All men dream but not equally.

Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible. T.E. Lawrence

XAT Deciphered

Your Voyage to XLRI

ANUSHEEL SHRIVASTAVA YOUNG MONK :-) XAT Deciphered

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What makes XLRI Jamshedpur so special A few XL-ent facts!

(Not the usual gyan)
XLRI has all the usual great elements of an MBA programme a cheerful hostel life, fun campus events, good people to interact with, some brilliant faculty, awesome placements, etc. etc. But there are a few things that set XLRI apart, give it a unique flavour. More the merrier maxim does not hold true in a BSchool, in my opinion. XLRI has a smaller batch size (even with two different programmes) than most of the IIMs. Placement considerations apart, I particularly like this fact. Everyone knows everybody else in their batch at XLRI one need not get lost in crowd. The fact that its a private college also plays some role in the rich interactions. A pet peeve at B-Schools, the Gender Ratio, is not a concern here. Thanks to the PMIR (HRM) programme, XLRI has a rather favourable ratio of girls (a rare sighting on some campuses!). Yes, its not without reason that XL ki Kudiyaan have a song dedicated to them nuff said! Those from IITs/NITs do find the campus woefully small. Yes, if you have been used to hundreds of acres of space, no doubt XLRI would seem inadequate (not so with me, having studied in space-poor Mumbai all my life!). But just like the lesser number of students argument, a small campus too has an advantage one is never far from activity. With everything/everyone close by, people are involved by default its difficult to isolate yourself. And the biggest convenience of all: a oneminute run from your bed to the early-morning class! While trying to find out more about XLRI before actually landing on campus, one thing that every past/present student told me about was the XL Culture. I was highly sceptical about this before getting to campus. Every B-School is bound to have its own share of events/traditions/culture, right? Lekin XL mein kuchh baat hai

2|Page Perhaps its all the above reasons that make it seem close-knit. Add to that the absence of campus curfews or hostel restrictions, and its a rather free community. The various events/traditions passed along on for years connect XLers as much as 25 years apart (for all the curious janta, these events/traditions unfortunately cannot feature on this forum some things should never leave campus!). I dont want to exhort too much on the XL Culture, and many alumni too will have tongue firmly in cheek while mentioning it, lest we take it too seriously. Its one of those things that can be done justice to only by experiencing. While on paper these may only amount to facts, it is all these points and many other intangibles which have contributed towards making my two years at B-School a highly enriching experience, one which I know could never be replicated in any other surrounding. - Miti Vaidya

Source: http://insideiim.com/what-makes-xlrijamshedpur-so-special-a-few-xl-ent-facts/ Above excerpts are taken from an article written by Miti Vaidya (an XL alumnus) for www.insideiim.com

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XAT DECIPHERED
Well! Well! The days have arrived when the brightest minds of country compete among themselves in a race to enter the hallowed portals of XLRI School of Business and Human Resources. Here are a few pointer that may help you to tackle the dreaded monster called XAT:

SELECT RIGHT QUESTIONS

ACCURACY

PERSISTENCE

WELCOME TO XLRI
(OH! WAIT THERE'S GD/PI ALSO :D :D)

Dont get afraid of the decision making cases and avoid them totally. Do practice a few decision making cases from the previous papers and increase you familiarity with them. The questions on Decision making in XAT paper are comparatively easy and could be easily attempted. However, the logical reasoning questions are complicated and difficult to attempt. Its important that students select the right questions to answer. However please keep in mind that this time XAT will have
REAL LIFE BUSINESS CASES.

They dont require any business knowledge;

however knowledge of common business terms and application of reasoning in business situation will help you a lot.

TACKLING THE DECISION MAKING BE

IN TOUCH WITH THE CURRENT HAPPENINGS, MANY A TIMES QUESTIONS/ CASELETS/ BUSINESS SCENARIOS RESEMBLE THE CURRENT SITUATIONS
BEST OPTION NEVER COMPROMISE ON ETHICS MAKE BUSINESS SENSE/ HAVE A
LOGIC AS PER PRESCRIBED CONDITIONS IN CASE

GET

YOURSELF ACQUAINTED WITH COMMON BUSINESS/ ECONOMICS/ACCOUNTING/FINANCE TERMS & JARGONS.

DM is a logical step by step process, so dont get over tensed in this section. This is definitely a scoring section. Initial suggestion would be take a previous year XAT paper and go through this section check your consistency if it is low, then u need more practice and need to refer some books or financial/business newspapers that gives u an idea of actual decisions being taken.( For example, you can refer to the book: Ethical Dilemmas by Martin Cohen)

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Cover the syllabus one by one. Breaking it up in units is a good idea. Cover each unit one by one. Focus on the theory first and then on the
PRACTICAL APPLICATION

based questions.

