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    Toughest Shift of JEE Main 2025 Revealed - Analysis & Paper Review

    Toughest Shift of JEE Main 2025 Revealed - Analysis & Paper Review

    Shivani PooniaUpdated on 13 Jan 2026, 11:33 AM IST

    Toughest Shift Of JEE Mains 2025 - JEE Mains 2025 analysis can provide aspirants with insightful information on what to expect for this year's exam. Aspirants can also find the details of the toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 below. An overall comparison has been made between the January and April session. The toughest shift of jee mains 2025 for January and April session has also been given below separately. This data is based on intensive research, student feedback, JEE Main paper analysis and expert insights.

    LiveJEE Main 2026 City Slip (OUT) LIVE: Session 2 exams from April 2 for BTech; timings, pattern, marking schemeMar 22, 2026 | 8:00 PM IST

    Candidates preparing for JEE Mains 2026 session 2 can check the NITs expected cut-offs from the table given below.

    NITsEstimated PercentileApprox. Marks
    NIT Trichy
    Above 99.9
    230 – 260+
    NIT Surathkal
    99.8 – 99.9
    225 – 255
    NIT Warangal
    99.8 – 99.9
    220 – 250
    NIT Calicut
    99.7 – 99.85
    210 – 240
    Read More

    This Story also Contains

    1. Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025
    2. Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025 Session 1
    3. Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025 Session 2
    4. Toughest JEE Mains Paper Ever
    Toughest Shift of JEE Main 2025 Revealed - Analysis & Paper Review
    Toughest Shift of JEE Main 2025 Revealed - Analysis & Paper Review

    Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025

    The toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 is the slot in which students face the highest number of difficult questions. The January 28 Shift 1 JEE Mains paper was supposedly the toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025. A detailed analysis of this paper is given below followed by some questions:

    JEE Mains 2025 January 28 Shift 1 Question Paper Analysis - Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025

    The analysis of toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 January is given below:

    1. Overall Difficulty Level - January 28, Shift 1 had a high difficulty level across Mathematics and Physics. This made it leading to lower overall attempt rates.

    2. Mathematics Section - Mathematics was lengthy and included intensive calculations, with questions from calculus, vectors, 3D geometry and probability requiring multi-step reasoning and significant time investment.

    3. Physics Section - Physics had concept-driven and multi-concept numerical questions. Especially from chapters like mechanics and thermal physics. This made it more challenging than typical JEE Main standards.

    4. Chemistry Section - Chemistry was comparatively moderate and NCERT-based.Out of all three, it was the most scoring section. Although, it lacked sufficient simplicity to fully offset the difficulty of Maths and Physics.

    5. Time Management Impact - The demanding Mathematics and Physics sections needed extreme time management which most of the students were not prepared for.

    6. Normalization and Score Impact - Due to its elevated difficulty, this shift is expected to benefit candidates through score normalization, ensuring fair percentile calculation relative to easier shifts.

    Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025 Session 1

    The session 1 or the January session was comparatively easier than the April session. This is because it was considered easy to get a higher percentile mark in the January session than the April session. January 28 Shift 1 JEE Mains 2025 was the toughest shift of the entire 2025 JEE Mains exam, not only the session 1. A detailed analysis of the question paper has already been done above. The top 3 toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 session 1 are listed below with toughest ones first:

    1. January 28, 2025 Shift 1 - toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 April.
    2. January 28, 2025 Shift 2 - Maths section was lengthy; Physics was tricky; Chemistry was moderate
    3. January 23, 2025 Shift 1 - Maths section was lengthy; Physics was moderate; Chemistry was easy.

