check below topic wise break up of XAT 2025 QA DI section:
| Quantitative Aptitude/Data Interpretation |
Total |
|---|---|
| Arithmetic |
3 |
| Geometry |
5 |
| Modern Math |
3 |
| Algebra |
3 |
| Numbers |
2 |
| Scatter Plot / Line Graph (observation) based set |
3 |
| Arithmetic based set |
3 |
| Average based set |
3 |
| Number-matrix based set |
3 |
| Total QA-DI |
28 |
XAT 2025 Exam Analysis: General Knowledge
There were 20 easy questions in GK questions. This year, more questions were asked on current affairs. Many questions were on recent events. The break up was:
Current Affairs: 12 questions
Static GK: 8 questions
Expected XAT Cutoffs 2025: Percentile VS Raw Score
Given below is the table indicating how much XAT score will convert into how much XAT percentile. XAT cut offs 2025 are expected to be in the same range.
| XAT Percentile |
VA & LR |
DM |
QA & DI |
Overall XAT score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99 |
16-17 |
14-15 |
16-17 |
42-44 |
| 95 |
13-14 |
12-13 |
12-13 |
35-37 |
| 90 |
11-12 |
11-12 |
11-12 |
30-32 |
| 75 |
8-9 |
9-10 |
7-8 |
25-27 |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 8 hours ago
You are now left with quite a few excellent MBA colleges since your XAT percentile ranges between 65 and 70. Here are a few institutes that take students of this range percentile:
| College Name | Location | Expected XAT Cut-off Percentile |
|-|-|-|
| New Delhi Institute of Management (NDIM) | New Delh
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 days ago
Yes, XAT is required for MBA at Shanti Business School.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 days ago
Yes, XAT is among teh emultiple national-level entrance exams accepted for admission to the PGDM (Post Graduate Diploma in Management) courses at Shanti Business School. In addition to XAT, the school also accepts other entrance exams such as CAT, MAT, CXAT, and ATMA for admission to its PGDM progra
N
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 4 days ago
With a percentile score of 65.5 in the XAT, you have several good options for pursuing an MBA. Here are some top colleges that typically accept candidates within this percentile range:
1. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB): Known for its excellent faculty and strong industry connecti
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Jiwaji University PGDM admissions are granted based on various national-level exam scores, including XAT. As per the institute's cutoff data for 2023, the XAT cutoff percentile for General All India category students stood at 50.
Students must note that this cutoff can vary depending upon the diffic
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
XAT 2025 exam had only 2 sections in the question paper, Part 1 had Quantitative Aptitude, Decision Making and Verbal Ability. Part 2 consisted of General Knowledge section. Essay Writing has been removed from the entrance test. It is a part of XLRI PI selection process. The total time duration of X
P
Beginner-Level 3
Answered a week ago
XAT 2025 exam was of moderate difficulty level. The students who had appeared for the exam last year, said the XAT 2025 question paper was not much different. Section wise, Quantitative Aptitude questions were on the tougher side, Verbal Ability and Decision Making were easy to moderate and GK was e
S
Beginner-Level 3
Answered 2 weeks ago
A XAT percentile of 7.2471 is approximately equivalent to a score of 17-18 out of 100. This score is below the typical cutoff for most top MBA colleges that accept XAT scores. For instance, institutions like XLRI Jamshedpur and MICA Ahmedabad generally require a minimum percentile of 85-90 for cons
A
Contributor-Level 9
Answered 2 weeks ago
Yes, it is possible to crack XAT exam in first attempt. But for that, one needs to have a proper plan and start the preparation about 9-10 months before the exam. XAT is a high difficulty level exam and one needs to cover the exam syllabus end to end to be able to score well. Covering the entire XAT
A
Beginner-Level 3
Answered 2 weeks ago
Candidates can take reference of subjects and topics from CAT study material for Verbal Ability, Data Interpretation and Quantitative Aptitude, but XAT preparation has to be exam specific and must include exam specific study material. Aspirants can use CAT sample questions too for practice purpose,
E
Beginner-Level 3
Ideally, XAT preparation takes six to nine months, but if candidates have prepared for CAT too, XAT preparation can be done in lesser time as one will have to only work on Decision Making and General Knowledge topics. Those who are weak in English Comprehension must start reading practice early on. The ideal time to start XAT preparation is May, so you can cover the whole syllabus by October and dedicate two months to mock test practice.
If you start studying for XAT late, by July or so, make sure you complete the syllabus by October only. Remember that XAT syllabus is tough, so you’ll need to study at least 6-8 hours daily from start until the end. Give ample time to yourself to complete the XAT syllabus.