Topic – JEE Main and JEE Advanced – How are they different?

Becoming an engineer is a dream shared by a large number of students in India. However, the path to engineering presents formidable challenges. Cracking the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) is one of the biggest challenges faced by every engineering aspirant in India. JEE Main and JEE Advanced exam are highly competitive exams that are considered to be toughest to crack. In order to do well in JEE Main and JEE Advanced, it is important for the engineering aspirants to have a clear understanding of the factors that make these exams different.

For the uninitiated, JEE exam is divided into two parts – JEE Main and JEE Advanced. JEE Main is the qualifying exam for JEE Advanced for admissions to the most prestigious engineering colleges in India – Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). While most engineering aspirants know the basic difference between JEE Main and JEE Advanced exam, they are often unaware of the factors that make them different. Let’s understand the key differences between these two exams –

Purpose of Exam
JEE Main is conducted to select candidates for B.Tech and B.E. programmes offered by National Institutes of Technology (NITs), Indian Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and other Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs). It is also a qualifying exam for JEE Advanced.

The objective of conducting JEE Advanced is to select candidates for the undergraduate programmes offered by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Among 10 lakh+ candidates who appeared for JEE Main in 2017, around 2-2.5 lakh candidates were selected for JEE Advanced. Apart from 23 IITs, Indian Institute of Science and a few other top-notch institutes offer admissions on the basis of JEE Advanced result.

Mode of Exam
JEE Main comprises two papers -Paper 1 and Paper 2. While Paper 1 is conducted in both offline and online mode, Paper 2 is conducted in offline mode only. JEE Advanced is conducted only in online mode. It is important for the students to take as many practice tests as possible to gain familiarity with the online test procedure.

Exam Pattern
Paper 1 of JEE Main exam comprises three sections – Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Only objective type questions are asked in the exam. In Paper 2 of JEE Main exam, questions are asked from three sections – Mathematics, General Aptitude and Drawing. The duration of both the papers is three hours. Here, it is important to note that Paper 1 is conducted for B.Tech/ B.E. courses and Paper 2 is conducted for B.Arch and B.Planning courses.

JEE Advanced also comprises two papers. However, unlike JEE Main, it is mandatory for the candidates to appear for both the papers in JEE Advanced. Each paper is of three hours duration with three sections – Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.