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.

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: 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. 

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 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: 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.

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Questions related to JEE Main

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to JEE Main ?

Hello,

Yes, you can be eligible , but it depends on how you passed Mathematics.

JEE Main
You are eligible if:

  • You passed Class 12 with Physics and Mathematics.

  • Mathematics was passed as a full subject from NIOS.

  • NIOS is a recognized board.

  • Having two marksheets is allowed.

You are not eligible if:

  • Mathematics was taken only as an improvement or additional without passing it as a full subject.

MHT-CET
You are eligible if:

  • You passed Class 12 with Physics and Mathematics.

  • Mathematics from NIOS is shown as a passed subject.

  • NIOS is recognized for Maharashtra admissions.

  • Mathematics was passed before the admission year.

You are not eligible if:

  • Mathematics is not shown as a passed subject.

Important

  • Mathematics must be a separate and passed subject.

  • Keep both marksheets during counselling.

Always check the current year information brochure before applying.

Hope it helps !

The marks needed for a 99+ percentile in the JEE Main January attempt depend on the difficulty of the paper and the total number of candidates. Generally, you need roughly *180–200* marks out of 300 to hit the 99+ percentile. The exact cutoff varies each session, so checking the official NTA percentile score calculator or previous year cutoffs gives a more precise idea.


Hello aspirant

JEE Main accepts NIOS, so you can appear if you meet the basic eligibility.

BITS does not accept marks from two different boards, so this option won’t work for BITS.

VIT and SRM generally accept NIOS, but having two separate mark sheets can be an issue. You should check their official eligibility rules before applying.

Thankyou I hope this help

Hello,

The NCHM JEE 2026 registration is expected to start in the second week of December 2025 .
The application form will be available online.
The last date to apply will likely be February or March 2026 .

The exact dates will be announced in the official notification.

Hope it helps !

Hello,

Here are some Government colleges that generally do not require 75% CBSE board criteria for admission through JEE mains based or university counselling.

  • Delhi technological university
  • Netaji subhas university of technology
  • Jamia milia Islamia
  • Aligarh Muslim university
  • College of engineering ,Pune
  • Jadavpur university, Kolkata
  • Punjab engineering college,  Chandigarh

I hope it will help you. Kindly check the latest eligibility rules for the specific year.

Thank you.