Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - The JEE exam is the most popular engineering entrance exam in India. Whilst, Gaokao is a national-level standardised entrance exam for most UG admissions in China. The participation rate for Gaokao is 10 times higher than JEE, owing to its unlimited attempts and inclusion of a vast number of courses. In 2024, there were around 13.4 M test takers for Gaokao. In the same year, the number of applicants for JEE stood around 1.4 M. Gaokao is known as one of the most difficult tests because of its gruelling nature. However, preparation for JEE is also quite demanding. For more such comparisons between Gaokao and JEE 2025, please go through this page.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will allow the JEE Mains 2026 aspirants to make changes to their application form from December 1. What can be edited in JEE Main application form 2026
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Aspects | JEE | Gaokao |
Examination for | Admission to participating engineering colleges | For all undergraduate admissions (irrespective of desired course) |
When it is held | JEE Main - January and April JEE Advanced - July | Early June |
Number of students appeared in 2024 | 1.4 million | 13.42 million |
Number of days | Single day | 2 to 4 days |
Test duration | 3 hours (JEE Main) 6 hours (JEE Advanced) | 9 hours |
Compulsory subjects | Physics, chemistry and maths (paper 1) Maths, General Aptitude and Drawing/Planning (paper 2) | Mathematics, Chinese, one foreign language and course-oriented subject. |
Frequency | Twice | Once |
Acceptance rates | 1% in IITs | 0.1% in top universities |
Difficulty | Long exam - extensive memorization and application skills | Emphasis on deep conceptual understanding and problem solving |
Preparation time | Intense study schedules required starting from high school years | 2 to 5 years ahead for IIT admission |
Attempt limit | No limit | Six times in three consecutive years starting from the year of qualifying class 12th |
Aspirants can go through the differences and similarities between JEE and Gaokao here.
Duration- Gaokao and IIT JEE are known as two of the toughest exams in the world. Gaokao is held for 9 hours in the span of 2 to 4 days. Whereas, JEE main is held for 3 hours and JEE Advanced is conducted for 6 hours in a single day.
Number of Attempts - There is no limit to the number of attempts for Gaokao. It is held once a year. On the other hand, JEE Main is conducted twice per year and JEE Advanced is held once. Candidates can take JEE Main 6 times in three consecutive years, starting from the year of passing class 12th. Whereas, the IIT JEE Advanced attempt limit is restricted to two times in two consecutive years.
Number of Applicants- Every year, approximately 1.3 to 1.4 million candidates register for JEE. Since Gaokao is an entrance exam for all UG admissions and there is no attempt limit, around 13.4 million aspirants take this exam every year.
Difficulty level- One can not exactly compare the difficulty level of both the tests, since the focus of the exam and syllabus vary. Nonetheless, Gaokao is considered tougher due to its gruelling nature.
Each year around 85% of Gaokao examinees are successful in gaining admission to UG programmes. However, the acceptance rate by Gaokao is around 0.1% for elite universities like Peking University, Xinjiang University etc. When it comes to the JEE-based admission rate, only 1% of students get admission to IIT colleges in India.
Students are known to start their preparation for Gaokao in their early High School years. The test preparation schedules are extremely intense, equipping aspirants with the knowledge and patience to deal with the exam pressure.
JEE Main and JEE Advanced preparation starts 2 to 5 years before the actual exam. Students enrol in coaching classes for additional preparation.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Gaokao is an exam held for nine hours and JEE Advanced is held for six hours. Gaokao is widely known to be more difficult than most exams due to its long duration and vast syllabus. The questions asked in Gaokao are application-based and require more memorization. Whereas, the JEE exam requires conceptual clarity while solving the given problems.
The difficulty level of the exam depends on different factors. Gaokao is a single-level entrance exam for UG admissions. Whereas, UPSC is a three-stage competitive exam. However, both are difficult in their own way.
Yes, GATE is considered harder than IIT JEE because of the level of the exam. GATE is held for admission to Master level courses.
