The XAT 2026 cutoff is expected to be officially released by XLRI Jamshedpur shortly after the announcement of the XAT 2026 results. The XAT 2026 exam itself is scheduled for 4 January 2026, with results being released on 16 January 2026. Candidates will access the cutoff details in online mode on the official XAT website. The cutoff marks and percentiles serve as a benchmark for shortlisting candidates for further admission stages like interviews and group discussions in XLRI and other top management institutes accepting XAT scores.
For XLRI, which is the conducting body of XAT, the cutoff for the PGDM Business Management (BM) program is likely to be around the 96th percentile for general category male candidates and about the 91st percentile for female candidates. For the PGDM Human Resource Management (HRM) program, the cutoff is expected to be approximately the 95th percentile for male candidates and the 90th percentile for female candidates. These XAT cutoffs vary not only by program but also by gender and engineering versus non-engineering background, with sectional cutoffs in VALR, DM, and QA-DI sections.
Other top institutes accepting the XAT score have slightly lower cutoffs ranging from the high 80s to mid-90s percentile. Meanwhile, mid-tier institutes usually set cutoffs between 75 to 85 percentiles. Candidates from reserved categories have relaxed cutoffs compared to the general category, with OBC cutoffs ranging from 65 to 70 percentiles at top institutes.
Below are the XAT Cut Off 2026 expected percentiles for XLRI MBA programs:
Note:- The figures prepared are merely estimates based on records over time and are subject to change based on other factors like the difficulty level of the exam and the number of applicants appearing.
The following are the previous year XAT cutoffs for XLRI MBA programs in Business Management (BM) and Human Resource Management (HRM) by category:
How to Check XAT Cut-Off Marks?
Follow these steps to check the official XAT cut-off marks:
Step 1: Visit to official XAT website https://xatonline.in/
Step 2: Navigate to the “Cut-Off Marks” section.
Step 3: Enter your XAT ID and password or date of birth.
Step 4: Go through the cut-off marks for your category and institute preferences.
Factors Influencing XAT 2026 Cutoffs
There are multiple factors which affects the cutoffs scores for the XAT exam 2026, including the following:
The number of candidates taking the exam affects the cutoffs; more candidates means tougher competition and high cutoffs.
If the exam is harder, the cutoffs go down because fewer people score high. If the exam is easier, cutoffs tend to increase.
The number of seats available in top programs like XLRI BM and HRM also impacts cutoffs. The fewer the seats, the higher cutoffs.
Cutoffs often follow patterns from previous years, so past cutoff trends help predict current cutoffs.
How well candidates perform overall in the exam influences where the cutoff is set.
Different cutoffs apply to engineering and non-engineering candidates, and also differ for male and female candidates.
Cutoffs are also affected by minimum required scores in individual sections like verbal, quantitative, and decision-making.
Top-ranked colleges usually have higher cutoffs due to higher demand and limited seats.
Frequently Asked Questions
The cut-off is likely to be around 95–96 percentile, based on previous year trends. However, final scores may vary depending on the exam’s difficulty and the number of test-takers.
Yes, XLRI and other institutes offer lower cut-off percentiles for reserved categories to ensure fair opportunities. For OBC it's around 90–92 percentile, for SC it's 85–87 percentile, for ST it's around 80–82 percentile.
Visit xatonline.in, log in using your XAT ID and password, and go to the “Cut-Off Marks” section. You’ll find the category-wise and institute-wise benchmarks.
Not necessarily, clearing the cut-off only qualifies you for the next round, which includes Group Discussion (GD), Personal Interview (PI), and Written Ability Test (WAT). Final admission depends on the candidate’s overall performance.