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    JEE Advanced: What Is The Minimum Score For An IIT Seat?

    JEE Advanced: What Is The Minimum Score For An IIT Seat?

    Nidhi AgarwalUpdated on 07 May 2022, 09:02 AM IST

    The cut-off percentile for qualifying each subject in Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced has decreased over the three years since 2018, the latest available data shows. The overall percentages of marks achieved by the last rank holders has also decreased by more than seven percentage points over the same period. Also, there is no clear trend in the subjects in which JEE Advanced toppers score the most with each candidate performing differently.

    JEE Advanced: What Is The Minimum Score For An IIT Seat?
    JEE Advanced report- Marks distribution analysis (Source: Shutterstock)

    The JEE Advanced is conducted for admission to undergraduate Engineering, Science and Architecture courses in Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). It is held annually and follows the JEE Main which also serves as a screening round. Only the top 2.5 lakh rank-holders in the JEE Main are eligible for IIT JEE Advanced.

    Each year, the JEE Advanced is organised by a different IIT and at the end of it, a report is produced. Reports are available in the public domain till 2020.

    Careers360 compared three years JEE Advanced scores of the last-ranked students as per the Common Rank List (CRL), General category- Economically Weaker Section (Gen-EWS), Other Backward Classes- Non-Creamy Layer (OBC-NCL), Schedule Castes (SC) and Schedule Tribes (ST).

    JEE Advanced Paper Pattern, Marking Scheme

    Since 2018, JEE Advanced has been entirely a computer-based test (CBT) Candidates have the option to toggle between English or Hindi languages and can also modify the answer any time during the examination. To understand and be able to work with the test mode, two mock tests are provided at the website with no limits on the number of attempts.

    The JEE Advanced syllabus is based on Class 11 and Class 12 Maths, Physics and Chemistry. It consists of two papers, with equal number of questions and marks for each subject.

    The marking scheme involves full, partial or zero marking. One third of the questions in both the papers of JEE Advanced 2020 had partial marking. The total marks – the maximum a candidate can score – has increased in three years. It was 396 marks in 2020, 372 in 2019 and 360 in 2018.

    In 2020, Paper 1 consisted of 54 questions divided into three types – Multiple choice question (MCQ), Multiple select question (MSQ)and Numerical Answer Type (NAT), with six questions of each type in each subject. Paper 2 consisted of 54 questions as well with six of each – MSQs, NATs and Integer type questions, in each subject.

    JEE Advanced Question Paper Pattern

    Paper

    Question Type

    Number of Questions

    Marks

    Paper 1

    Multiple Choice Question

    6 questions for each Subject

    -1, 0, 3

    Multiple Select Question

    6 questions for each Subject

    -2, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4

    NumericalAnswer Type

    6 questions for each Subject

    0, 4

    Paper 2

    Integer Type

    6 questions for each Subject

    -1, 0, 3

    Multiple Select Question

    6 questions for each Subject

    -2, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4

    Numerical Answer Type

    6 questions for each Subject

    0, 4

    JEE Advanced Score, Rank

    In 2020, the lowest-ranked candidate in the CRL to gain admission in one of the 23 IITs was 30,919. Out of the 396 total score, they had secured 69, for which they would have had to answer approximately 23 – out of the total 108 – correctly. Every category of candidates found Maths the hardest to score in with the EWS category student getting the highest cut-off in the subject – 15.91 percent. The corresponding score on the CRL was 7.58 percent.

    JEE Advanced CRL: Score At The Lowest Rank (In %)

    Year

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Mathematics

    Total Marks

    2020

    18.18

    26.52

    7.58

    17.42

    2019

    18.55

    42.74

    13.71

    25

    2018

    27.5

    18.33

    29.17

    25

    JEE Advanced General EWS: Score At The Lowest Rank (In %)

    GEN-EWS

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Mathematics

    Total Marks

    2020

    13.64

    17.42

    15.91

    15.66

    2019

    16.13

    41.94

    8.87

    22.31

    JEE Advanced OBC-NCL: Score At The Lowest Rank (In %)

    OBC-NCL

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Mathematics

    Total Marks

    2020

    10.61

    23.48

    12.88

    15.66

    2019

    12.90

    39.52

    14.52

    22.31

    2018

    15

    22.5

    30

    22.5

    JEE Advanced SC: Score At The Lowest Rank (In %)

    SC

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Mathematics

    Total Marks

    2020

    7.58

    12.88

    5.30

    8.59

    2019

    12.90

    12.90

    11.29

    12.37

    2018

    14.17

    5

    18.3

    12.5

    JEE Advanced ST: Score At The Lowest Rank (In %)

    SC

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Mathematics

    Total Marks

    2020

    9.09

    14.39

    2.27

    8.59

    2019

    7.26

    22.58

    7.26

    12.37

    2018

    22.5

    5.83

    9.17

    12.5

    JEE Advanced Toppers

    Even though the total score has increased in three years, the top score percentage has decreased, from around 93.6 percent to 89 percent. Plus, it is clear the toppers as a group do not find one section more “scoring” than others as the subject a topper performed best in has changed every year.

    JEE Advanced Topper Scores (In %)


    2020

    2019

    2018

    Overall

    88.89

    93.01

    93.61

    Physics

    83.33

    91.13

    97.5

    Chemistry

    89.39

    90.32

    95

    Maths

    93.94

    97.58

    88.33

    Among the toppers, there was no fixed subject that was a high scorer. In 2020, the topper had the maximum score of 94 percent in Mathematics, while the female topper with All India Rank (AIR)17 had the highest score in Chemistry with 84.8 percent.

    JEE Advanced Toppers: Women

    The organising institute also ranks women candidates separately and the IITs have reserved supernumerary seats to improve the gender ratio in their BTech classrooms.

    JEE Advanced Female Toppers’ Scores (In %)


    2020

    2019

    2018

    Overall

    79.55

    82.80

    88.33

    Physics

    75

    83.87

    97.5

    Chemistry

    84.85

    83.87

    90.83

    Maths

    78.79

    80.65

    76.67

    Percentages in the above table have been worked out of the total score that the JEE Advanced paper carried for that year. Once again, there’s no one subject that toppers tend to score better in although in 2018 and 2019, women toppers scored the highest in Physics. The overall score dropped in 2019 but rose again the next year.

    JEE Advanced Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
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    Questions related to JEE Advanced

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to JEE Advanced ?

    Yes, it is possible to get a top 100 rank in JEE Advanced in one year (Class 12)—but it’s extremely difficult. It requires near-perfect execution, strong basics, and consistency for the entire year. Most rankers at that level usually prepare for 2+ years, so you’ll need to work smarter +

    Hi Anupam,

    You can follow these steps:

    • NIOS Enrollment: Register for NIOS 2027 exams and use Transfer of Credit (TOC) to boost your aggregate score.

    • JEE 2027: Use the new NIOS marksheet for JoSAA counseling.

    • Alternative: Qualify via the Top 20 Percentile rule of your board if 75% is not

    Hello student,

    Kindly go through the article to understand what a safe percentile is in JEE Main 2026 to qualify for JEE Advanced.

    Link  - JEE Main 2026 Advanced Qualifying Percentile

    Hope this will be helpful!