All about XAT 2011

XAT is an all-India examination conducted by the premier B-School XLRI Jamshedpur. XAT is designed on multiple-choice questions of two-and-a-half hours in which the last 20 minutes are given to an essay. Like CAT, XAT is also based on the areas which includes verbal ability and reasoning, reading comprehension, quantitative skills, data interpretation, analytical and logical reasoning. In XAT, the additional areas in comparison to CAT are the general awareness section and the 20-minute essay writing section.
XAT is designed on multiple-choice questions of two-and-a-half hours in which the last 20 minutes are given to an essay.
XAT over the last 3 years : An analysis

Year	Sections	No. of Questions	Difficulty level
2008	Verbal & Logical Ability, Analytical reasoning & Decision Making, Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability	38 + 38 + 44 = 120	Difficult, Moderate, Difficult. Overall Difficult
2009	Verbal & Logical Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making, Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability	35 + 31 + 38 = 104	Easy, Moderate, Moderate. Overall Moderate
2010	Verbal & Logical Ability, Quantitative Ability & Data Interpretation, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making	40 + 30 = 101	Difficult, Moderate, Difficult. Overall Difficult

XAT 2010: Paper Analysis
XAT 2010 maintained the difficulty level of XAT 2009. The number of questions was 101 and each question had 1 mark. The negative marking scheme is progressive. There was 0.20 negative marking for the first five incorrect answers in each section and 0.25 marks for each incorrect answer thereafter.
Like last year, the number of sections was three. They were Data Interpretation & Quantitative Ability, Analytical Reasoning & Decision Making and Verbal & Logical Ability. Each questions had five choices. The essay topic to be written within 20 minutes was ‘Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need but not every man’s greed’.
The Data Interpretation and Quantitative Ability questions were the toughest in the paper. The Quantitative Ability questions were from a variety of areas. Though most of them were difficult and tricky, some of them were simple.
The Verbal and Logical Ability questions were tougher than that of XAT 2009.
The questions on Decision Making were easy to read but the options were close.
XAT Eligibility
Candidates must have a bachelors degree under 10+2+3 system from a recognized university or a deemed university. Candidates completing final year examination are also eligible to apply.
Important Dates for XAT
XAT 2010 was held on Sunday, January 3, 2010.
On the basis of the important dates for XAT 2010, the expected deadlines for XAT 2011 are as follows:
XAT 2011 Exam Date: Sunday, January 2, 2011.
Registration for XAT 2011: Wednesday, September 1, 2010 to Monday, November 30, 2010
XAT Result: By January 31, 2011.
XAT Application Process
The registration for XAT 2011 will have to be done online at www.xlri.edu
Participating Institutes
Apart from the MBA institutes like 
XLRI Jamshedpur,
XIM Bhubaneswar,
Xavier Institute of Management and Entrepreneurship Bangalore,
Xavier Institute of Development Action and Studies Jabalpur and 
Xavier Institute of Social Service, Ranchi, 
the other prominent MBA institutes accepting XAT scores are
Loyola Institute of Business Management Chennai,
Mount Carmel Institute of Management Bangalore,
SP Jain Institute of Management and Research Mumbai to name a few.
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