Blog Detail
20-01-2026
Every year, lakhs of students across India chase one big dream—studying engineering at the country’s top institutes. When conversations turn to the most competitive entrance exams, JEE naturally comes to the top of the list. JEE full form in English is Joint Entrance Examination. If you aim to study engineering in prestigious institutes like the IITs, you must clear the JEE exam.
But do you know what JEE is? If you are curious to know about JEE and want to learn how this exam works, this blog will help. The blog helps you understand the JEE full form and key details you need to know before planning your next step.
You can quickly understand the JEE meaning with the help of the JEE full form. The JEE full form is the Joint Entrance Examination. The exam assesses your understanding of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics because these subjects form the academic base required to progress in an engineering programme.
The JEE exam has two levels: JEE Main, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), and JEE Advanced, conducted by the IITs (on a rotational basis). Note that the NTA is an independent body set up by the Ministry of Education. Its role is to conduct standardised tests to evaluate your proficiency for admission to leading institutions. Now, you should take a look at what the JEE exam is all about. Once again, know that the JEE Mains full form is the Joint Entrance Examination.
If you’re aiming for an engineering seat at a top institute, JEE is the exam you need to understand first. JEE full form is Joint Entrance Examination, a national-level test that plays a key role in engineering admissions across India. Through this exam, your understanding of core subjects and your ability to apply concepts under time pressure are carefully tested. Only those who are well prepared move ahead, which is why JEE is seen as one of the most competitive entrance exams in the country. JEE full form is Joint Entrance Examination. The next section discusses the two levels of the JEE exam.
You can glance through the table below to understand the two levels of the JEE Exam.
| Aspect | JEE Main | JEE Advanced |
| Conducting body | Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) | Conducted by one of the IITs (on a rotational basis) |
| Exam frequency | Held twice a year | Conducted once a year |
| Eligibility to appear | Open to students who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria (as mentioned below in the next section of the blog) | Only top scorers from JEE Main are eligible |
| Role | Considered for admission to NITs, IIITs and CFTIs | Required for admission to IITs and a few select institutes |
| Difficulty level | Competitive but concept-focused | More challenging, with a greater depth of questions |
You have now understood the full form of JEE and the two levels of the JEE exam. Understanding the eligibility criteria for the JEE exam is your next important step.
Before filling out the application form, it is important to check whether you meet the basic eligibility rules for JEE. These criteria decide not only if you can appear for the exam, but also which stage of JEE you are eligible to attempt.
| Eligibility Aspect | JEE Main | JEE Advanced |
| Academic requirement | Must have passed Class 12 (or an equivalent exam) with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as mandatory subjects | You must have cleared the JEE Main (Paper 1) to be considered |
| Marks criteria | For the General category, a minimum of 75% in Class 12 or placement in the top 20 percentile of your board is required; for SC/ST candidates, the minimum is 65% | Only candidates ranked among the top 2,50,000 in JEE Main are eligible |
| Selection basis | Fulfilling the subject and marks criteria allows you to appear for the exam | Eligibility depends strictly on JEE Main performance |
| Age Limit | No age restriction | Candidates born on or after 1st October 2001 are eligible for JEE Advanced 2026. However, Candidates in the PwD, ST, or SC categories are granted a 5-year relaxation |
| Number of Attempts | JEE Main can be attempted up to three consecutive years (starting from the year you pass Class 12) with two attempts each year (a total of six attempts). | JEE Advanced allows a maximum of two attempts in two consecutive years. |
The full form of JEE is the Joint Entrance Examination. You should now take a quick look at the exam pattern of JEE.
| Aspect | Details |
| Mode | Computer-based test |
| Duration | 3 hours |
| Total Questions | Approximately 75 questions (25 per subject); only 60 need to be attempted. Note: The number of questions changes from year to year, and the above information is provided only for a basic understanding. |
| Marking Scheme | +4 for correct answers, -1 for incorrect answers (MCQs) |
| Papers | Paper 1, Paper 2A, Paper 2B (Check details in the syllabus section below) |
| Total Marks | 300 |
| Aspect | Details |
| Mode | Computer-based test |
| Duration | 3 hours per paper (Paper 1 and Paper 2) |
| Total Questions | Vary each year |
| Marking Scheme | Varies |
| Sections | Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics |
| Total Marks | Varies |
Succeeding in JEE depends on how clearly you understand concepts and how consistently you practise them. JEE helps you secure your seat at the country’s top engineering institutes, including the IITs. If your goal is to pursue engineering from a reputed institution in India, you can explore the meticulously designed engineering programmes at JAIN (Deemed-to-be University), which are built to strengthen engineering fundamentals and support long-term academic growth.
A1: You can appear for JEE Main a maximum of six times over three consecutive years, with two attempts each year.
A2: JEE is India’s prestigious national engineering entrance exam. JEE full form is Joint Entrance Examination. It has two levels, JEE Main for NITs, IIITs and others, and JEE Advanced for IITs.
A3: JEE Main serves as the qualifying exam for admission to NITs, IIITs and other centrally funded technical institutes in India. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and is the first stage of the Joint Entrance Examination.
A4: To prepare well for JEE, you need to start with clear basics from NCERT books and understand concepts instead of memorising them. Follow the official syllabus closely, practise questions every day, and keep revising what you study so concepts stay fresh during the exam.
A5: Cracking the JEE depends on disciplined study and smart practice. Focus on concept clarity, solve previous years’ papers to understand question patterns, and take mock tests to improve speed and accuracy. Regular revision and learning from mistakes make a real difference.
A6: The percentile is based on normalisation. It shows the percentage of candidates who scored equal to or below your marks in a session. To calculate the percentile in JEE Main, you can use the formula below.
Total Percentile (T1P) = 100 × [ No. of candidates from the session with raw score equal to or less than T1 score / Total No. of candidates who appeared in the session]
Note that:
A7: Marking varies each year, and some papers have more than 180 marks. Hence, there is no fixed number for total marks.
A8: The cutoff of JEE Main changes yearly. The cut-offs for various categories in the 2025 JEE Main are mentioned below:
| Category | Cut-off Percentile 2025 |
| General (UR) | 93.1023262 |
| EWS | 80.3830119 |
| OBC | 79.4313582 |
| SC | 61.1526933 |
| ST | 47.9026465 |
A9: A 90 percentile is a decent score, but its value depends on your relative score (in comparison of other students), the colleges you opt for, your category, and the cut-off of the year in which you have appeared in the JEE Main exam.
A10: There is no clear formula to calculate your JEE Main rank. The NTA prepares the all-India rank using students’ best NTA scores, or percentiles across sessions, not raw marks. You can, however, use the following to estimate your probable rank.
JEE Main probable rank = (100 - NTA percentile score) × Total candidates ÷ 100
You should remember that the above formula does not apply to the 100 percentile scores. You can also use a JEE Mains rank predictor and a JEE Advanced rank predictor to get an idea of the rank you might achieve.