XAT 2019: 5 Key Changes to Help You Score More; Application Open till Dec 9

Scrapping of the subjective writing section, reducing the number of questions counted for percentile calculation are some of the key changes that XLRI has announced for XAT 2019 exam leading to admission in XLRI, SPJIMR, IMT, IRMA, K J Somaiya, TAPMI, XIMB, FORE, Great Lakes, BIMTECH, XIME among other 150 management institutes accepting XAT 2019 score for MBA admission 2019. XAT 2019 exam date is January 6, 2019 and the exam will be a computer based test.

Application closing on Dec 9 with Late Fee
Last opportunity to submit your application for XAT 2019 ends on December 9, 2018 with late fee. You can register and apply for XAT 2019 online by making a payment of Application & Exam fee of Rs.2000/-

XLRI, the XAT 2019 conducting institute has closed the XAT registration process without late fee on November 30, 2018. So, only a few days are left to register and apply for XAT 2019. Alongwith submitting your application for XAT 2019 you can submit fill up and submit your XLRI Jamshedpur application form by making a nominal fee payment for Rs. 500/- per programme. However, if you miss the XAT application deadline, you may also miss the admission opportunity in XLRI as there is the facility to apply for XLRI while submitting your XAT application form.

Key Changes in XAT 2019
Recently announced changes in forthcoming XAT 2019 to be held on January 6, 2019 have made the test and the opportunities related to it more aspirant friendly. It is not only going to be a computer based test on easier level but also offers more opportunities of scoring high to get shortlisted at one of the top rated B-schools.

Apart from XLRI and other top rated B-schools, the list includes 150 B-schools who will be accepting XAT 2019 scores for admission to their MBA/PGDM 2019-21 programmes.
Following key aspirant friendly changes brought about in XAT 2019 test structure and content can help you score high by maximising your attempts in the exam. XLRI the XAT 2019 authority has shared that all the changes are meant to improve the performance of the candidates in the exam.

More Time for Fewer Questions: 180 Minutes for 100 MCQs
Candidates appearing in XAT 2019 will have three hours to attempt the exam with reduced number of questions. Without reducing the time limit or introducing any sectional time constraints, XLRI has changed the XAT exam pattern to 100 MCQs to be attempted in 180 minutes.

The number of questions which determine the percentile calculation for shortlisting are 75 only. The questions are divided in three sections namely VARC, Quant and Decision Making. The 4th GK section is not taken into account for percentile calculation.

Candidates now have the opportunity to attempt a question in about 2 minutes in XAT 2019 instead of only 1 minute 40 seconds earlier.

Level of Difficulty goes down
Since not more than 50% questions were attempted in past XAT exams, XLRI has decided to reduce the level of difficulty in XAT 2018 to attract candidates to attempt more number of questions. In order to enable students to attempt as many questions as possible and encourage them to demonstrate all-round skills, the difficulty level of the questions is kept moderate in the exam.

In the previous years students could attempt only half of the questions, reducing the range of marks, scored among students. But, if the examination is made very easy, many would finish the test before time, therefore, XLRI does not propose to keep the level of difficulty either very low or very high. The test is targeted to be attempted within time by top students followed by others.

The main objective to introduce this change is that the examination would avoid 2 possible errors - one the low range of scores and second is that excellent students not getting enough opportunities to showcase their ability because of too easy a question paper.

Now XAT 2019 in its revised pattern and reduced difficulty level offers more opportunities to score higher than ever before. Still around a month is left to update the preparation for the exam according to the changed pattern.
No sectional time constraint

There will not be any sectional time limit to attempt questions in a particular section. Candidates good in Quant or good in Verbal can begin with the section they like most, finish it in lesser time, go to the more difficult section and use the saved time on this section and score high by maximising the attempts in different sections.

Essay Writing Test Scrapped
There will not be the subjective Essay Writing Test in XAT 2019. The test used to consume more time as XLRI considered essay writing test very important in its admission process. Even after switching to the computerised format in 2018, XLRI continued with the Essay Writing Test in XAT. This is the first time in the history of XAT exam, that there would not be Essay Writing Test in XAT 2019 exam and the candidates can focus primarily to crack the core three sections of XAT exam.

Low Negative Marking
While CAT 2018 had a one-third negative marking for each wrong answer, XAT 2018 will impose only one-fourth negative marking. To encourage the candidates to attempt more questions in the exam, XAT 2019 is to keep the difficulty level of most of the questions at moderate level.

The introduced pattern will discourage the candidates to leave more questions unattempted in XAT 2019. This will also help the candidates to improve their speed, although this year exam is going to be easier than earlier XAT exams.

Top MBA Colleges Accepting XAT 2019 Score
There are 150 MBA colleges accepting XAT 2019 exam score for MBA admission 2019. Among them are the top B-schools, like XLRI Jamshedpur, SPJIMR Mumbai, XIM Bhubaneswar, IMT Ghaziabad, BIMTECH Greater Noida, IFMR Graduate School of Business at KREA University, IRMA Anand, MICA Ahmedabad, FORE School of Management Delhi, XIME Bangalore, TAPMI Manipal, Great Lakes Chennai, LIBA Chennai and many others..Read More on Top MBA colleges Accepting XAT Score

MBA aspirants who have registered and wish to appear in XAT 2018 are expected to find the examination more appealing and in line with their preparation. There are more questions on error corrections and core grammar usage in XAT. Jumbled paragraphs are not so long as in CAT but there is more number of short RC passages having a length of around 400-500 words. Questions on use of phrases, idioms, figures of speech are more prominent in XAT.

XAT is aimed to select the most appropriate candidates who wish to pursue management education. Around 90 thousand to 1 lakh candidates explore admission opportunities in XLRI and other member and affiliated B schools by registering for XAT every year. The Online registration and application process for XAT 2019 will close on December 9, 2018.