If you are planning on adding relevant work experience to your profile then taking another year to attempt CAT can be beneficial. If not, then this decision can hurt your case. CAT is also quite unpredictable, so you can’t be certain that you will get into IIM A next year.  Joining XLRI can be a good decision. It is one of the best B-schools in the county. There are people who may argue that IIM A offers better opportunities, which may even be true. However, XLRI is a different kind of brand with an enviable campus experience. As a part of XLRI, you will have access to their extensive alumni base across the industries, sectors, and institutes.  Add up these factors and weigh in your options before making any decision. 

One of my friends is a student of XLRI and her interview experience was quite strange. When she looks back at the experience it seems quite funny. Here are a few snippets of her experience.  First, she was asked to explain the differences between Shakespearean Tragedy and Sophoclean Tragedy. This question is actually quite great for checking how deeply you can analyze dramatic narratives. But the fact that it was the very first question makes it funny.  There was a follow-up question to the previous one. The question was, ‘How do you relate Shakespearean tragedy to human resources?’ and she was asked to state it with appropriate examples. One of the interviewers was from Civil Engineering and asked questions like, ‘What is the most reactive metal?’ (Ans- Sodium) and ‘What is the atomic number of Sodium?’ These questions were strange for my friend as she is a humanities student. Based on many incidents that I heard from my friends over the year, it seems that most interviews of B-schools are of non-standardized nature. In most cases, the type of questions they ask depends on what presumptions they make about the candidate, and some depending upon their bias on a particular topic. However, it is a matter of discussion. Here is an interesting anecdote, I know a few people who have failed in XLRI PI round but have successfully cracked IIMs PI.

The brand value of ISB and XLRI, FMS, IIM L can’t be compared. ISB is known for its executive PGP while XLRI, FMS, and IIM L are reputed for their two-year-long MBA progran. These are some of the top-rated B-Schools in the country and have long-standing legacies.  ISB has a huge batch size of around 800. Due to the huge batch size students face problems getting decent opportunities through campus placements. The ROI isn’t that good. The total course fee for PGPM is around INR 36.3 lakhs. While the average CTC is around 34.07 LPA, according to the recent highlights of ISB placements.

It’s not true that XLRI doesn’t consider past academics for shortlisting students. They consider the academic records along with the other factors in your profile but the weightage assigned to academics is not as much as other reputed management institutes like IIMs.  Here is the weightage of different components for final selection at XLRI.  XLRI Selection Criteria Weightage 2022:  XAT score - 60% GD/PI - 25% Academic profile, essay, GK, work experience, video - 15% As they assign only 15% for academic profile and other factors, if you perform well in XAT and GD-PI round, you will have a good chance of converting the interview call. Also, XAT doesn’t have any minimum required mark in graduation like CAT.  So, if you want to join XLRI, prepare well for XAT and work on your communication skills. 

If you aren’t sure about the field of specialization, then you should choose XLRI. It is widely reputed for its HR program. The head HR of most of the top MNCs in India are XLRI alumni. It is more reputed and has a large alumni base. XLRI placements are better than SPJIMR. The average CTC for the institute is INR 30.73 LPA.  SPJIMR has a better placement record for Information Management and Operations, compared to XLRI. 

XLRI has released the required XAT cutoff 2022 for their PGDM HRM and BM program. Here is the XLRI HRM Cutoff:  Category  VALR DM  QA Overall Male Engineering  80 75 80 93 Female Engineering  75 68 74 90 Male Non-Engineering  80 75 73 90 Female Non-Engineering 75 68 64 87 Students who meet the cutoff requirement will be shortlisted for the GD-PI round of admission. 

Due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation, XLRI took interviews online for 2021-23 batch. My brother had a zoom interview for XLRI BM. He completed Integrated M.Sc from IIT Kanpur and then pursued M.Phil and Ph.D. from Tilburg University.  The interview lasted for 40 mins. There were four interviewers.  After the introduction round they asked him about his Ph.D. and why he didn’t complete it.  They asked him whether he has any backup plan in case he wasn’t selected.  There were also questions on his hobbies, his career choices after MBA, his job interview experience.  They ended the interview with some questions on current affairs.  Overall, his XLRI Interview experience was smooth. 

XLRI is an elite B School that not only offers a plethora of management programs but also a wide range of executive education courses. Owing to its serene location in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, XLRI Jamshedpur has a rather lively and mixed community of peers, faculty, pool, and staff. The course curriculum is taught through a practical approach and is quite rigorous. The Pedagogy involves experiential learning, a Case-based approach, and real-life examples. The faculty pool comprises extremely qualified and learned professors that impart Knowledge through unique methodologies and make the students ready to face the corporate world. XLRI does not solely focus on academics and gives equal importance to extracurricular activities. Its rich extracurricular culture is promoted through a variety of cultural sports and social activities. A number of student-driven clubs and committees work relentlessly throughout the year to enable students to develop holistically With the right mindset of learning and reaching new heights, one can make the most out of the enriching campus life at XLRI Jamshedpur.

XLRI is the better option among these. The institute has a strong industry presence. According to the recent highlights, XLRI placements are pretty good. During the 2022 placement drive, the average CTC offered was INR 30.73 LPA. While the highest CTC offered was INR 60 LPA.  XLRI is widely reputed across the country. If you check the credentials of multinational brands operating in India, most of them are XLRI alumni.  Student life at XLRI is much better compared to IIM L. The personality development programs of XLRI are pretty good and help students gain management and leadership traits. IIM L has a more traditional approach toward academics. 

There may be two possibilities here for your rejection- you were nervous during the interviews Or you came across as an aggressive/manipulative/inflexible kind of person to the interviewers. With your profile, you should probably wait for one year to give a shot at IIM A, B, C, L, before going for XLRI. Prepare for the interview with a calm and good presence of mind.  Even though CAT is unpredictable, take your chances, if you aspire to join Consulting or Finance firms. If you aspire for a Marketing/ Operations/ General Management role, then there would be hardly any difference. Waiting for a year is a good idea. Along with the reviews and data, consider preference to be known as an IIM A alum than an XL alum. How well you manage your emotional and logical reasons for pursuing MBA is what you need to think about.