XAT 2023 Exam Pattern will be similar to Last Year’s Paper; No need to panic about difficulty level: XAT Convenor Dr Vishwa Ballabh | MBAUniverse.com

Add Review

close
MBA ADMISSION ALERT! LAST DATES FOR TOP CAT, XAT COLLEGES
IMT Nagpur Admission 2024 (CMAT Candidates Only) Open   | Apply Now
S P Jain Global GMBA & MGB Admission Open   | Apply Now
JAGSoM Bangalore (Avg. Salary Rs. 13.3 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
BIMTECH Greater Noida (Avg. Salary Rs. 11.24 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
IFMR GSB Krea University (Avg. Salary Rs. 13.5 LPA) Open   | Apply Now
Woxsen University Hyderabad MBA Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now
Jaipuria Noida, Lucknow, Indore and Jaipur Open   | Apply Now
Sparsh Global Business School Greater Noida Open   | Apply Now
MET Mumbai PGDM Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now
NDIM New Delhi Admission 2024 Open   | Apply Now
Updated on January 4, 2023
XAT 2023 is scheduled on Sunday January 8, 2023 in a single afternoon session and XLRI Jamshedpur is in final stages of its preparation for holding the exam across 70+ centres in India. With only a few days left for D-Day, many aspirants who are taking the exam have written to MBAUniverse.com with several queries including the likely Paper pattern, Difficulty level and so on. Dr Vishwa Ballabh, Convener of XAT and XLRI Jamshedpur Admission Chair has responded in a detailed video interview dispelling the myths around XAT
XAT 2023 Exam Pattern will be similar to Last Year’s Paper

With only four days left to XAT 2023 exam day, the Countdown to XAT 2023 has truly begun. After recording a massive jump of 25% in the number of candidates who have registered for the exam this year, XLRI Jamshedpur is in final stages of its preparation for holding the exam across 70+ centres in India on January 8, 2023. Many aspirants who are taking the exam have written to MBAUniverse.com with several queries including the likely Paper pattern, Difficulty level and so on.

We reached out to Dr Vishwa Ballabh, Convener of XAT and XLRI Jamshedpur Admission Chair, who was kind enough to respond in a detailed video interview. MBAUniverse.com has published a series of articles and videos to dispel the myths around XAT. This article dispels the myth about the XAT 2023 Exam Pattern and Difficulty level. But before we get into these topics, here is a quick overview on recent developments at XAT Exam. 

XAT Registrations Grow 25%
XAT, one of the largest national MBA entrance tests held by XLRI, has seen sharp increase of 25% in its 2023 registration numbers. XAT 2023 exam registration number has gone up to 98,242 applicants this year. MBAUniverse.com was the first media platform to break this news. Speaking to MBAUniverse.com, Dr Vishwa Ballabh, Convener of XAT and XLRI Jamshedpur Admission Chair, said, “This year there has been unprecedented registration for XAT 2023 -- which is around 98242 and the increase is 25% from last year.” He also thanked MBAUniverse.com for this jump in numbers. A major reason for this growth in XAT numbers is the growth in Non-Engineer Applicants, which has grown enormously.

XAT 2023 Exam Pattern will be similar to last years
Given the past XAT exam trends which reflected that XAT exam pattern used to be changed every year, XAT aspirants raised the query about the changes in XAT pattern. The current XAT exam pattern as per the last year XAT paper 2022 is as below and this is not proposed to be changed.

Current XAT Exam Pattern is as below:

Exam Sections
Number of questions
Overall Time Duration
Part-1
75 Total MCQs
165 Minutes
Verbal and Logical Ability
26
No Sectional Time Limit
Decision Making
21
No Sectional Time Limit
Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation
28
No Sectional Time Limit
Part-2
25 Total MCQs + Essay Writing Test
25 Minutes
General Knowledge
25
 
Essay
  1 Descriptive Topic
10 Minutes
Total questions (Part 1 + Part 2)
101
 

XAT convener clarified that no change is proposed from last year in XAT 2023 exam pattern which will have 3 hours 10 minutes duration and will be conducted as a computer based test in a single session on January 8, 2023. However, to make XAT more aspirant friendly, the XAT exam timing has been shifted from morning to afternoon. Sharing with MBAUniverse.com, XAT Convener said, “XLRI received feedback from the previous XAT applied candidates, particularly from the North Indian states about the difficulty in reaching examination centres at 8:30 AM. Now we have decided to shift the XAT 2023 examination to 2 PM” and added further “This demand has been long over due and XAT Management has agreed to shift the examination to 2 PM on January 08, 2023.”

No Change in XAT Scoring Scheme and Percentile Calculation
There is no plan to change in XAT percentile calculation process or scoring scheme also. Clarifying on the percentile calculation process in XAT 2023, XAT convener said, “The first three sections will be taken into account to calculate XAT percentile as was done last year. A five minute pause will be given between XAT Part-I and Part-II to ascertain that there is no technical glitch (For example all the alphabetical, numeric, punctuation and sign keys on key board should be working fine).”

No Need to Worry about Difficulty Level- says XAT Convener
XAT 2023 exam is likely to have similar difficulty level like Previous XAT exams. There would be mix of questions for all types of test takers. If the exam is difficult, it is difficult for all and if it is easy it is easy for all. Urging the candidates to remain calm and composed, XAT convener said, “It is not necessary that you can crack all the questions of all the questions, but read, understand and approach with the logical thought, which should be the best for your business interest, do not make it a question of Do or Die as the difficulty level is same for all.”

XLRI is conducting XAT 2023 on Sunday, January 8, 2023 as a computer-based test in a single session of 3 Hours 10 Minutes duration across the country. Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is the second largest MBA entrance exam and is the mandatory entrance exam for admission to XLRI Jamshedpur and Delhi NCR campus. Apart from XLRI, XAT scores are accepted by 160+ MBA colleges including XIMB, IMI, IMT, TAPMI, Great Lakes, GIM Goa among others.

Special Resources for XAT 2023 on MBAUniverse.com
To help you prepare well and get ready for D Day, MBAUniverse.com offers many resources. Some of them are:

Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on XAT 2023