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JEE Mains and JEE Advanced are national level Joint Entrance Examinations conducted for gaining admission into engineering colleges pan India.

If you aspire to obtain an engineering degree from the nation’s top engineering institutions, then you have to have a clear understanding of the differences between both examinations. In doing so, you can plan an effective strategy and prepare for them accordingly.

Key Points of Difference Between the JEE Mains & JEE Advanced

Entrance to which institute: Qualifying JEE Mains can gain you entrance into any National Institute of Technology (NIT) and Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI). On the other hand, JEE advanced facilitates admission to the 23 IITs in India.

Conducted by: JEE Mains is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) whereas JEE advanced is conducted by any one of the seven zonal IITs each year.

Eligibility: Students who have passed/are attempting their Class 12 examination or any equivalent qualifying examination are eligible for JEE Mains. To be eligible to take JEE Advanced, however, you have to qualify the JEE Mains first.

Syllabus: The syllabus for JEE Mains is entirely based off the Class 11 and Class 12 Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics NCERT books. The syllabus for JEE Advanced is more complex. It excludes certain topics from the JEE Mains syllabus and requires additional knowledge that can only be attained through deep understanding of the concepts.

Paper pattern and marking system: The subjects covered in both papers are Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The paper pattern for JEE Mains is fixed. The entire paper is MCQ-based and all the questions have a single correct answer. Students can score a maximum of 360 marks. Each correct answer is awarded 4 marks (+4), each unanswered question is assigned 0 marks and for each wrong answer, 1 mark is deducted (-1).

The marking system for JEE Advanced is not fixed. It differs every year. There are 2 papers students need to clear. They are objective-based and contain integer-based questions, MCQs with one or more than one answers and numerical-based questions.

Difficulty level: JEE Advanced is more difficult than JEE Mains because the paper pattern and marking system of the former varies every year. In addition, the questions asked are indirect hybrid questions that require lengthy calculations and the application of various concepts. To put it shortly, the questions are application based. JEE Mains is relatively easier because the questions are mostly direct and each question has only one answer.

Number of papers: JEE Mains has 3 papers. Paper 1 is for B.Tech/B.E, Paper 2 is for B. Arch and the recently introduced Paper 3 is for B.Planning. Students interested in the respective courses can sit for the desired papers accordingly. JEE Advanced has 2 papers, both of which are compulsory.

Duration: JEE Mains is a 3-hour paper. The duration for JEE Advanced is 6 hours—3 hours for each paper.

Number of attempts: You can appear for JEE Mains for 3 consecutive years from the year of passing the Class 12 board examinations. The exams are held 4 times every year. In case a student appears for all 4 examinations in a year, it is considered as 1 attempt.

JEE Advanced can be attempted only twice in 2 consecutive years.

Things to Keep in Mind while Preparing for the Examinations

· Intent: The approach for each exam is different and hence requires different strategies of preparation. If you wish to get into any NIT or CIFT, then preparing for JEE Mains is sufficient. However, if you want admission into the 23 top IITs in India, then you have chosen to take the leap and take JEE Advanced for which you need to prepare for both JEE Mains and JEE Advanced simultaneously.

· Understand the syllabus: If you have decided to take the JEE Advanced examination, then as previously mentioned, you have to prepare for both. The syllabus for both examinations is different. There are some topics in each subject that are not asked in Advanced but covered in Mains. Therefore, start with the topics that are common to both exams. Then prepare the topics that differ.

· Gain in-depth understanding: While studying, avoid rote learning and aim to understand the concepts thoroughly.

· Practice and Mock Tests: Practise solving past question papers and take as many mock tests for both examinations as possible. JEE Mains has a fixed marking system and type of questions asked. For this particular examination speed is of the essence. You have 2 minutes to solve a question. Attaining such a speed can only come from practice. It gives you the opportunity to develop or learn tricks to solve questions quickly. Moreover, solving past question papers will also give you a clear understanding of the type of questions asked, frequently asked questions, topics covered as well as the weightage of each topic.

For JEE advanced, since the questions are rarely repeated and the marking system differs every year, constant practice is the only way you can get an idea of the type of questions asked, the concepts more likely to be mixed to answer a question, etc.