XAT Selection Procedure 2026 - GD/PI Shortlist, Criteria

The XAT 2026 selection process consists of Group Discussions and Personal Interviews after the initial shortlisting of the candidates is done on the basis of their XAT scores. The XAT 2026 exam was held on Jan 4, 2026. The cutoff will be released in Feb 2026 tentatively following which the selection process will begin.

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The XAT selection process 2026 includes a Group Discussion and a Personal Interview conducted in the respective institutes. XAT 2026 was administered successfully on Jan 4, 2026. The XAT Result 2026 is expecetd to be out in the last week of Jan 2206, and the selection process will begin for various MBA programs under XLRI Jamshedpur from Feb-March 2026.

The XAT admission program involves direct application by the candidates to the respective institutes as the institute follows no centralised system of counselling. One must note that only the candidates who make it to the final merit list will be shortlisted for the selection process. The selected candidates must register themselves before the said date to confirm their XAT selection procedure 2026.

XAT Selection Process Dates 2026

The candidates who meet the XAT cutoff 2026 for the respective institutes will be called for the counselling process. The GD/PI rounds will be held in the respective institutes between February and March 2026, tentatively, while the new session will begin in June 2026.

The table below highlights the XAT counselling important dates 2026.

XAT Events	XAT Dates
XAT Exam date	Jan 05, 2026 (2:00 pm to 5:30 pm)
Shortlist for Interview	End of Jan 2026
Interviews	Mid-February - Mid-March 2026
Offers and Waitlist	Apr 2026
Academic Session begins	Mid-Jun, 2026

Also Check: Top Colleges Accepting 50 Percentile in XAT 2026

Step by Step XAT 2026 Selection Process

The XAT exam 2026 was conducted on Jan 4, 2026, and the result will be released in the last week of Jan 2026, tentatively. The cutoff for various colleges accepting XAT scores will be released thereafter. Candidates will be shortlisted for the Group Discussion and Personal Interview (GD/PI) and concerned institutes will hold the GD/PI rounds with the candidates. The detailed XAT selection process steps can be found below:

Step 1: Shortlisting of Candidates for GD/PI Rounds

This step involves the lease of cutoffs for various programs and the shortlisting of candidates based on the marks obtained. XLRI Jamshedpur releases the cutoff marks for XAT exam on its official website. The cutoff for XAT 2026 will tentatively be released in Feb 2026.

Each of the allotted institutes will release the list of candidates shortlisted for the programs offered. The candidates are thereafter required to book their PI slots on the official website of the colleges.

Step 2: Booking Slots for PI after XAT Cutoff Release

After the release of the cutoff the candidates will be required to book the slots for Personal Interviews according to the marks scored and the XAT cutoff for the colleges.

The booking for the PI rounds will require the candidates to select the date and city for the interview. The slots are to be booked on the official website using the XAT login credentials.

For booking the slots for PI, the candidates must follow the below-mentioned steps:

Go to the official website of XAT
Login with the use of login credentials
Choose the city for interview
Click on ‘submit’

Step 3: GD/PI Rounds

The GD/PI rounds are held in the respective colleges or institutes for the final shortlisting of the candidates.

Step 4: Final Shortlisting of Candidates

The final merit list is prepared by the institute based on the marks scored by the candidates in XAT 2026. Other factors that are taken into account are the GD/PI scores of the candidates along with merit marking based on the educational background and work experience.

The GD round is the Group Discussion Round which involves a discussion of a topic given by the conducting authorities. The candidates are tested based on many qualities such as communication skills, ability to draw inferences, management skills, and leadership skills.

The PI round is the Personal Interview Round where the candidates are interviewed on a one-to-one basis. The interviews are conducted in the presence of an internal committee.

Check These XAT Percentile Details for Clarity:

Weightage in XAT Selection Process 2026

For the final selection of candidates, XLRI has fixed the weightage of various components of marking. Each component has a weightage. The final marks scored by the candidate are the cumulative marks of all the components added together as per their weightage.

The weightage of various components of marking the candidates for the final selection has been shared below:

Component	Weightage
XAT Exam Score	60%
GD/PI Score	25%
Educational background, general knowledge, essay, video and work experience	15%

However, in case the GD/PI score of the candidate is 10% or less, the candidate shall be considered ineligible for admission to any institute, even if the marks obtained in other components are good.

Also Check: Top 10 MBA Colleges Accepting XAT Exam 2026

Documents Required for XAT Selection Process 2026

When the final shortlisting of the candidates is done for XAT 2026, the candidates will be asked to report to the respective college for a round of document verification.

The list of documents shared below must be carried by the candidates to the venue to complete the admission process.

