Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026

Shivani PooniaUpdated on 03 Sep 2025, 11:28 AM IST

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026 - Aspirants preparing for JEE Advanced 2026, a critical step toward securing admission to B.Tech programs at IITs, must navigate its high-stakes and competitive nature with precision. Unlike JEE Main, JEE Advanced demands deeper conceptual understanding and analytical skills, making it essential to avoid common errors that can derail performance. Despite rigorous preparation with past papers and mock tests, candidates often falter due to nervousness or oversight, impacting their scores.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026
JEE Main and JEE Advanced 2026

We, in collaboration with experts, have developed a streamlined guide to help candidates sidestep these pitfalls during JEE Advanced 2026 preparation and exam day. By addressing mistakes like poor time management, neglecting syllabus depth, or succumbing to stress, this guide offers practical strategies to enhance preparation efficiency. With a focus on targeted practice, error analysis, and maintaining composure, candidates can optimize their performance for both JEE Main and JEE Advanced. The exam is said to be tentatively taking place in May or June 2026.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Appearing for JEE Advanced 2026

  1. Guessing Answers: Candidates often guess or select options closest to their calculations to save time, but JEE Advanced’s negative marking scheme penalizes such guesses, significantly reducing the final score and impacting rank.
  2. Not Solving Questions on Paper: Attempting to solve complex problems mentally or partially without paper calculations frequently leads to errors, resulting in negative marks, especially in numerical or multi-step questions.
  3. Misreading Questions: Rushing through questions causes candidates to overlook critical details like units or keywords, leading to incorrect answers despite understanding the underlying concepts.
  4. Wasting Time on Difficult Questions: Spending excessive time (e.g., 5–6 minutes) on a single tough question reduces time for solvable ones, disrupting the exam strategy and lowering overall performance.
  5. Experimenting with Unknown Questions: Attempting unfamiliar questions instead of focusing on known or solvable ones wastes valuable time and risks negative marks, derailing a well-planned exam approach.
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Common Mistakes to Avoid During JEE Advanced 2026 Preparation

  1. Neglecting the Full Syllabus: Focusing only on high-weightage or favorite topics like Mechanics or Calculus while ignoring areas like Thermal Physics or Inorganic Chemistry leaves gaps in preparation, risking unexpected questions in the exam.
  2. Overloading with Study Resources: Using too many books or online materials simultaneously causes confusion, incomplete coverage, and inefficiency, diluting focus and overwhelming the preparation process.
  3. Inadequate Practice with Past Papers: Not solving enough JEE Advanced past papers (10–15 years) or skipping mock test results in unfamiliarity with the exam’s complex question patterns and time constraints.
  4. Ignoring Error Analysis: Failing to analyze mistakes from mock tests or practice sessions leads to repeated errors, such as conceptual misunderstandings or calculation mistakes, hindering progress.
  5. Poor Time Management in Study Schedule: Studying without a structured plan or spending excessive time on one subject/topic disrupts balanced preparation, leading to burnout or insufficient revision for all subjects.
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Additional Tips to Stay on Track During Preparations

1. Create a Strategic Yet Flexible Study Plan

Prepare a realistic timetable that divides your day into focused study blocks for each subject, including dedicated slots for revision, problem-solving, and mock tests. While having structure is crucial, allow flexibility to accommodate tough topics or unexpected delays. A balanced plan helps prevent burnout and ensures complete syllabus coverage with buffer time for deep dives.

2. Focus on Conceptual Understanding, Not Just Problem Quantity

Rather than rushing through hundreds of problems, ensure you deeply understand the theory behind each concept. JEE Advanced tests the application of multiple concepts in a single question, so train your mind to ask “why” and “how” every time you solve something. Build your ability to derive formulas, visualize problems, and solve from first principles.

