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.
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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)
Aspirants can take JEE Mains six times in three consecutive years starting from the year of clearing the 12th class.
Yes, GATE is considered harder than IIT JEE because of the level of the exam. GATE is held for admission to Master level courses.
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.
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.
On Question asked by student community
Hi aspirant,
If you are willing to give jee and you are in 12 th then it is best to focus from now on as u have to give your boards this year as well . And according to the exam pattern you can prepare for your jee prelims with you boards at the same time it is hardly differ from each other . But if you have 0 preparation and even your basics are not clear then i suggest u to take a drop and prepare to the fullest for next year thankyou .
Hello Hari
You can find JEE Mains last 10 year Previous Year Questions (PYQs) with detailed solution at CAREERS360 website . CAREERS360 provide JEE Mains as well as JEE Advance questions with solutions in many languages like English and Hindi.
Here's the link: JEE Mains Last 10 Years PYQs by CAREERS360
Hope this link helps! Thank You!!!
Hello Aspirant,
If you already have a Class 12 from NIOS in April 2025 with 67%, you are technically considered a “pass”. But, now since you are reappearing for Class 12 through BOSSE (Sikkim) in October 2025, in order to increase your percentage to 75% (for eligibility) here is how it works:
In the JEE Main Application Form:
For JoSAA Counselling:
Here’s a plan for JEE Mains 2026 in 4 months:
1. Divide time: 2 months for Class 12 syllabus, 1 month for Class 11, 1 month for full revision & mock tests.
2. Daily schedule: 6–7 hours study; 50% for theory & problem-solving, 50% for practice & revision.
3. Topic-wise focus: Prioritize high-weightage chapters and weak areas first.
4. Daily problem practice: Solve previous year questions and chapter-wise exercises.
5. Weekly tests: Take 1 full-length test weekly, analyze mistakes, and revise weak concepts.
6. Consistency: Avoid skipping days; maintain notes and formula sheets for quick revision.
If you want to crack JEE exam you read to dedicatedly prepared for that from the scratch to the advance focus on high weightage topic and prepare question in the time based and continuously practice the previous question this will help to know the pattern of JEE exam questions
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