Original and a photocopy of the XAT 2026 counselling letter
XAT Scorecard
XAT Admit Card
Class 10th and 12th Marksheets
Class 10th and 12th Certificates
Graduation Marksheet
PwD Certificate (if applicable)
Caste Certificate (if applicable)
Passport sized photographs
Medical documents

Also Check: Online MBA: Course Details, Eligibility, Admission, Fees

XAT Cutoff 2026

The cutoff for the XAT exam is released on the official website of XLRI. It is expected to be released in Feb 2026 tentatively. The shortlisting of the candidates will be done following the release of the XAT cutoff 2026 for various programs under XLRI Jamshedpur.

XAT 2026 Cutoff for PGDM-BM (Expected)

The expected cutoff for PGDM-BM at XLRI Jamshedpur for 2026 has been shared below:

Category	Non Engineering (Male)	Non Engineering (Female)	Engineering (Male)	Engineering (Female)
QA	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77
DM	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77
VALR	82 - 87	78 - 83	82 - 87	78 - 83
All Inclusive	92 - 97	89 - 95	92 - 97	89 - 95

XAT 2026 Cutoff for PGDM-HRM (Expected)

The expected cutoff for PGDM-HRM at XLRI Jamshedpur for 2026 has been shared below:

Category	Non Engineering (Male)	Non Engineering (Female)	Engineering (Male)	Engineering (Female)
QA	68 - 73	58 - 63	72 - 77	62 - 67
DM	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77	72 - 77
VALR	87 - 92	87 - 92	87 - 92	87 - 92
All Inclusive	87 - 92	85 - 90	90 - 95	88 - 93

Also Check: List of Top B-schools in India

XAT Selection Criteria 2026 for Various Programs

The selection criteria are different for different programs under XLRI and the associated XAMI and other institutes. The XAT selection process after the exam is conducted, consists primarily of Group Discussion and Personal Interview rounds.

The selection criteria for different programs offered by XLRI have been shared below.

1. PGDM-BM : Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Business Management

The candidate must submit the registration fees for XAT 2026. INR 200 has to be given additionally for any additional program by XLRI.

The shortlisting of the candidates will be done based on the marks scored by the candidates in XAT. This program includes PI rounds conducted by the authorities in an online mode.

2. PGDM-GM or Ex-PGDM : Post Graduate Diploma in Management - General Management

The candidate must submit the registration fees for XAT 2026. INR 200 has to be given additionally for any additional program by XLRI. The XAT scores are considered for shortlisting the candidates.

The mode of selection for PGDM-GM at XLRI for the Indian candidates includes Personal Interviews to be conducted in the online mode. For the candidates applying from overseas, the Personal Interviews will be conducted over Skype or G-Talk.

3. PGDM-HRM : Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Human Resource Management

The candidate must submit the registration fees for XAT 2026. INR 200 has to be given additionally for any additional program by XLRI.

The XAT 2026 scores will be considered for the primary shortlisting of the candidates for further rounds of selection. The final round of selection includes Personal Interviews which shall be conducted in the online mode.

4. PGDM-GMBA : Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Global MBA

The candidate must submit the registration fees for XAT 2026. INR 200 has to be given additionally for any additional program by XLRI. The initial shortlisting of the candidates will be done based on the marks obtained in the XAT exam.

The final shortlisting for the Post Graduate Diploma in Management - Global MBA program will include a Group Discussion round and a Personal Interview round.

5. FPM : Fellow Programme in Management

The shortlisting of candidates is done based on XAT scores. The further round of selection consists of Personal Interviews conducted at XLRI Jamshedpur.

6. Ex-FPM : Executive Fellow Programme in Management

The candidates are shortlisted on a merit basis and XAT scores. Following this Personal Interview is conducted to finally select the candidates at XLRI Jamshedpur.

Also Check: Private or Government College? Which is Best for MBA?

Top Colleges Accepting XAT Scores

This year, more than 1.35 lakh students have selected to take the XAT (Xavier Admission Test). This figure is 40% higher than previous year, demonstrating the growing popularity of top MBA programs accepting XAT scores. Over 160 institutions offer hundreds of different programs, with admittance dependent on the XAT exam. The list of XAT 2026 participating colleges with their fee has been shared below.

XAT Colleges	Fees
XLRI Jamshedpur	INR 27.4 Lakh
MICA Ahmedabad	INR 21 Lakh
XIM University Bhubaneshwar	INR 21.5 Lakh
IMT Ghaziabad	INR 19.53 Lakh
IRMA Anand	INR 16.09 Lakh
FORE Delhi	INR 20.42 Lakh
GIM Panji	INR 21.04 Lakh
TAPMI	INR 19.45 Lakh
BITS Pilani	INR 10.87 Lakh
K J Somaiya	INR 21.78 Lakh
NIBM Pune	INR 16 Lakh
LIBA Chennai	INR 19.29 Lakh
Great Lakes	INR 19.95 Lakh
IFMR Chennai	INR 18.41 Lakh
IMT Nagpur	INR 15.12 Lakh

Candidates looking forward to joining any of the XAT colleges are advised to keep themselves updated with the XAT selection process 2026 and the dates associated with it to not miss out on any of the events.