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.
Yes, droppers will have to reapply for the JEE Main exam for each session they plan to attend. Candidates who passed Class 12 in 2024, 2025 or are going to appear for the exam in 2026 can apply for JEE Mains 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
The date of JEE Advanced 2026 is not announced yet.
But according to previous years records we can assume that the registration for JEE Advanced 2026 exam will likely start in April and the date of exam will lie in the month of May.
For your upcoming JEE Advanced 2026 will need to study more harder than you did in your JEE Mains Exam.
Also you need to check the syllabus which is being asked in the exam. Here is the detailed information about JEE Advanced 2026 ---- Check Here
Hello,
Yes, you need an OBC-NCL certificate if you want to claim the OBC-NCL reservation in JEE Main .
Here are the key points:
If you want the OBC-NCL quota, you must upload a valid OBC-NCL certificate.
The certificate should be issued by the government and must follow the latest format.
It should usually be issued on or after 1 April of the current admission year.
If you do not have a valid certificate, you will be treated as a General (Unreserved) candidate.
If you apply under General category, then no OBC certificate is needed.
Hope it helps !
Hello,
Yes, transistor is included in the JEE Main 2026 Physics syllabus .
Topics generally covered are:
Junction transistor and its working
Characteristics of a transistor
Transistor as an amplifier (common-emitter)
Transistor as a switch
Basic use of transistor in simple circuits
Hope it helps !
Hi Vejendla Pooja
NTA (National Testing Agency) conducts the JEE Main exam for science stream students who appear or have passed class 12th and want to get admission to undergraduate courses like B.Tech (Bachelor of Technology) or BE (Bachelor of Engineering).
The "Enrollment Number" for the JEE Mains exam refers to the class 11th registration number, which is issued by the school. This number is compulsory for all the students who want to give the JEE Mains exam, and this number is used for verification purposes, such as academic records and cross-checking.
If you do not have this enrollment number, you should contact your school administration to get it, and without this number, you cannot register for the JEE Mains exam 2025-2026.
I hope this information helps you.
Best Wishes.
Hello,
In 2025, IIT Madras JEE Advanced, closing ranks are around 171 for CSE, 306 for AI & Data Analytics, 849 for Electrical, about 1300 for Computational Engineering, around 1440 for Engineering Physics, 2468 for Mechanical, and about 6112 for Civil.
To know more access below mentioned link:
https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-advanced-cutoff-for-iit-madras
Hope it helps.
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