The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is a computer-based test that is used to get candidates admitted into the top B-schools in the country. A total of 150+ colleges accept XAT scores as criteria for admission.
The XAT 2025 exam analysis is updated here in detail based on the data provided by XAT takers. We will revise the data to match the displayed trends, make predictions, and provide an updated comparison of sections and expected overall & sectional cutoffs.
XAT paper analysis is very important for all serious XAT takers to determine their scores before the actual results and to do better in the further admission rounds that follow group discussion, personal interview, and more.
All the test takers are advised to go through the detailed XAT exam analysis 2025 to estimate their performance and evaluate possible options for them.
Given below is a detailed section-wise XAT 2025 exam analysis for your reference:
The overall breakup of XAT 2025 paper with section-wise marking scheme and difficulty level of the exam has been tabulated below.
Sections |
Number of Questions |
Topic-Wise Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Allotted Time |
Difficulty Level of XAT 2025 |
Number of Doable Attempts |
Decision Making |
21 |
|
21 |
170 minutes |
Moderate |
12-14 |
Verbal Ability and Logical Reasoning |
26 |
|
26 |
Moderate |
16-18 |
|
Quantitative Aptitude and Data Interpretation |
28 |
|
28 |
Easy-Moderate |
17-18 |
|
General Knowledge |
20 |
- |
20 |
10 minutes |
Easy-Moderate |
10-11 |
Total |
95 |
|
95 |
180 Minutes |
Moderate |
46-48 |
Overall, this year's XAT 2025 paper showed a massive change in paper pattern compared to XAT 2024 in terms of difficulty, i.e., moderate. The cutoffs are likely to go high this year.
The Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning (VALR) section was slightly easier in comparison to the XAT 2024 paper, as there were more doable questions this year. Scoring around 16-18 marks would be considered a good achievement, especially if you pay attention to the topic-wise weightage.
Below is a breakdown of the topics covered in the XAT 2025 Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning section:
S. No |
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Number of Doable Questions |
1 |
Grammatically correct sentences |
2 |
Easy-Moderate |
2 |
2 |
Para jumble |
2 |
Moderate |
2 |
3 |
Fill in the blanks |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
4 |
Conclusion/ Inference from the passage |
4 |
Moderate |
2 |
5 |
Poem |
2 |
Moderate |
1 |
6 |
Hereditary, Privilege and Meritocracy |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
7 |
Social experiment in West Africa (Character and principles) |
3 |
Moderate-Difficult |
1-2 |
8 |
Man is an animal which laughs |
3 |
Moderate-Difficult |
1-2 |
9 |
Greediness of work |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
10 |
Humans vs Rodents (Kin selection) |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
Total |
|
26 |
Moderate |
16-18 |
The Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section was slightly easier in comparison to the XAT 2024 paper. A good attempt for achieving a 95+ %ile may require 17-18 attempts with 100% accuracy.
Below is a breakdown of the topics covered in the XAT 2025 Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation section:
S. No |
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Number of Doable Questions |
1 |
Influencer Rating |
3 |
Easy |
2-3 |
2 |
Average Monthly Income of Male & Female |
3 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
3 |
Road n/w Diagram (TSD & Geometry) |
3 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
4 |
Marks in 8 Test |
3 |
Easy |
2-3 |
Total |
|
12 |
Eady-Moderate |
7-10 |
S. No |
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Number of Doable Questions |
1 |
Linear Equation |
2 |
Moderate |
1 |
2 |
Coordinate Geometry |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
3 |
Mensuration |
3 |
Moderate |
1-2 |
4 |
Ratio & Proportion |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
5 |
SI/CI |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
6 |
Probability |
1 |
Difficult |
0 |
7 |
Surds |
1 |
Difficult |
0 |
8 |
Grid (Based X) |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
9 |
Circles with dustbin |
1 |
Moderate-Difficult |
0-1 |
10 |
Averages |
1 |
Moderate-Difficult |
0-1 |
11 |
Numbers |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
12 |
Height & Distance |
1 |
Easy |
1 |
13 |
Log |
1 |
Difficult |
0 |
Total |
|
16 |
Easy-Moderate |
8-10 |
The XAT Decision-Making section was quite challenging and slightly trickier than last year’s paper, with a few questions being moderate to difficult in terms of difficulty level. A good attempt in this section would have been 12-14 questions to achieve a 95+ %ile.
