JEE vs NEET: Every student who appears for the 10th class exams has one question about which stream to select for further education. Once the decision for the stream is made, the stream is Science. The question that comes next is medicine or engineering. The answer to this question marks the beginning of a dream career. Students can decide this based on what subject interests them. A good score in NEET leads to admission to a good medical college, whereas a good score in IIT JEE will help students get admission to a reputed engineering college.
Both exams are national-level entrance exams and hold a lot of importance concerning students’ higher education. One more doubt that arises when deciding between the two is which exam is easier to crack. Now, that can not just have a direct answer. This article talks about both exams, their similarities, differences, and other aspects.
All About NEET – Overview
NEET(National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) is the common entrance test conducted in India for getting admission to medical colleges in the country. With fewer seats available and lakhs of students applying, this exam becomes tough to crack.
The exam was previously named AIPMT(All India Pre-Medical Test). It is administered by the NTA(National Testing Agency). The seat distribution is carried out based on the NEET results by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Directorate General of Health Services and State Counselling Authorities.
The exam is conducted once a year for students who aspire to earn an undergraduate degree in medical(MBBS), dental(BDS), and equivalent courses like BAMS, BUMS, BHMS, etc., offered by the government and private medical institutions in India. These are the NEET exam dates declared.
The NEET exam syllabus is designed with the core concepts of Physics, Chemistry and Biology taught in the NCERT classes 11th and 12th.
The NEET Exam Pattern is designed to have 180 questions, 45 from each Physics, Chemistry, Botany, and Zoology. Students secure four marks for every correct answer and one negative mark for each wrong answer. The time allowed for the exam is 180 minutes.
All About IIT JEE – Overview
The IIT JEE is the national-level common entrance test for students who wish to pursue a career in engineering. The JEE exam is conducted in two steps, JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. The exam is conducted for the admission processes for 23 IITs, 31 NITs, 25 IITs, and 19 GFTIs.
The JEE Mains exam is conducted for government-supported technical institutes like NITs and IITs, whereas JEE Advanced is mainly conducted for admissions to IITs. However, students must clear the JEE Mains to attempt the JEE Advanced exam.
Both the exams are interrelated except for the conducting body of the exam and the fact that JEE Mains is conducted in sessions.
Only the students who clear the JEE Mains exam are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced. The eligibility criteria for JEE Mains are that the candidate must have passed the 12th exam or appeared for the 12th exam the same year.
Check the JEE Main syllabus and JEE Advanced syllabus to get a better idea before preparing for the exam. Also, look at the exam pattern for JEE Mains and the exam pattern for JEE Advanced for better preparation.
Difference Between IIT JEE and NEET
Both IIT JEE and NEET are national-level entrance exams that are popular and tough to crack. A major factor that differentiates the two exams is where success in the exams will lead you. JEE will land you admission to one of the top colleges in India, whereas NEET will give you a seat in a medical college.
The next differentiation factor is that JEE has more weightage in Maths, whereas NEET has it in Biology.
There are other differences like the subject-wise marks distribution or the frequency of the conduction of exams in a year and the exam pattern.
Which is Easier To Crack NEET or IIT JEE?
While students confused about their career path may ponder this point to reduce their confusion, choosing the easier one of the two is not an easy job. However, this is just an attempt to answer this question.

While NEET is an entrance exam for medical, JEE is the entrance exam for engineering. Thinking broadly to decide which exam is easier, it may be said the JEE is tougher as it is a two-step process to crack the exam. However, the number of medical seats is much less than that of the seats available for engineering; due to fewer seats, competition to secure a seat for medical increased manifold, making the exam tougher. It gives a new point of view to determine the toughness of exams.
If one considers JEE Mains and JEE Advanced as two different exams, the difficulty level of the exams can be expressed as:
JEE Mains: simplest
NEET: difficult
JEE Advanced: toughest
If you have decided on the career path for yourself already, you have to give your best shot for the preparation despite the difficulty level of the exam. The question takes the confusion away.
Conclusion
Students deciding their fields of education has a lot of importance as it deals with their future. While Science is a popular stream in India, and many students choose it for a bright future, there is still confusion about what to choose between medical and engineering.
Both the fields are quite different from each other but have some popularity among students. If students are confused about what to choose, they must consider the fact of their interests.
Both the exams JEE and NEET are popular national-level entrance tests. Both of them have their share of difficulties, and it is easy to decide which one is easy to crack. With comparisons made on the difficulty levels of questions asked, NEET has easy questions compared to those asked in JEE. However, the fact that fewer seats are available in the medical colleges makes the competition for NEET tough.
Both the exams need sheer dedication and hard work to crack them.
FAQs on JEE vs NEET
What is IIT JEE?
JEE is a common entrance test for students who wish to make a career in engineering. A good rank in this exam ensures admission to one of the top colleges in India for undergraduate courses in engineering. The exam is conducted in two steps JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. While the NTA conducts JEE Mains for carrying out admission processes for the institutes like NITs, IITs, and a few other government-funded technical institutes, JEE Advanced is conducted mainly for admissions to the IITs, which are the topmost institutes for engineering in India.
What is the difference between JEE Mains and JEE Advanced?
Both the exams, JEE Mains and JEE Advanced, are part of the IIT JEE, a national-level entrance exam for engineering. Both the exams are interrelated however have a few differences as follows:
The JEE Mains is conducted by NTA for admissions to institutes like NITs, IIITs, and other government-funded technical institutes like the GFTIs, while the IIT Advanced is only for IITs.
The frequency of the conduction of the exams is also different. JEE Mains is conducted twice a year, while JEE Advanced is conducted only once.
Candidates can attempt the JEE Mains exam for three years from the year when they appear for their 12th class exams, while they can attempt for JEE Advanced for two years.
The paper patterns for JEE Mains and JEE Advanced are different.
The candidates who have cleared the JEE Mains are only qualified for attempting JEE Advanced.
What is NEET?
NEET is the national-level entrance test conducted for students who want to pursue medicine in India. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency(NTA). Candidates who have a considerable score in this exam can apply for admission to various undergraduate courses like MBBS, BDS, and other courses like BAMS and BHMS in the government and private medical institutes. The exam is conducted once a year.
What are the eligibility criteria for IIT JEE?
The candidate should have passed or must have appeared for the class 12th exam with Physics, Chemistry, and Maths as the core subjects.
To attempt JEE Advanced, students must have cleared the JEE Mains exam.
Students can appear for the JEE Mains exam for three years from the year of passing their 12th exam, and for the JEE Advanced exam, they can appear for two years. Check for the other details of the exam below:
JEE Mains syllabus
- JEE Mains eligibility criteria
- JEE Advanced syllabus
- JEE Advanced eligibility criteria
What are the eligibility criteria for NEET?
If you aspire to have a career in medicine and are willing to appear for the NEET, you must first be aware of the NEET eligibility criteria to apply for the exam.
The candidates must have passed 10+2 or appeared for the 10+2 exam with Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and English as their core subjects from a recognized board. The candidate's age must be 17 years on 31st December of the year when appearing for the exam.
The aggregate score obtained in the 10+2 exam must be 50%. Check for relaxations, if any.
What is the difference between NEET and IIT JEE?
NEET and IIT JEE are two very popular national-level entrance exams conducted in India. They have enormous importance in shaping a student's career. Following are the differences between the two exams:
NEET is conducted for admission to medical colleges in India for undergraduate medical courses, while IIT JEE is conducted for admissions to undergraduate courses in engineering colleges.
NEET has more weightage for Biology, whereas JEE has more weightage for Maths.
NEET is conducted once a year, while IIT JEE has two steps of conducting the exam, out of which JEE Mains is conducted twice a year, and JEE Mains is conducted once.
There is no limit for attempting NEET, whereas JEE Mains can be attempted for 3 years, and JEE Advanced can be attempted for two years.
Are the questions from JEE repeated in NEET?
While some candidates appear for both NEET and IIT JEE, a question that might commonly strike is if the questions from NEET are repeated in JEE or vice versa. Although Chemistry and Physics are common subjects for both NEET and JEE, there might be a slight difference.
The core syllabus for both the subjects and important concepts may resemble. There are chances that a few questions might be similar in both exams. However, one must not rely on this possibility as this will only lead to panic situations.