The XAT Decision Making (DM) section is critical for XLRI admissions because XLRI specifically weights DM heavily in final selection, often distinguishing between similarly-scoring candidates. The OP shared her preparation: "For XAT, I didn't do anything extra. Whatever I had prepared for CAT, I just did DM extra and solved couple of Previous year papers.
Gave dedicated 10-15 days." This 10-15 day window is the standard minimum for DM-specific prep. XAT 2026 structure: Verbal (26 Q), Decision Making (22 Q), Quant (28 Q), General Knowledge (25 Q).
DM has no sectional cutoff in composite scoring but carries disproportionate weight in XLRI shortlisting. Target 97+ DM percentile for XLRI BM. DM preparation strategies: solve 10+ years of XAT previous year papers (free on XLRI website), practice ethical dilemma frameworks (stakeholder analysis, short-term vs long-term consequence mapping), develop intuition for "most appropriate" vs "most ethical" choice distinction.
Common DM traps: extreme options (always/never), options that solve short-term but create long-term issues, options that ignore key stakeholders. Frameworks: utilitarian (greatest good), deontological (rules-based), virtue ethics (character-based). XAT overall cutoffs for XLRI BM: 97+ (general), 93+ (NC-OBC), 80+ (SC/ST).
XAT 95+ with strong DM converts XLRI BM. XLRI HRM has slightly lower XAT cutoff but still weights DM heavily. Post-CAT exam, dedicate 10-15 days to XAT full-paper practice, with 3-4 DM-specific sessions weekly.
Don't skip XAT; it's the primary route to XLRI regardless of your CAT score. Fees Rs 2,200 for XAT + XLRI application is low-cost optionality. Check your eligibility at collvera.