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With XAT 2022 just around the corner, it is normal to have last-minute jitters. “How do I best utilize the last week? Should I just keep writing mocks? Should I start a new topic? Have I done enough to nail the Decision-Making section?” These are some of the questions that any serious aspirant is bound to have. Being one of the most important (and toughest) MBA entrance exams to crack, aspirants must keep a calm mind, pay the exam due respect, and approach it in the right manner. After all, one of the most sought-after B-schools awaits you at the end of the line: XLRI Jamshedpur. Here are some tips from the current XLRI students (or as we call them, XLers) to help you plan out your last week before XAT 2022!
I started preparing for MBA entrance exams in June 2020 and having been studying for the better part of 7 months, I decided to take a break before my XAT 21. By that time there isn’t any concept left that you haven’t covered or any type of question you haven’t practised. So before the big test to my dream B-school, I took a break and went on a vacation with a couple of my friends to relax. This put me in the right headspace for cracking the XAT. After my vacation and a few days before the XAT, I just brushed up a little on the current affairs for the General Knowledge (GK) section.
To everyone preparing for entrance exams to top B schools and especially XLRI, keep in mind that smart work is key. Just like your exam is divided into sections, you too should divide your daily preparation into sections and spend a couple of hours on each of the major sections. Identify your strengths and target them, and work on your weaknesses because that’s where we have the most room for improvement. For the Decision Making (DM) section of XAT, go through the previous year XAT papers to get an understanding of the kind of real-life case questions that feature in the exam and how to answer them.
The weeks before CAT ‘20 and XAT ‘21 were complete opposites for me. I felt stressed, uneasy, and panicked before my CAT exam and the pressure did not let me give my best on the D-day. So, when it was time to write XAT, I knew that a calm and sound mind would do wonders. The week before XAT, I gave one mock exam every alternate day and thoroughly went through the solutions. On the days between mocks, I gave sectional tests (that lasted 10-20 minutes) to brush up on concepts and practice the topics in which I was making mistakes in the mock tests. I studied for only about 3-4 hours per day in the last week and spent the rest of the day making sure I was feeling positive, motivated and cheerful by indulging myself in activities that brought me joy. I went and wrote XAT like it was any other mock test, and came out feeling pretty good about how I had done.
My advice to the students preparing for XAT would be to take a lot of mock tests since it exposes one to a wide range of questions and one is in a better position to identify their strengths and weaknesses. MBA entrance exams require a keen presence of mind on the day of the test, which is why learning to keep calm under pressure and knowing how to stay focussed are two key skills that I think every aspirant should start working on when they decide to prepare for MBA entrance exams.
In the last week before XAT ‘21, I wrote as many mock tests as possible. I mostly attempted previous year papers as mock tests and that helped me get a hang of the exam pattern. Right from December, I made sure that I was solving at least three Decision Making (DM) sets each day. I kept that going even in the last week, in addition to the mocks. Analysis of DM sets is very important. Cracku offers one DM set each day, free of cost. That was very helpful. It is not clear how much weightage the GK score of XAT holds in the XLRI admission process, but I chose not to ignore it. My mornings were earmarked for GK, and I made it a point to brush up on my current affairs and static GK every day.
My advice to XAT ‘22 aspirants would be to not keep XAT preparation for the last moment. After CAT, you would be running from one exam centre to another, and it is important to start preparing for the Decision Making (DM) section early on. Another tip would be to solve the DM sets like mocks, because looking at the solutions and then convincing yourself of the answer is unlikely to help. Remember that in all likelihood your DM score will determine your overall percentile. Lastly, remember that XAT is not as time-constrained as CAT. So, focus more on accuracy than speed.
I knew after a good CAT attempt, momentum was on my side and if I could keep my nerves in check during XAT, I would be able to ace it as well. So, I spent my last week before XAT analysing the mocks I had attempted in the last month and relaxing as much as I could. I didn't attempt any mocks in the last week and I would suggest XAT 2022 takers do the same.
My advice to aspirants would be to not treat XAT as an extension of CAT that has just one extra section. XAT and CAT are two very different exams and strategies that worked in CAT might not necessarily work in XAT. One, XAT allows you to switch between sections with no sectional time limits and you must use it to your advantage. I am weak in Quants and had failed to clear the sectional cut-off in my previous XAT attempts. So, this time I attempted QA first in my mocks and allocated significantly more time towards it. This small trick helped me and I would suggest everyone to this a try in their mocks. Apart from this, solving the DM section of all available previous year papers and a good number of mocks (around 5-10) should be enough for a good XAT percentile.
Since I had been preparing for the quant and verbal section for all the MBA entrance exams, I didn't try to learn any new concepts in the last week before XAT 21. You don't want your brain to be filled with new concepts in the last week. I timed myself and solved questions to help build the momentum for the day of the exam. Reading is a daily habit that helped me to not be taken aback by long RC passages on the exam day. For the DM section, I wrote a lot of mock tests in the last week to ensure I did not have any wrong ideas set in my mind. The day before the exam, I did nothing but relax and sleep well. The most important day is the exam day and you need to free your mind from distractions and worries. More than being anxious, be excited about it.
Like any B-school exam, you don't need to know everything to score a good percentile in the XAT. There are easy, medium and difficult questions. You just need to be able to identify the easiest questions and leave the hard ones for last. It's important to cover your basics and then sharpen your strengths. You need to analyse your exam writing pattern and understand where you are struggling. Give as many mocks as you can and try to recreate the same conditions as on the day of the exam. Try to keep up all three sections on the same level, and be consistent.
