9 IITs Left Out by JEE Toppers — What’s Driving the Trend?

9 IITs Left Out by JEE Toppers — What’s Driving the Trend?

Maniprabha SinghUpdated on 03 Sep 2025, 06:10 PM IST

Every year, lakhs of students appear for JEE Advanced with one dream to get into an IIT. For most, that’s the ultimate goal. But here’s a twist you may not have expected. Even top JEE Advanced rankers with ranks under 2000 are skipping as many as 9 IITs.

This Story also Contains

  1. JEE Advanced Report- What the Numbers Say?
  2. IIT Seats Taken by Top 2000 Rankers
  3. The 9 IITs Left Behind
  4. Why Do Students Prefer the Old IITs?
  5. What Do Students and Parents Look At?
9 IITs Left Out by JEE Toppers — What’s Driving the Trend?
9 IITs Left Out by JEE Toppers — What’s Driving the Trend?

Yes, you read that right. Getting into an IIT is no longer the only dream. Today’s students are becoming more selective. They don’t just want the IIT tag; they want the best course at the best college.

JEE Advanced Report- What the Numbers Say?

According to the JEE Advanced 2025 report, IT Bombay and IIT Delhi secured over 1,300 out of the top 5000 rankers. IIT Bombay itself has 73 students from top 100 students and a total of 755 students out of top 2000. Competing closely, IIT Delhi attracted 577 students. The secret to their success? Global exposure, vibrant campus life, and unbeatable placements.

Besides, a surprising trend is revealed while evaluating that top rankers are saying “no” to new IITs. The list includes IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Mandi, IIT Jodhpur, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT Bhilai, IIT Goa, IIT Palakkad, IIT Jammu, and IIT Dharwad.

Other IITs like IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Kharagpur are also in the race with 478, 448 and 517 students, respectively. These IITs have a legacy of excellence but they attract less students compared to IIT Delhi and Bombay. Alongside, some new IITs are slowly getting visibility because of their focus on innovation, research, and regional influence. Those emerging IITs are listed below

The Emerging IITs:

  • IIT Hyderabad – 222 students

  • IIT Guwahati – 305 students

  • IIT (BHU) Varanasi – 258 students

IIT Seats Taken by Top 2000 Rankers

IIT

Seats Taken

IIT Bombay

414

IIT Delhi

303

IIT Madras

265

IIT Kanpur

234

IIT Kharagpur

225

IIT Roorkee

187

IIT Guwahati

167

IIT Hyderabad

99

Other new IITs

Very few/almost none

Clearly, the top rankers are clustering around a few IITs, while many new ones are left almost empty.

The 9 IITs Left Behind

On closing checking the data, the situation becomes even clearer. Out of the top 5000 rankers, only 200 students chose the nine IITs. Here’s is the number of students opted from top 5000 JEE advanced rank holders.

IIT

Students from Top 5000

IIT Jodhpur

63

IIT Mandi

60

IIT Bhubaneswar

43

IIT Tirupati

14

IIT Jammu

4

IIT Goa

3

IIT Bhilai

2

IIT Dharwad

1

IIT Palakkad

1

This makes one thing clear that reputation still matters a lot. Students are not ready to compromise, even if it means skipping an IIT altogether.

Why Do Students Prefer the Old IITs?

So why are top rankers rushing towards Bombay, Delhi, Madras, and a few others? Here are the main reasons:

  • Peer Pressure: For years, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi have been the first choices of top JEE rank holders. This year also the trend follows with 73 out of 100 top ranks opting for IIT Bombay.

  • Better Placements: IIT Bombay, Delhi, and Madras have proved their worth by continuously placing elite students to big firms not only in India but abroad too. This excites both students and parents.

  • Experienced Faculty & Labs: The older IITs have strong faculty, advanced labs, and excellent research facilities. This makes them far more appealing than the newer ones.

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JEE Advanced Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
Select your preferred subject to view the chapters

What Do Students and Parents Look At?

Today, the IIT tag alone isn’t enough. Students and parents also compare research opportunities, faculty strength, placement records, campus culture and reputation (perception in the industry) to finalise the best suited college.

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Questions related to JEE Advanced

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Advanced ?

HELLO,

If you are from General category with 57 percent in 12th then to appear for JEE Advanced you need to be in top percentile of your board as the eligibility for JEE advanced you need at least 75 percent in 12th or in the top 20 percentile of your

HELLO,

Repeating class 11th does not affect your JEE eligibility .

For JEE Main there is no age limit , you can appear if you have passed or are appearing in class 12th in the eligible year , so repeating the class 11th will not affect your eligibility.

JEE Advanced

Hello,

You passed your Class 12 (Intermediate) from UP Board in 2024 .
As per JEE Advanced rules , a candidate can appear only in the year of Class 12 passing and the next consecutive year

  • Eligible years for you were 2024 and 2025

  • You already appeared in 2025

  • 2026

Hello,

Yes, many IITs now offer specialization BTech programs in AI and data science/engineering, separate from core CSE, while also providing AI/ML/robotics as electives or minors within CSE/other branches, with admission via JEE Advanced, but you'll find specific "robotics engineering" branches more at institutions like IITs/NITs, though IITs integrate robotics

Hello,

You can download the IIT JEE Last 5 Years Chapterwise PYQ's from the Careers360 website. Practising these papers will helps you to understand the exam pattern, to identify the important topics, to improve time management, and overall it enhances your exam preparation.

LINK: https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-question-papers

Hope it helps!