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.
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).
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 |
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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 |
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.
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.
On Question asked by student community
JEE Main and JEE Advanced are both national-level engineering entrance examinations, but they serve different purposes.
JEE Main is conducted for admission to NITs, IIITs and other participating engineering institutes. It is also the qualifying examination for appearing in JEE Advanced.
JEE Advanced is conducted for admission to the IITs
Start your JEE preparation from Class 11 itself by building strong concepts in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Follow your Class 11 syllabus systematically and avoid studying only for board examinations.
A good approach is:
Complete each chapter conceptually and solve basic questions first.
Gradually move to JEE-level problems.
Practise previous-year
After qualifying JEE Advanced and getting an IIT, there is no single course that is best for everyone. Your choice should depend on interest, rank, career goals and the branch available to you.
Generally:
CSE/AI/Data Science – good for software, AI, data and technology careers.
Electrical Engineering – useful for
Hello Student, I can definitely help you create a balanced plan, but I would not recommend preparing JEE , NEET , KCET , MHT-CET and school exams as five completely separate syllabi. Your Class 11 NCERT/board concepts should become the common base, with JEE-level Maths/Physics and NEET-level Biology/Chemistry added according
Hello Student, For JEE Main and JEE Advanced preparation, a good test series should include full-length mock tests, chapter-wise tests, previous-year questions, detailed solutions, and performance analysis. It is useful to take regular timed tests and analyse mistakes after every test rather than only checking the score. If you tell
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