The last week before XAT ’21 was quite stressful for me. I had not done well in my CAT and that had been haunting me. It made me re-analyse my strategy for XAT and had me doubting everything I had done up till then. A week before XAT I took a couple of mocks and scored well. That built up my confidence and I was able to chalk up my CAT performance as bad luck. I brushed off the demons the best I could and did my best to get myself in the right mindset. I spent the week brushing up on basic concepts, particularly for the Decision Making (DM) section, met some friends, ate well and slept well.
To all the XAT 2022 aspirants I’d say this: trust yourself. There will be bad days, and sometimes they will be on the day you take an exam. It’s important to not let the bad days reflect on your future attempts. Having put in serious efforts for almost a year, the last thing you should do is doubt yourself and not give your 100%. Traditionally the CAT results are declared a day before the XAT exam. Knowing this, I stayed away from my phone and did not check my CAT result till after my XAT exam. All the best to every XAT 2022 taker, and hope to see some of you on campus!
In the week leading up to XAT, I gave three mock exams and analysed them thoroughly. This helped me get last-minute clarity in my focus areas. I also wrote mocks during the scheduled XAT time in exam conditions to ease last-minute jitters on the exam day. Along with regular Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Logical Ability practice, I solved a variety of DM sets to help familiarize myself with various situations, dilemmas and the expected managerial thinking. GK can be covered by newspapers and compilations released by a lot of coaching institutes. Unlike CAT, which has sectional time limits, in XAT you can play to your strengths as you can break down the entire period and plan your sections strategically. I had planned roughly how much time to spend on each section.
Don't let your performance in other exams like CAT, IIFT, etc. affect your performance in XAT. Go with a fresh mindset. Quantitative Ability and Verbal & Logical Ability sections of XAT are majorly taken care of, thanks to the countless hours put in for other MBA entrance exams. Practice specifically for DM and GK sections, because these are usually make-or-break sections. It is important to pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses. Since there are sectional cut-offs, a certain level of competency in each section has to be ensured. Finally, on exam day, stay level headed, calm and don't get stuck on any question. Taking too much pressure won't allow you to think straight. If the exam is difficult, remember that it is difficult for everyone. All the best!
Throughout my preparation, I had to balance my work with my studies. The week just before the XAT exam was immensely stressful for me as I could not perform up to the mark in the CAT exam. For the Quantitative Ability section, I made sure to revise important formulas. I also practised past year papers. I practised various types of Data Interpretation (DI) sets as I had observed that every year the XAT exam has at least one doable DI set. For the Decision Making (DM) section, I had practised DM questions from the past 10-year XAT papers right after the CAT exam. So, in the week just before XAT 2021, I revised all those questions again and analysed my mistakes. For the Verbal & Logical Ability section, I practised Critical Reasoning questions from the GMAT club’s CR-1000 series. XAT is known to feature poems RCs, so I practised them from previous year papers. I also regularly read books and articles from Aeon, Guardian, and the New York Times.
To every XAT 2022 aspirant reading this, my advice would be to not become complacent after CAT and keep up the momentum until XAT. Even if someone is not able to perform especially well in CAT, XAT is a golden second chance, so don’t give up. Keep Practicing, identify your weak sections, and work on them. Practice the past 10-year papers. Give mocks and analyse them thoroughly. Prepare your strategy for XAT. Most importantly, keep your composure while giving the exam. All the best!
Since I had been preparing for CAT 2020, I had a fair amount of practice in Quants and Verbal. XAT does not feature the DILR section, but in turn, there is another dreadful section in the form of Decision Making (DM). In the last week before XAT 2021, I decided to brush up on the shortcuts I used in Quants and didn't particularly focus too much on Verbal. I spent the majority of my time going through the DM section of all the previous year XAT papers, as what XAT is expecting in your answers can be best gauged by doing the previous year papers. I also solved the DM practice exercises provided by my coaching institute TIME. The final one week should be kept reserved for one's weakest section and for solving as many sample papers/mock tests as possible. I did close to 11 mock tests in the last 8 days before the exam and about 15 DM sectional tests (including the TIME ones).
My advice to XAT 2022 aspirants would be to mainly focus on strategizing rather than trying to look for some form of hack to crack the exam. It is quite a different exam from CAT and even though one feels that their selected option is correct, DM proves to be tricky every year. You should preferably have a strategy or a set of criteria ready, which helps you identify whether to save a question for later or skip it altogether. There is ample time in XAT so there's no need to worry about the time taken per question. But as the available time is more, the questions are also more difficult than CAT and herein lies a major difference. XAT is a comparatively low scoring exam. A score of 40.7 gave me a percentile of 99.66 this year. This gives an edge to students who like to think rather than just quickly solving the questions. All the Best!!
I wrote only two mocks in the last week before XAT ‘21. I utilised the rest of the time analysing these mocks very well and also going through the questions and solutions of the mocks that I had taken in the past. I made sure to revise concepts and refer to my notes which contained formulas and approaches to certain questions I found tricky in the Quantitative Ability section. I kept doing a few questions from the Decision Making section of past year XAT papers to ensure that I stayed on the correct path of reasoning when it came to ethical dilemmas. Lastly, what helped me ace XAT was a peaceful mind, free of potential distractions due to other entrance exam results which were announced just before the XAT ‘21 paper.
It is necessary to start your preparation as soon as possible to recognize which section or areas you are weak in. An early start is bound to help you sail through the hectic last-minute preparation phase smoothly. Do not forget to make concise notes for each topic while you study. You will need them in the last week of preparation! Keep in constant touch with your mentors and teachers and do not delay or hesitate to reach out to them. Make sure that you look at the past year papers with solutions from the starting itself to form an understanding of the exam pattern and trend over the years. Practice questions by taking as many mocks as possible but do not overload yourself with only questions and ensure that you allocate sufficient time for analysis.