A safe score in JEE Main 2026 is the mark that candidates aim to get admission into top engineering colleges and universities. For the top NITs, a candidate must range between 270-280 marks. This means the average percentile in JEE Main should be around 97-98% for NITs, IIITs, and other top colleges. Candidates should score 280+ marks in JEE Main to get a good engineering branch in a top college. These ranks are taken in reference to the branch of Computer Science and Engineering. These ranks are also versatile numbers for every branch of engineering. A score between 280 and 300 is considered a safe target for admission to top engineering colleges or to take the JEE Advanced.
NTA has introduced the live photo capture facility in the JEE Main 2026 registration process. Students need to capture their real-time photo for the application form.
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Candidates taking the JEE Main can use JEE Main college predictors to find their expected colleges and courses. This article discusses the JEE Main safe score for different years.
The safe score for JEE Main 2026 is expected to be above 260. Securing the JEE Mains 2026 safe score can help students get a good branch in top NITs, IIITs, and other private colleges. For students aiming for JEE Advanced, the JEE safe score should be 280 and above to register for the exam. Ranks up to 20,000 can help them get admission into high paying branches in top colleges.
Candidates can refer to the table below for the JEE Main cut-off category-wise for 2025:
Category | JEE Main cut-offs |
General | 93.1023262 |
Persons with Disability | 0.0079349 |
EWS | 80.3830119 |
OBC-NCL | 79.4313582 |
SC | 61.1526933 |
ST | 47.9026465 |
The JEE Main safe score for top colleges is usually low for the evergreen branches. Candidates with a rank between 20,000 to 25,000 can easily get an evergreen branch in the top NITs. Candidates must have a score between 280-300 to get admission in top NITs like NIT Trichy, NIT Surathkal, and others. For instance, a candidate with a JEE Main rank of 15,000 got admission to NIT Silchar, and a rank of 18,000 got admission to IIIT Delhi. The rank can extend till 50,000 for admission into top private colleges and universities like Thappar University, and others. Below is a table describing the JEE Main ranks for top colleges and universities for the CSE branch:
Institutes | Closing Rank |
NITs | 20,000-25,000 |
IIITs | 25,000-30,000 |
Top 10 Private Colleges | 40,000-50,000 |
Top 10 Government Colleges | 30,000-40,000 |
The JEE Main safe score for 2024 was slightly lower than 2025. In 2024, the ranks were between 18,000-24,000 for the top NITs for the branches like CSE, EC, AI, and others. A candidate whose rank was 12,000 was able to get admission in NIT Delhi. The JEE Main score should be around 270 and above for targeting the top engineering colleges like NITs, IIITs and others. The rank extends between 30,000-40,000 for the top government colleges. Candidates can check the table for a summarised version of the ranks and their colleges:
Institutes | Closing Rank |
NITs | 18,000-24,000 |
IIITs | 24,000-28,000 |
Top 10 Private Colleges | 40,000-50,000 |
Top 10 Government Colleges | 30,000-40,000 |
Candidates need to have a rank between 24,000-30,000 for IIITs for the good branch. For instance, a candidate with a rank of 21564 got admission to IIIT Gujarat in the CSE branch.
Students' JEE Main scores should be around 250-270 to get admission to the top IIITs. Candidates having these JEE Main ranks can help candidates to themselves prepare accordingly for their upcoming exams. The closing rank can get lower or higher than the ranks mentioned below. However, below are the ranks of top government and private colleges for the CSE branch:
Institutes | Closing Rank |
NITs | 19,000-25,000 |
IIITs | 22,000-28,000 |
Top 10 Private Colleges | 40,000-50,000 |
Top 10 Government Colleges | 30,000-40,000 |
The JEE Main score for different institutions, such as NITs, IIITs and other universities, differs by department, institution, and category. Candidates having a rank between 18,000 to 23,000 can easily get admission in top NITs with top engineering branches. Students with around 15k ranks got admission into NIT Durgapur, BIT Mesra, and NIT Warangal. Students with a 15,000 rank must have scored between 220 and 260 in JEE Main. Below is a table with JEE Main ranks for different institutions in the OPEN category and for the CSE branch:
Institutes | Closing Rank |
NITs | 18,000-23,000 |
IIITs | 24,000-30,000 |
Top 10 Private Colleges | 40,000-50,000 |
Top 10 Government Colleges | 25,000-35,000 |
The JEE Main safe score for 2021 was between 16,000-23,000 for the top NITs. The JEE Main safe scores for NITs must be around 260 and above for getting admission to a good college. For example, candidates with a rank of 16,000 were able to secure admission in NIT Jaipur, NIT Durgapur, IIIT Gawalior, and others. Candidates can refer to the table below for the rank and their described colleges for CSE:
Institutes | Closing Rank |
NITs | 16,000-23,000 |
IIITs | 24,000-29,000 |
Top 10 Private Colleges | 40,000-50,000 |
Top 10 Government Colleges | 25,000-35,000 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The JEE Main safe score is the score to obtain admission into the top engineering colleges of India.
Candidate’s rank must be between 20,000 to 25,000 for getting admission into the top NITs in evergreen branches.
Candidates can get admission in the top private engineering colleges with a rank of 40,000-50,000.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
You should select Jharkhand for the JEE Mains application form because you will be reappearing in the exam as a private candidate in Jharkhand. The state you will be appearing in and your passing year are what you should fill in your JEE Mains application form, but not your 12th class state.
Hope it helps!!!
Hello Aspirant
If you want to get into IIT for AI Engineering, then you should definitely choose Pure Mathematics in Class 11–12. Applied Maths won’t help in JEE because IIT entrance exams use advanced math concepts. Pure Maths will build your problem-solving skills and cover everything needed for JEE Main and Advanced. It also prepares you better for AI, Data Science, and Coding in college. So for your dream of AI engineering at IIT, Pure Maths is the right and safest choice.
That's an excellent resource for targeted, efficient practice!
The JEE Main Chapter-Wise Previous Year Questions (PYQs) is one of the most effective study tools because it allows you to:
Identify High-Weightage Areas: Pinpoint chapters frequently tested in previous exams.
Understand Pattern: Master the specific style and depth of questions asked by NTA.
Improve Speed & Accuracy: Practice time management by solving questions sequentially.
You can download the PDF containing these essential chapter-wise questions (organized by Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) right here: https://engineering.careers360.com/download/ebooks/jee-main-chapter-wise-pyqs . Start integrating these into your daily study plan
Hi there,
You should take pure mathematics if you want to pursue AI engineering at IIT after JEE, because the syllabus of JEE Advanced is based on pure mathematics, so it will help you to have a strong base foundation in the concepts. You can perform well in your exam.
Hope it helps!!!
Hi SHOURYA
There is no problem if you upload a mismatched photo in the JEE Mains registration form, which does not match your newly updated Aadhar card photo.
Here are some steps which you can take -
I hope this information helps you. If you know more about the JEE Mains exam, you can visit our official website, careers360.
Here is the link - https://engineering.careers360.com/articles/jee-main-application-form-correction
Best Wishes.
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