Below is a breakdown of the topics covered in the XAT 2025 Decision Making section:
S. No |
Topic |
No. of Questions |
Difficulty Level |
Number of Doable Questions |
1 |
True Color, Event Management Company |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
2 |
Ned Flanders & Homer Simpson Partner Ltd. Law Firm |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
3 |
Newspaper: The Pluralist |
3 |
Difficult |
1 |
4 |
Kindercare Hospital |
3 |
Easy-Moderate |
2-3 |
5 |
Arya & Shruti (MBA Postgraduate) |
3 |
Moderate-Difficult |
1-2 |
6 |
Humane Dynamix (Leadership Trade) |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
7 |
Sundaram Stores (Suburb) |
3 |
Moderate |
2 |
Total |
|
21 |
Moderate |
12-14 |
The General Knowledge section for XAT 2025 was easier compared to the XAT 2024 paper, and general questions from areas like sports, entertainment, personality, and awards were asked based on past year trends. There were 10-11 questions, which were pretty straightforward and doable. The overall difficulty level of this section was easy to moderate. However, the scores from this section would not be included while calculating the overall percentile; they will be taken into consideration during the GD-PI rounds.
XAT is known to be the most sought-after management entrance exam after CAT as it is a score which is accepted by over 150 colleges across the country, including prestigious B-schools like XLRI Jamshedpur, XIM-B and many more.
Refer to the table below to understand XAT 2025 difficulty level as follows:
XAT Exam Sections |
XAT Difficulty Level 2025 |
Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning |
Moderate |
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation |
Easy-Moderate |
Decision Making |
Moderate |
General Knowledge |
Easy-Moderate |
As an overall takeaway, the difficulty level of XAT 2025 is expected to be somewhere between moderate to difficult. Students found the exam to be on the difficult side; therefore, the cut-off is expected to be similar to what it was last year.
In the XAT exam, a rough figure of about 46-48 correct attempts will be considered a good score based on XAT 2025 analysis.
Refer to the table below to gain insights into the ideal scores and doable attempts based on XAT 2025 paper:
Section |
Good Attempts |
Good Score |
Decision Making |
12-14 |
12-14 |
Verbal Ability & Logical Reasoning |
16-18 |
16-18 |
Quantitative Aptitude & Data Interpretation |
17-18 |
17-18 |
General Knowledge |
10-11 |
10-11 |
Based on students' reactions and other parameters after our XAT 2025 paper analysis, including difficulty level, XAT 2025 cut-offs are expected to be around 98+ %ile.
Colleges Accepting XAT scores |
XAT 2025 Cutoff |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
98+ %ile |
XIMB Bhubneshwar |
91+ %ile |
IMT Ghaziabad |
90+ %ile |
TAPMI |
85+ %ile |
MICA |
85+ %ile |
GIM Goa |
85+ %ile |
Great Lakes Chennai |
85+ %ile |
IRMA Anand |
85+ %ile |
FORE, New Delhi |
84+ %ile |
KJ Somaiya Mumbai |
83+ %ile |
After the exam is over, the immediate question that pops up in every aspirant's mind is probably, "How did I perform in the exam?" Well, the answer to this question comes once the answer key is released. However, to stop this curiosity, our experts have collated the expected XAT score vs. percentile table below based on past trends.
You can use our XAT score calculator to fill in your estimated attempts and gain insight into your performance in XAT 2025. Following this, you can know exactly where you stand amongst the competition by analyzing the expected XAT 2025 score vs. percentile.
