Your profile is apparently not as bad as you are considering it to be. Nonetheless, you are clearly eligible to be admitted to XLRI, given that you actually have good scores in your XAT examination. You should not stress about your past percentages.

There are candidates with somewhat similar profiles, and it is not quite a major constraint in the selection procedure. XLRI is one among very few institutes that do not necessarily dismiss a candidate for low scores in their academics and rather judge them after a complete test on their personality.

But, there is one thing you should have an idea about. It is that, during the summer placements, the first shortlisting is generally conducted distinctly on the basis of these percentages, (basically, because several recruiters naturally have to go through more than 50 resumes in about a day or two, making it quite usual to shortlist on the basis of academic records. It is rather very common.)

It is not that you won’t get any chance in the shortlist process, but your shortlists might usually be fewer than most of your peers. Thus, it clearly depends on how you prepare for it, or your skills to achieve the same. Hope this clears most of your doubts. 

In most cases, XLRI interviewers don’t give much attention to the previous academic scores. But, if you are a low scorer, then the institute usually expects a better XAT score and a good enough profile.

The points below state the requirements that you should meet in order to secure a seat at XLRI

1. It is true that cracking XAT and having an excellent score is somewhat difficult than cracking CAT. There are additional data manipulation questions asked in XAT, other than basic questions. You need to prepare a lot in order to have a decent score in XAT.
2. Every student should study with an interest in what he/she is gaining. Solving puzzles, attempting previous year’s XAT verbal questions, understanding the pattern of the exam, etc is what students need to indulge in.
3. If you have an average score in graduation, then it cannot be changed anymore. So, it is advised to have at least 97 percentile in XAT to expect a call from XLRI.

Therefore, although XAT is tough, students need to prepare with their full enthusiasm in order to succeed in getting a good score. Having a good score in XAT and performing well in the interviews is enough for you to get a seat in XLRI.

Yes, you can get admission at XLRI with 60% marks in graduation but you need to score very well in the XAT examination. XLRI does not give much weightage to the past academic scores. You need to perform well in XAT and personal interview.

The cutoff for male candidates at XLRI was -

• For the BM program: 95 percentile.
• For HRM program: 93 percentile.

While for female cutoffs were -

• For the BM program: 93 percentile.
• For the HRM program: 91 percentiles.

If you are looking to enter XLRI without any prior work experience then you need to have other good skills like good communication skills. This will help you in getting a job because competition among the freshers in this college is very high.

To get into top MBA colleges like XLRI and IIFT, you would, without a doubt have to work really hard. It would be wrong to say that it is impossible. It is possible, one just has to stay focused on what they are doing and study well.

Any recruiter from IIFT or XLRI checks whether you will prove to be a profitable employee to them or not. This is the core strategy behind their entire recruitment process. Plus, even when you manage to get into reputed colleges like these, remember that the panel would give great importance to your academic background. Low grades could prove to be a great setback for them and for you too- in terms of placement. It can block you from grabbing a placement at a good company. That's how tough the overall criteria is!

My personal advice would be to try to leave such an impression of yourself that your personality becomes memorable to them. You have to be solid and confident throughout the interview. In case you are preparing for the exams, just work hard.

If you are one of those who already have cleared the exam and simply want an idea on the interview and preparing for it, you will get it through hard work.v

One of my friends, being part of XLRI Jamshedpur, has a better insight on the same. Here is what he has to say about the selection procedure at XLRI.

For interviews, XLRI shortlists students based on their XAT percentile. But once you get a call for the interview, what will matter more is your personality, and profile rather than your marks.

My friend got an interview call for his Satellite Business Management course (PGCBM) in XLRI, Jamshedpur. During his interview, the professors commented on his poor B.Sc marks. But they also put emphasis on the quality of his overall General Knowledge (GK), Subject Knowledge of Statistics, Supply Chain, and Operation Research.

So, to answer your question, marks do matter to some extent, but if you have an impressive profile you can do well in the interview.