The Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is considered to be one of the toughest management entrance exams. The exam is conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur, on an annual basis. The exam opens doors for many MBA aspirants to take admission to their desired colleges. The XAT exam is not at all easy to prepare for. The exam is considered difficult because of its unique pattern and unpredictable difficulty level. Students don't generally have any set idea as to how difficult the exam will be. This makes it hard for students. They have to put more focus into learning everything about the syllabus. Students are not left with any option to take any section of the exam lightly. Therefore, students try their level best to prepare from all tools possible.

What are XAT Mock Tests?

XAT mock tests are model test papers that copy the same exam pattern as the real XAT exam. This helps the students to get the real experience of solving the XAT exam paper. Students get to have the questions and pattern of the mock test paper in the same way that it'll be in the XAT exam. This makes the preparation journey of the students smoother. Therefore, students solve many mock test papers to get good practice for the XAT exam.

Why are XAT Mock Tests essential?

XAT mock tests are one of the ways in which students learn better. XAT mock test series mirror the real exam. They help the students to know about the difficulty level of the exam, the weightage that the sections may carry and how to tackle time shortage while solving the XAT exam. XAT mock tests work on all these factors. Let's go through them one by one.
Students need practice to build speed and accuracy. Even though XAT is a three-hour-long paper, there are still many questions in the exam. Each section of the XAT exam is demanding, and therefore students actually need to solve the XAT test series so that they can learn to build speed with accuracy. This will help the students finish the exam and not leave the questions unattempted.

The XAT mock tests also help the students to develop their decision-making skills. Unlike other MBA entrance exams, XAT also has a decision-making section. Students do need practical knowledge for this section. It's not easy to solve questions that are based on high-order thinking. Students need to within less time have the right knowledge about the questions. When students solve many mock test papers, they get used to thinking in a certain way. This helps them develop the skills they need to solve the decision-making section of the XAT exam.

Solving the mock tests also helps the students to understand each section of the XAT exam really well. Students can get to know about the various aspects of each section that they need to keep in mind while solving the exam. Knowing about the sectional difficulty of the XAT exam also matters for the students. When students know which section is going to be tougher than the other, then they can focus more on those sections of the exam. In these smaller ways students get to learn a lot of details about the XAT exam.

How to use XAT Mock Tests effectively?

Students should start early. As soon as the syllabus is over, students should move onto practising the XAT mock tests. This will help students gradually build over their preparation. Students will find it difficult initially to solve all these questions, but over time it will be easy for the students. Students will also learn more and more as they solve the mock tests; therefore, students should start early with mock test papers.

Students should also try and analyse every mock test very carefully. The practice of mock test papers shouldn't just stop at solving them. The real preparation will occur when students also get to figure out their mistakes. Students should look at the answer key and mark the questions that they found tough. Students should also try to keep these mock tests with themselves so that at revision time they can come and take a look at them.

Students should also time themselves while they solve these mock test papers. This will again help the students to keep track of their pace while attempting the XAT exam. Students will realise whether they find it easy to complete the XAT mock test within the time limit or are exceeding the time limit. In this way students can then work on their time management skills with each mock test paper. Slowly and consistently students will see improvement in their time management skills.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are mock tests the only way students can practise questions for the XAT exam?

No, there is nothing like that. XAT mock tests are one of the ways in which students can practise for the exam. There are many other tests, sample papers, PYQs, etc. that are available to the students to practise questions from.

How many mock test papers should students solve?

Students should ideally solve 1-2 mock test papers each day. It is time-consuming, but it will also help the students work on their speed for the main exam.