JEE – Joint Entrance Exam is a computer-based exam conducted annually by the National Testing Agency (NTA). On the basis of marks scored in this exam, admissions are provided in IITs and NITs.
In this article, we will discuss the JEE Main cut off marks for this year in various categories.
JEE Exam Pattern
JEE is divided into two parts:
- JEE Main
- JEE Advanced
JEE Mains acts as a qualifying exam for JEE advanced, which means those students who score above the cut-off marks of JEE Mains will be allowed to appear in JEE Advanced. This year despite pandemic and other chaos, JEE mains was conducted in 4 sessions. Recently NTA has released the result of JEE main 2021.
Following are the categories of the exam:
| Category | Cut off |
| General | 87.8992241 |
| EWS | 66.2214845 |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) | 68.0234447 |
| Scheduled Caste (SC) | 46.8825338 |
| Scheduled Tribe (ST) | 34.6728999 |
| PWD | 00.0096375 |
The cut-off marks of previous years’ JEE Main Exam are:
| Year | General | EWS | OBC | SC | ST |
| 2020 | 90.3765335 | 70.2435518 | 72.8887969 | 50.1760245 | 39.0696101 |
| 2019 | 89.7548849 | — | 74.3166557 | 54.0128155 | 44.3345172 |
| 2018 | 74 | — | 45 | 29 | 24 |
| 2017 | 81 | — | 49 | 32 | 27 |
It is evident from the above tables that the cut-off this year has been relaxed as compared to the previous two years. The primary reason for this relaxation this year would be the pandemic; this relaxation indeed is very much justified.
Statistics JEE Main exam:
We will look at some statistics about this year’s exam:
- Candidates applied: 10,48,012 students
- Candidates appeared: 9,39,008 students
- The number of students who secured the first rank: 18
- This year two girls, Delhi’s Kavya Chopra and Ghaziabad’s Pal Aggarwal, became the first to secure rank one in JEE main results.
- A total of 47 students scored 100 percentile rank this year.
What after JEE mains result?
Not many people know that after scoring above the Cut-off marks of JEE advanced, you have to go through a counselling process.
This counselling process is conducted by JOSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) to get admissions into IITs, NITs, and GFTIs. JOSAA’s counselling process is a multi-stepped process that includes registration, choice filling, locking choices, seat allotment, and seat acceptance fee payment. We will try to get a brief idea about the counselling process and the institutes participating in this process.
The table below shows the number of institutes participating in the counselling process:
| Institutes | Number of Institutes |
| National Institute of Technology | 31 |
| Indian Institute of Information Technology | 25 |
| Government Funded Technical Institutes | 28 |
Process of JEE Main Exam
Let’s discuss the step-by-step process of counselling:
- Registration: This step involves verification of details mentioned in the JEE main application form. Students can register themselves through the official website JOSAA. The login credentials would include JEE main application form and password of that particular year.
- Choice Filling: In this step, the candidate has to choose their preferred institute and courses. Choosing multiple institutes and courses increases the chances of admission.
- Mock Seat Allotment and Locking of Choices: This step aims to help students know their chances of getting admissions into their preferred list. Candidates are allowed to change their preferences after mock allotment.
- Final seat Allotment: JOSAA conducts seven rounds of seat allotment. Allotments are done based on merit, category, selected preferences, and availability of seats.
- Payment/charges of seat acceptance fee: Candidates who will be allotted seats will be required to pay a seat acceptance fee through e-challan or net banking. This FEE varies according to the category of the candidate.
- Document Verification: After accepting seats, candidates will be required to carry particularly mentioned documents at designated centres set up by JOSAA.
Documents Required for JEE Main Exam
Following documents be required for verification at the reporting centres:
- JEE Main seat allotment letter issued by the body JoSAA.
- A government-issued photo identity card.
- Date of birth proof.
- JEE Main Admit Card 2021.
- Class 12 Mark sheet.
- JEE Main 2021 Score Card.
- Three passport-size photographs (have to be the same as uploaded during registration).
- Category certificate (if applicable).
Information about the JEE Main Exam:
- After the results are out for JEE mains, generally, there is a time gap of approximately 50 days for JEE advanced.
- JEE advanced is also a computer-based exam conducted in dual languages, Hindi and English.
- This exam will have compulsory two papers, 3 hours each.
- Both papers include three sections involving questions related to Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. The questions asked will be multiple-choice questions.
- Also, there is negative marking for wrongly answered questions.
- After clearing JEE advanced, you are given admissions into prestigious institutes of engineering across the country.
Difference between qualifying cut-off and admission cut-off, which is:
- Qualifying cut-off is the threshold of marks only above which one is qualified to appear in JEE Advanced Exam.
- Admission cut-off is the threshold of marks only above which one will get admission into the college.
- Qualifying cut-off marks are decided by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
- Admission cut-off marks are decided either individually by a particular college OR jointly by several colleges to get admission into their courses.
- There are numerous colleges across the country that offer admission to undergraduate engineering programs based on just JEE mains marks for JEE mains and 12th board marks.
Final Thoughts
Given the importance of this exam, it is a dream of many students to clear this exam and get admission in IITs, NITs, or other prestigious institutes. It’s disheartening to hear news of suicides and depressed children in case of failure in these exams. One needs to tell the future aspirants that exams will never end and that no single test can determine your future. Also, how to handle failure and how to cope up with stress should be part of the school curriculum.
Hope this article was helpful for you in knowing the cut-off marks and other processes after JEE mains.