    JEE Main 2025 Shift

    Overall Difficulty Level

    Mathematics

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Key Observations

    January 28, 2025 – Shift 1

    Very Tough (Toughest among listed)

    Tough & Lengthy

    Tough

    Moderate

    High overall difficulty due to demanding Maths and Physics, leading to lower attempt rates

    January 28, 2025 – Shift 2

    Tough

    Lengthy

    Tricky

    Moderate

    Maths required significant time investment, while Physics involved concept-based tricky questions

    January 23, 2025 – Shift 1

    Moderate

    Lengthy

    Moderate

    Easy

    Maths was time-consuming, but relatively easier Chemistry helped balance the paper

    Toughest Shift of JEE Mains 2025 Session 2

    As discussed above, JEE Mains 2025 session 2 was comparatively tougher than session 1. Reason being, students got more time to prepare and until then, they got accustomed to the difficulty level of JEE Mains 2025 standard of questions. As students prepared better, the competition also toughened and pressure also increased. This made it harder to get a good percentile and therefore, the April session was considered tough. But unexpectedly, the overall toughest paper is that of the Session 1 itself. Experts, students feedback and a thorough paper analysis has proven the same. Below, we have given the top 3 toughest shift of JEE Mains 2025 session 2.

    1. April 3, Shift 2: Widely regarded as the hardest, particularly for Math, with a tougher Chemistry section.

    2. April 4, Shift 2: Also noted as a challenging shift due to Physics level of difficulty.

    3. April 4, Shift 1: Another difficult shift mentioned alongside April 3, Shift 2.

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    JEE Main 2025 Shift

    Overall Difficulty Level

    Mathematics

    Physics

    Chemistry

    Why the Shift Was Considered Tough

    April 3, Shift 2

    Very Tough (Hardest among listed)

    Tough & Lengthy

    Moderate

    Tough

    Mathematics was time-consuming, while Chemistry included tricky and less-predictable questions, reducing overall attempt rates

    April 4, Shift 2

    Tough

    Moderate & Lengthy

    Tough

    Moderate

    Physics featured concept-heavy and numerical-intensive questions that increased difficulty

    April 4, Shift 1

    Moderate to Tough

    Lengthy but Manageable

    Moderate

    Moderate

    Mathematics required careful time management, but Physics and Chemistry remained largely balanced

    Toughest JEE Mains Paper Ever

    There is no single toughest JEE Mains paper ever. Throughout the JEE Mains journey, students solve a lot of question papers of all the difficulty levels - easy, moderate and hard. Below is a comprehensive list of all the toughest JEE Mains paper ever. Practicing this will surely help you understand what is the highest standard of JEE Mains and prepare you for the worst.

    1. JEE Main 2020: Physics was quite complex with numericals requiring multi concept applications whereas chemistry was easier.

    2. JEE Main 2021: Mathematics had a lot of challenges with complex calculus and probability problems.

    3. JEE Main 2025 (Jan 28 Shift 1): Widely considered one of the hardest shifts. With difficult Physics and lengthy Math sections.

    4. JEE Main 2019 (Specific Shifts): Some shifts in this year also saw tough Physics sections.

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    To understand better, go through the table below. This will help you get a clear understand of analysis:

    JEE Main Year / Shift

    Physics Difficulty

    Mathematics Difficulty

    Chemistry Difficulty

    Overall Difficulty Level

    Key Reason for Toughness

    JEE Main 2019 (Specific Shifts)

    Tough

    Moderate

    Easy–Moderate

    Moderate–Tough

    Physics involved concept-heavy numericals and mixed-topic questions

    JEE Main 2020

    Very Tough

    Moderate

    Easy

    Tough

    Physics had complex, multi-concept numericals requiring deeper analytical skills

    JEE Main 2021

    Moderate

    Very Tough

    Moderate

    Tough

    Mathematics featured difficult calculus and probability questions

    JEE Main 2025 (Jan 28 Shift 1)

    Very Tough

    Very Tough

    Moderate

    Very Tough

    Lengthy Mathematics and high-level Physics combined to reduce attempt rates

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    The WBJEE 2026 exam will not be held in Maharashtra, as per the details mentioned in the brochure. The exam centres will be available in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. If you are from any other state, then your options will be limited to WB.
    For a complete list of

    • NIT Mizoram / Arunachal Pradesh / Manipur / Sikkim (Core branches)

    • Guru Ghasidas Vishwavidyalaya, Bilaspur (Central University)

    • Assam University, Silchar (Assam University)

    • Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET), Punjab

    • Gurukula Kangri Vishwavidyalaya, Haridwar

    • HNB Garhwal University, Uttarakhand