JEE Main vs JEE Advanced: how the two engineering entrance exams differ and how often you can sit them

Becoming an engineer is the dream of most students in the country. Every year, lakhs of children prepare for and take the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), which has two stages: JEE Main and JEE Advanced.

Registration for JEE Main 2027 has begun and students can register until November 22, 2026. Many parents are confused about the difference between JEE Main and JEE Advanced, and want to know how many times each can be taken. They are separate examinations, with different syllabuses and exam patterns.

Both are national-level entrance examinations and both lead to admission to engineering courses. Both are counted among the country's toughest exams, but their eligibility conditions, pattern and syllabus differ.

JEE Main is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). It gives admission to BE/BTech courses at NITs, IIITs and other related institutions. It is also the eligibility test for JEE Advanced. JEE Main is held in two sessions a year, in January and April. Students can sit both, and the rank is based on whichever score is higher. The final rank is released after the April session result.

Students can appear in one or both sessions. Under current rules, a candidate can take JEE Main for three consecutive years after passing Class 12. That means the exam can be taken in the year of Class 12 and the next two consecutive years, with a maximum of two sessions each year.

JEE Main is a three-hour computer-based test with questions in mathematics, physics and chemistry. These include multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and numerical-answer questions.

According to the NTA, there is no change in the JEE Main 2027 syllabus from 2026. For BE/BTech (Paper 1), students must prepare physics, chemistry and mathematics. Physics has 20 units, including mechanics, thermodynamics, electrostatics, current electricity, magnetism, optics, electromagnetic waves, atoms and nuclei, electronic devices and experimental skills.

Chemistry also has 20 units, covering physical, inorganic and organic chemistry along with practical chemistry. Its main topics include atomic structure, chemical bonding, thermodynamics, equilibrium, electrochemistry, coordination compounds, hydrocarbons and biomolecules. Mathematics has 14 units: algebra, calculus, coordinate geometry, trigonometry and probability. Other main topics are sets and functions, matrices and determinants, permutations and combinations, the binomial theorem, integral calculus, differential equations, 3D geometry and vectors.

Admission to architecture and planning courses, apart from engineering, is through a separate test. Paper 2A (B.Arch) includes mathematics, an aptitude test and a drawing test. Paper 2B (B.Planning) will have questions on mathematics, an aptitude test and planning.

JEE Advanced is the toughest entrance examination for admission to the IITs. Its result mainly determines the All India Rank (AIR) for IIT admission. It is conducted each year by a different IIT. Preparation must begin with a strong grasp of Class 11 and 12 physics, chemistry and mathematics (PCM). For chemistry in particular, it is essential to read the NCERT books thoroughly.

JEE Advanced can be taken twice: the first chance in the year of Class 12 and the second in the following year. In pattern, it has two papers of three hours each. The syllabus again has mathematics, physics and chemistry questions, but at a higher difficulty level.