XAT Colleges |
XAT 2025 Score |
XAT 2025 Percentile |
XLRI Jamshedpur |
TBA |
TBA |
XIMB Bhubneshwar |
TBA |
TBA |
IMT Ghaziabad |
TBA |
TBA |
TAPMI |
TBA |
TBA |
MICA |
TBA |
TBA |
GIM Goa |
TBA |
TBA |
Great Lakes Chennai |
TBA |
TBA |
IRMA Anand |
TBA |
TBA |
FORE, New Delhi |
TBA |
TBA |
KJ Somaiya Mumbai |
TBA |
TBA |
*The above figures are just expectations based on the difficulty level of the XAT 2025 paper and past trends from previous XAT exams.
The XAT 2025 exam pattern has undergone some major changes in comparison with the previous year’s XAT papers. This year, the Analytical Essay Writing (AEW) section has been scrapped from the XAT exam and will be conducted during the Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds.
The detailed changes in the XAT paper exam are as follows:
Sections |
Questions |
Maximum Marks |
Part 1:
|
75 |
75 |
Part 2: General Knowledge |
20 |
20 |
Total |
95 |
95 |
The XAT 2025 marking scheme is expected to be on similar lines this year compared to XAT 2024. The overall paper comprises multiple choice questions (MCQs) with 5 alternatives to choose from. The following is the brief XAT 2025 marking scheme, as follows:
The duration of the XAT exam is reduced to 180 minutes or three hours, which is divided into two parts with no sectional time limitation for any particular section.
To complete the first part, candidates will be allotted a total of 170 minutes. This section includes verbal ability and logical reasoning, quantitative ability and data interpretation, and decision-making, with a total of 75 questions. The next part of the exam consists of 20 questions on general knowledge, and for that, candidates are given a total of 10 minutes.
Effective time management and strategic test-taking approaches are essential for success. It is advisable for all serious XAT candidates to intensify their preparation, practice previous years' XAT papers, and start attempting mock tests regularly. This practice will not only help familiarize candidates with the exam format but also enhance their confidence and performance in the actual exam, thereby improving their chances of admission to top B-schools accepting XAT scores.
The overall level of difficulty of XAT 2024 was moderate to difficult, with a good score of 36-37 marks. Based on the review of the sections, VA was easy to moderate, while the RC questions were moderate to difficult. The logical reasoning section was also moderate. Similarly, the Decision Making section was moderate in terms of difficulty level. The level of difficulty of QA was difficult, while DI was moderate.
The good scores for each section were as follows:
In the General Knowledge section, there was a balance between current affairs and static GK, and essay writing comprised three options to choose from.
XAT 2024 AnalysisThe overall level of difficulty of XAT 2023 was moderate, with a good score of 35 marks. Based on the review of the sections, VA was easy to moderate, while the RC questions were moderate to difficult. The logical reasoning section was also moderate. Similarly, the Decision Making section was moderate in terms of difficulty level. The level of difficulty of QA was easy to moderate, while DI was moderate.
The good scores for each section were as follows:
In the General Knowledge section, there was a balance between current affairs and static GK, and essay writing comprised three options to choose from.
XAT 2023 AnalysisOverall, XAT 2022 aspirants had to face 100 MCQ questions and an essay writing question in 190 minutes. The Verbal and Logical Ability was easy, and the decision-making section was also not very ambiguous. The Quantitative Aptitude section was easy to understand, and the Data Interpretation section was straightforward.
The overall structure of the paper was similar to XAT 2021, except that an essay paper was introduced in the paper just a few days before the exam.
According to our CAT experts, the section-wise good score for XAT 2022 would be:
The overall difficulty level of XAT 2022 was moderate. The cutoff for the male-engineer category was 32-33.
XAT 2022 AnalysisAfter the nightmare of XAT 2020 and a generally unpleasant year of 2020, XAT 2021 was a welcome change. XAT 2021 came back to its usual form which was similar to what was seen in 2017 and 2019. Thus, in terms of the level of difficulty, XAT 2021 was an exam with a moderate difficulty level.
In terms of sectional difficulty: