Minimum JEE Main Marks Required to Qualify for JEE Advanced

To do well in JEE Advanced 2026 , you need to do well in JEE Main 2026 first. If you want to study at the Indian Institutes of Technology, you need to know the marks you must get in JEE Main to be able to take JEE Advanced. This blog will tell you everything you need to know about JEE Main and JEE Advanced, like what percentiles you need, what the cutoffs might be, and how it works for categories. You will also get some tips on how to prepare for JEE Main and JEE Advanced. JEE Main is very important if you want to take JEE Advanced and get into the Indian Institutes of Technology.

What is the expected cutoff for JEE Main 2026 to be eligible for JEE Advanced? 

• The JEE Main cutoff 2026 will be decided by the National Testing Agency.
• Students can check the JEE Main 2026 cutoff on the website.
• The expected JEE Main cutoff 2026 is important for JEE Advanced eligibility. Students should know the JEE Main 2026 cutoff to prepare for JEE Advanced.
• If we look at what happened in the past, we can guess what the minimum marks for JEE Main might be to get into JEE Advanced 2026. 

Note: The exact marks you need to get in JEE Main to qualify for JEE Advanced will be different every year. This is because it depends on how hard the exam’s how many people apply and how well everyone does on the JEE Main exam. 

JEE Main Previous Years Cutoff 

These past exam results are extremely helpful for students who want to appear for the JEE Main exam 2026. The past results provide the students an idea of the marks they need to score in the JEE Main exam 2026 to be qualified for the JEE Advanced examination in the year 2026. The exam results are helpful to the students who are preparing to appear for the JEE Main examination and want to know the ideal score they need to attain to be qualified to appear for the JEE Advanced examination.

Common Misconceptions about JEE Main Cutoff for JEE Advanced

Myth 1: Fixed Minimum JEE Main Score

Many students believe that the JEE Main qualifying marks are fixed, but the JEE Main cutoff for JEE Advanced changes every year.

Myth 2: Category Certificate Guarantees JEE Advanced Eligibility

Having a category certificate does not automatically guarantee the minimum prescribed marks in JEE Main. You have to fulfill the category-wise requirement of JEE Main percentile to be eligible for JEE Advanced.

Myth 3: All Top Rankers Qualify

Even if you do well, the JEE Main marks required for JEE Advanced depend upon the relative performance that one puts in against other candidates in the qualification of JEE Main.

Free JEE Prediction & Counselling Tools by Aakash

Choosing the right engineering college is one of the most critical decisions for JEE aspirants. To help students make informed choices, Aakash provides a range of free JEE Main and JEE Advanced prediction tools designed to estimate ranks, calculate marks, and predict colleges based on previous year trends.

These tools are trusted by lakhs of students every year and are built using official exam patterns, normalization rules, and historical cut-off data.

Why Cutoffs Fluctuate Every Year

The marks that you need to obtain in JEE Main to qualify for JEE Advanced are influenced by several things. The marks which you need to obtain by scoring in JEE Main to qualify for JEE Advanced are influenced by factors, such as the performance of students, in JEE Main. If we consider the marks which you need to obtain in JEE Main to qualify for JEE Advanced, then we have to consider the factors too.

• The number of candidates who are appearing for something is what we are looking at here.
• Difficulty level of the paper
• Normalization across sessions
• Performance distribution
• Reservation policies

What is a good Strategic Target Score to aim for?

The Strategic Target Score is an important number. You need to think about what your Strategic Target Score should be. What really counts is percentiles. I am going to give you a rough idea of the raw marks you should aim for based on what happened in the past.

• General Category: Aim for 90+ percentile (equivalent to roughly 95–105+ raw marks in JEE Main)
• OBC-NCL / EWS: 75–85+ percentile
• SC / ST: 50–65+ percentile

These are the targets that will help you easily get more than the minimum JEE Main marks that you need to qualify for JEE Advanced. The actual raw marks you need will be a little different for each session of JEE Main.

What If You Don’t Meet JEE Main Qualifying Marks?

If you fall short of the JEE Main cutoff for JEE Advanced, several alternatives exist:

• State Engineering Colleges: Use your JEE Main qualification score
• Private Engineering Institutions: Accept minimum JEE Main score candidates
• Reappear Strategy: Attempt next year, targeting JEE Advanced eligibility

FAQ

Q1. What is the expected JEE Main cutoff 2026 for General category?

The expected JEE Main cutoff 2026 for General category is around 92–95 percentile.

Q2. How many students qualify for JEE Advanced from JEE Main?

Approximately the top 2.5 lakh candidates qualify for JEE Advanced.

Q3. Are JEE Main marks or percentile considered for JEE Advanced eligibility?

Eligibility is based on percentile, not raw JEE Main marks.

Q4. What are the minimum JEE Main marks required to qualify for JEE Advanced?

For General category, around 95–105 raw marks may correspond to qualifying percentile, but it varies each year.