SOLVE PREVIOUS YEAR XAT QUESTION PAPERS + 3 TO 5 MOCKS (Very -Very Important)

A balance between speed and accuracy is important to successfully clear the examination. Serious aspirants should be good at both these variables. First try to enhance your accuracy by solving diverse set of questions.

APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE

SPEED

ACCURACY

GOOD RESULTS

Maintaining an accuracy level of at least 75 to 80 per cent is very important. This also gives you the leeway to, once in a while, mark an option based on chance.

THOU SHALT READ (And I mean a lot :D)

XAT RCs are notorious for being perplexing & bewildering, Candidates need

to understand the ideas contained in the paragraphs rather than just reading it through. Reading diverse set of articles will help a candidate to be comfortable with the difficulty level. Students should browse through domains like economics, philosophy, psychology, anthropology, political science, life sciences, law etc. Be careful that you neednt have knowledge of these fields but having exposure to writing style will help a lot .
(TIME homepage for candidates has links for them, other coaching classes may also have the same)

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Differential marking plays a crucial role in low

scoring tests and there are easy questions spread among the difficult ones, persistence and hard-core XAT is more about drilling, don't get

disappointed if you are not able to solve some, they are supposed to be the way they are

DIFFERENTIAL MARKING (was there in 2011) DANGERS AHEAD PROGRESSIVE NEGATIVE MARKING ( may come back, you never know)

Quant and DI are in one section, questions in general are slightly tough compare to CAT, however since the emphasis is more on LR/DM section, student should expect a moderate to high difficulty level (not on the lines of 2011 paper Optimistically!). Also understand the fact that, XAT has a typical pattern of questions, which is different from CAT or other exams, most of these Quant questions are not tough as such but a candidate who is not aware of general XAT pattern/level may find them difficult. Hence solving previous XAT paper is sacrosanct.

Solving previous year IIFT papers will also give a help. XAT is all about -- your decision making abilities, working under pressure and deadlines, and the ability to capitalise on ones' strengths. Have a strategy with a room for last minute changes.

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XLRI DOES NOT RELEASES MARKS FOR XAT (AND WE CANT HELP, SO OR DUNNO)
Please understand that XAT is not as predictable and repetitive as CAT/MAT/SNAP/ATMA/CET...etcetc. Refer following, just to give you an idea: XLRI percentile cut-offs
2010-93%ile 2011-85%ile 2011-81%ile 2011-70%ile

VA HRM QT+DI

You can clearly see vast difference in two cut-offs and same was true for BM also. Additionally scores predicted by coaching classes clearly indicate huge difference in percentage score required to attain 90%ile in these 2 years. Any guesstimate we are going to give you will do more harm than help. So please try to maximize your score in various sections. Even now, if you want some number (off-course with Caveat emptor) take 25 %( e.g. 7.5 out of 30) as rule of thumb for each section & 1/3 overall in MOCKS. However in actual XAT go with an open mind and try to maximize your score in each section.

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XAT Essay topics

1999: Television really is, another eye so you can see anywhere, another part of your heart so you can feel and care about things you never felt and cared about before, another ear to hear strange music.... The first and only international language. 2000 Ships are safer in the harbour. But they are not meant for the same. 2001 Economic Growth without distributive justice can only lead to violence 2002 Indian Economy in the Post WTO Era. 2003 To give real service, one needs to add something that cannot be bought or measured, like sincerity and integrity. 2004 Asked at the age of 83, as to which of his project would he choose as his master piece, Frank Lloyd wright, the architect answered, The next one 2005 More than one billion Indians: A gigantic problem or a sea of opportunities. 2006: "India has the largest pool of talented manpower, but very few innovations and patented products." 2007 - Economic Growth without environmental damage - a mirage or a reality 2008 - Gender imbalance will lead to Third world war 2009- "The Inherent vice of Capitalism is unequal sharing of blessings and the inherent virtue of Socialism is equal sharing of misery" 2010 Earth provides enough to satisfy every mans need but not every mans greed need 2011 Analytical questions based on following excerpt from wealth of nations

The statesman who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals would not only load himself with most unnecessary attention but assume an authority which could safely be trusted to no council and senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of man who have folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it. Critical analysis with real life examples were asked Junta, please read the question carefully and answer accordingly its just not an essay, they want specific answers as per certain points asked in the question Disclaimer: These observations are based on experience of XL students. Every attempt is been made to make them authentic and accurate. However, these are in no way Official communication from XLRI. Always expect surprises in XAT paper. Neither XLRI nor any of its students, giving tips on various forums, will take any responsibility for 100% accuracy of aforementioned information and tips. Aspirants are advised to use their own discretion.

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Life has no smooth road for any of us; and in the

bracing atmosphere of a high aim the very roughness stimulates the climber to steadier steps, till the legend, over steep ways to the stars, fulfils itself.
W. C. Doane

ANUSHEEL SHRIVASTAVA
Junior Graduate Student| Executive member External Linkages Human Resource Management (2011-2013) XLRI Jamshedpur