Aspirants can take JEE Mains six times in three consecutive years starting from the year of clearing the 12th class.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Yes, you may get a chance to correct it.
NTA usually opens a correction window before each session. In previous years, candidates were allowed to change their photo if it did not follow the guidelines, including background issues.
For JEE Main 2026 also, the correction window is expected. When it opens, you will be able to upload a proper photo with a plain white background.
What you should do now:
Keep checking your JEE Main login for any correction option.
Keep a correct photo ready (white background, clear image).
If NTA flags your photo, you can update it during the correction period.
So yes, you should get a chance to fix it once the correction window opens.
Hope it helps !
Hello,
The JEE main 2027 will include three subjects: Physics, chemistry and Mathematics.
PHYSICS:
Units and Measurements: kinematics, laws of motion, work, energy & power: rotational motion & moment of inertia: gravitation: properties of solids and fluids: thermodynamics: kinetic theory of gases: oscillations & waves: electrostatics: current electricity; magnetism & magnetic effects of current; electromagnetic induction & alternating current; optics; atoms and nuclei; modern physics topics.
CHEMISTRY:
Physical chemistry (basic concepts, mole concept, stoichiometry; atomic structure; chemical bonding; thermodynamics; equilibrium; chemical kinetics; solutions and chemical reactivity), inorganic chemistry (periodic table, classification of elements including p-, d-, f-block, coordination compounds), and organic chemistry including basics of hydrocarbons, organic compounds containing halogens/oxygen/nitrogen etc.
MATHEMATICS
Sets, relations & functions; complex numbers and quadratic equations; matrices and determinants; permutations & combinations; sequences & series; limits, continuity & differentiability; integral and differential calculus; coordinate geometry (lines, circles, conics); 3D geometry; vector algebra; trigonometry; statistics & probability.
Hope this helps you.
That's the most efficient approach to preparation! The entire JEE Main Syllabus is fundamentally based on the topics covered in the NCERT Class 11th and 12th textbooks for Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
Here's what you need to know:
NCERT is the Core: Approximately 60-70% of the JEE Main syllabus directly comes from the NCERT books. You must consider these textbooks as your foundation and cover every single topic and exercise.
Minor Overlaps/Additions: While most of the syllabus aligns, JEE Main sometimes includes a few concepts or deeper applications (especially in complex numbers, differential calculus, and some physics derivations) that extend slightly beyond the direct NCERT text, requiring extra practice.
Chemistry Exception: Physical and Inorganic Chemistry are almost 100% covered by NCERT. For Organic Chemistry, mastering the reactions and mechanisms taught in the NCERT is critical before moving to advanced texts.
You can download the PDF containing the complete, topic-wise JEE Main syllabus to cross-reference with your NCERT chapters here: https://engineering.careers360.com/download/ebooks/jee-main-syllabus . This linkage is your best study guide!
start by finishing the scoring topics in physics, chemistry and maths.. and revise them deeply through examples and pyqs.. spend 60% of ur time on topics that frequently appear in exam and the remaining 40% on weak areas.. give one mock test every week, analyze mistakes and create a revision book as well as formula book to keep revising the formulae and the mistakes.. plan ur schedule one week ahead and plan the concepts u want to study.. keep small milestones and reward urself constantly to maintain ur motivation.
In case you want to have access to the handwritten notes made by the JEE toppers, the most convenient manner is certainly by means of proper platforms which share the study material in a legal way. A good number of toppers have their notebooks uploaded on some educational apps or YouTube channels, and a few coaching institutes may offer compilation notes either for free or upon registration. Also, you can visit official JEE preparation forums where students share their handwritten notes for the convenience of others without any charges.
When you are downloading notes, it is always better to check if the source is trustworthy and the files are genuine because if you take the incomplete or incorrect notes, it will have an impact on your preparation. A more secure choice would be to look at the toppers' plans and brief notes that are written in the form of books or PDFs by the known coaching institutes. Never forget to combine such notes with the questions of previous years and mock tests so that your preparation will be complete.
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