Understanding JEE Main 2026: Key Insights on Percentiles and Scoring

JEE Main 2026 Overview

JEE Main 2026: The first session of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 is tentatively set to take place from January 21 to 29, with the second session planned for April. Annually, over 1.2 million candidates participate in JEE Main, with many striving to achieve a score in the 99th percentile. Attaining this percentile is crucial for qualifying for JEE Advanced, which opens doors to top engineering programs.

Score Requirements for the 99th Percentile

What score is needed for the 99th percentile?
Determining the exact score for the 99th percentile in JEE Main is not straightforward. This score fluctuates each year and across sessions. However, a score ranging from 190 to 195 out of 300 is generally expected to secure the 99th percentile, translating to an estimated rank between 10,800 and 12,000. This variability is due to the normalization process applied across different shifts.

Understanding Percentiles

What does percentile mean?
It’s important to note that a score and a percentile are distinct concepts. Achieving the 99th percentile indicates that a candidate has outperformed 99% of all participants, not that they scored 99% of the total marks. Percentiles can differ for candidates from General, OBC, SC, and EWS categories based on their respective scores. Additionally, the difficulty level of the exam and the total number of candidates can influence the percentile.

Calculating Percentiles

Formula for Percentile Calculation
The National Testing Agency (NTA) employs a specific formula to compute the NTA score, which is essential for determining percentiles. This method ensures fairness across various exam shifts by considering the number of candidates who appeared in each session. Below is the formula used for this calculation.