How I Scored 95+ Percentile In XAT Decision Making Twice(XAT 2024 And 2025)

For the majority of management aspirants in India, CAT is the first choice to target. But not everyone succeeds in cracking it with a high percentile. That is why intelligent and serious aspirants never fail to keep an alternate plan in hand. Irrespective of whether their CAT attempt is successful or not, they ensure that they appear for other management entrance tests (OMETs), and one of the most well-known among them is the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT).

Free CAT Mocks 2025: Daily Sectionals!

XAT vs CAT

Whereas XAT has some similarities with CAT—e.g., the Verbal Ability and Quantitative Aptitude sections—it is differentiated by its distinctive and defining aspect: the Decision Making (DM) section, which takes the place of CAT's LRDI segment.

So let’s take a deep dive and understand what exactly Decision making section demands and how I was able to score a 95+ percentile in both XAT 2024 and XAT 2025.

An introduction to the Decision-Making section and what makes the Decision-Making section unique?

Decision making section Decision Making (DM) section is a unique and defining feature of the XAT (Xavier Aptitude Test), setting it apart from exams like CAT or SNAP. Unlike typical logical reasoning or quantitative sections, DM tests your ability to analyze real-life situations, weigh pros and cons, and make ethical, practical, and balanced decisions. Each question presents a scenario or caselet that could be business-related, ethical, personal, or even public policy-oriented. Based on the situation, you’re asked to choose the most appropriate course of action from multiple options.

My First Encounter with Decision Making: XAT 2024

After a devastating CAT 2023, I shifted my focus towards XAT 2024 and while I was familiar with Verbal and Quant section, Decision making section was completely new for me and I had no idea how to prepare for it and after researching about DM section, I made a decision to not buy any course for it and started self- preparation for this section with the help of some Youtube playlist like RODHA playlist for DM and I watched some marathon videos of MBA Karo channel. And when I attempted XAT 2024, I ended up scoring 95.86 percentile in the DM section in XAT 2024. Even after scoring 95.86 percentile, I felt I could have scored more, and I lagged somewhere.

Leveling Up: A Smarter Approach for XAT 2025

A year passed I again prepared for CAT, and this time it was far better than my CAT 2023 attempt. After CAT, I started preparing for XAT 2025 and this time I introspected what went wrong last year in Decision Making section and I had a conversation with Hunny Malhotra sir and after the conversation I realised that the key to a great score in DM section is solving the previous years question banks and this time I opted for Elitesgrid DM course and under the guidance of Hunny sir I solved and analysed DM questions of last 10 years along with some extra practice I found out that there is no place for bias in DM and one have to attempt this section with no pre conceived notions, not to involve emotions in choosing the correct options and be practical and ethical. I ended up scoring 98.41 percentile in the DM section in XAT 2025.

Final Thoughts: DM Is More Than Just a Section

Consistently scoring high on the Decision Making part of XAT is not a matter of memorizing rules or any tricks; it's a matter of attitude. Learning how to take DM from cluelessness to 95.86 percentile on XAT 2024 and subsequently to 98.41 percentile on XAT 2025 was my experience that instilled in me self-consciousness, systematic practice, and moral reasoning. Be it a repeater or a first-timer, consider DM as not only a section to be cracked but as a skill set. If done with the correct intent and discipline, it has the potential to become your greatest strength in XAT, as it also became mine