Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Comparison of World’s Toughest Exams

Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Comparison of World’s Toughest Exams

K Guna SahitiUpdated on 14 Dec 2024, 05:49 AM IST

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.

LiveJEE Mains 2026 Registration LIVE: NTA session 1 application dates soon; exam, registration fee updatesOct 17, 2025 | 5:41 PM IST

The table below shows the opening and closing ranks for NIT Surathkal for JEE Main candidates.

Academic Program Name

Opening Rank

Closing Rank

Artificial Intelligence (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

2060

2650

Chemical Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

11287

13477

Civil Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

10550

22901

Computational and Data Science (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

3026

3471

Computer Science and Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

1191

1827

Electrical and Electronics Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

4787

6872

Electronics and Communication Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

2019

4347

Information Technology (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

2132

3160

Mechanical Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

6485

11950

Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

16213

22965

Mining Engineering (4 Years, Bachelor of Technology)

23987

28750

Read More

This Story also Contains

  1. Gaokao Vs JEE 2025
  2. Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Exam Overview
  3. Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Rate of Acceptance
  4. Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Preparation
Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Comparison of World’s Toughest Exams
Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Comparison of World’s Toughest Exams

Gaokao Vs JEE 2025

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

China's Gaokao: World’s toughest exam (Explained) | Comparison of Gaokao, JEE, and SAT Comparison between Gaokao and JEE 2025


Aspirants can go through the differences and similarities between JEE and Gaokao here.

Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Exam Overview

  • 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.

Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Rate of Acceptance

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.

Gaokao Vs JEE 2025 - Preparation

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.

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

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How many attempts for JEE Mains?
A:

Aspirants can take JEE Mains six times in three consecutive years starting from the year of clearing the 12th class.

Q: Is GATE harder than IIT JEE?
A:

Yes, GATE is considered harder than IIT JEE because of the level of the exam. GATE is held for admission to Master level courses.

Q: Is Gaokao tougher than UPSC?
A:

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. 

Q: Is Gaokao tougher than JEE Advanced?
A:

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. 

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Questions related to JEE Main

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Main ?

Hello,

JEE has two exams:

  1. JEE Main : for NITs and eligibility for JEE Advanced.
  2. JEE Advanced: For IITs

The percentage or marks needed to get seat in NITs and IITs are:

  • For NITs, aim for 150+ marks in JEE Main.
  • For IITs, aim for 50-60% marks in JEE Advanced.
  • Focus on concepts, practice, and take mock tests for best results.

Go through the link for more details:

https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-cutoff

I hope this answer helps you, All the best!



Heya,

Yes, you can refill your category again. In the case of the April session JEE Main registration, you have the option to change your category while registering your details only once. You can switch from General to EWS if you have a proper certificate. Just be certain that the EWS certificate is granted before the last date of the April session form and complies with the NTA's requirements of validity.

Hope it helps!!!

Hello,

Yes, you can get admission in DTU and IIIT Hyderabad with an outstanding JEE Main rank, as long as you pass Class 12 with at least 60% marks in PCM.


if we talk about DTU (Delhi Technological University) — you must have at least 60% in PCM and pass all subjects. The 75% rule is not strictly applicable here, so you can get admission based on your JEE Main rank and Delhi quota, if applicable.

For IIIT Hyderabad, admission is based on JEE Main percentile/rank, but the institute also requires a minimum of 60% in Class 12 (PCM). So, even with less than 75%, you are eligible if you meet this 60% requirement.

Hope you understand. ALL THE BEST.

Hello Tanishka,

Although i believe your attempting strategy and sequence depends entirely on your stage of preparation and your personal progress, i would suggest you sit for your January attempt even if you aim to seriously prepare for April.

Whatever stage of syllabus completion you are at, i suggest you give it a try to get an estimate of the exam difficulty and see roughly where you stand among the applicants that year. No matter how many mock tests you attempt, the actual examination environment happens to be very different from mock tests. The first attempt is going to give you an idea of the exam environment so you can prepare for your April attempt better.

All the best for your exams!

Hello Swati

Yes, your EWS certificate will be valid for JEE Main 2026 and counselling if it’s issued after April 1, 2025.
This is because EWS certificates are valid for one financial year from April to March.
So, a certificate made in October 2025 will be for FY 2025–26, which covers both JEE and counselling. You’ll need the certificate number during JEE registration in October 2025.
Even if you don’t have it yet, you can still register and upload it later during counselling. Just make sure the certificate clearly mentions the correct financial year.
Always keep a few extra copies and the original ready for verification.
You're good to go if it’s issued after April 1, 2025