3. Simulate the Exam Environment Regularly

Take full-length mock tests at least once a week under strict exam conditions (3 hours, no breaks, no distractions). Analyze your performance after every test, review your mistakes, identify weak concepts, and track your progress over time. Simulating the pressure of the actual exam will sharpen your decision-making, stamina, and accuracy.

4. Maintain a Strong Error Log and Revision Cycle

Keep a dedicated notebook or digital tracker for mistakes, note down the concept, type of error (silly, conceptual, or misread), and the correct approach. Revisit this log weekly to prevent repetition of errors. Alongside, follow a structured revision plan to revisit older topics regularly so that they remain fresh until the exam.

5. Take Care of Your Mental and Physical Well-being

Consistency thrives on energy and mental clarity, so prioritize sleep, nutrition, and physical activity. Avoid comparison with others and stay away from unnecessary distractions like excessive social media or study forum stress. Practice mindfulness techniques like journaling, meditation, or even short walks to clear your mind and recharge.


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How can we reduce silly mistakes in JEE advanced?
A:

Yes, in the above article there are some valuable pointers which aspirants can refer to.

Q: Is JEE advanced easy?
A:

Not at all. It is one of the premier as well as toughest entrance exams in India However, with dedication, perseverance and continuous hard work aspirants can qualify it easily.

Q: What are common preparation mistakes of IIT JEE Advanced?
A:

Some of the common mistakes which aspirants make are - Referring to too many books and not sticking with one, following random study materials and not giving serious attention to test series.

Q: How can we avoid calculated mistakes in JEE Advanced?
A:

Candidates can avoid these mistakes by referring to expert guidance, topper interviews, senior faculty members and make sure to stick with the basics. Candidates are advised to not go over with the preparations and maintain a steady pace.

Q: Which is the toughest section in JEE Advanced paper?
A:

It depends on person to person, however, majority of candidates have found mathematics and chemistry to be tricky.

Q: Can I crack JEE advanced in 1 month?
A:

No, not at all. I will not demotivate you, but 1 month is not enough to qualify the JEE advanced exam. To qualify the JEE advanced exam, candidates must at least give 9 to 12 months of sheer dedication.

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Questions related to JEE Advanced

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Advanced ?

You can easily download IIT JEE 2025 papers in Hindi. For JEE Main, websites like Careers360 give shift-wise question papers with answers in Hindi. For JEE Advanced, you can get both Paper 1 and 2 in Hindi from the official site jeeadv.ac.in (https://jeeadv.ac.in/)

Hello Alka

For JEE Advance, the best 5 subjects through which you need to calculate your percentage is:

1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Mathematics
4. One language (which is English)
5. One other subject of your choice

So you will need to choose PCM + English + a 5th subject to calculate your percentage.

Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!

Hello!

In JEE Advanced eligibility, the top 5 subjects from your board exam are considered. Usually, they are Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and any two other subjects from the main curriculum. If CMS is your optional subject and IT is an additional subject, the board will still calculate based on the 5 highest marks from your eligible subjects. Additional subjects are considered only if they replace a lower score from another subject. For example, if IT has a higher score than English or CMS, then IT can be counted. However, some boards follow strict rules where only main subjects are counted, so you must verify with your board’s official notification. The 75% criteria means your average percentage in those best 5 subjects must meet the requirement. My advice—list all your subjects, arrange them from highest to lowest marks, and take the top five as per rules.

Hope this clears your doubt!


Getting under AIR 100 in JEE Advanced in 6 months is very tough but possible if you already have strong basics and are scoring high in JEE Main-level tests. You'll need 10–12 hours of focused daily study, advanced problem-solving, and regular mock tests. If you're starting from scratch, it's unlikely, but you can still aim for a good IIT rank with consistent effort.

Hello,

To qualify for the JEE Advanced, you need to score a certain percentile or above. This percentile may change depending on those years competition. Generally you need a percentile of 93-94 to qualify for the JEE Advanced. So, every year only 250,000 candidates from the JEE Mains out of all candidates qualify for the JEE Advanced exam.

I hope it resolves your query!!