MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra Colleges: Difficulty Level, Which one to prioritise?
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MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra Colleges: For an engineering student who is planning to pursue studies in Maharashtra, looking for colleges can be a confusing route to take. Especially, when they have attempted and qualified for both prestigious engineering entrance exams. Hence, to make it easier let’s get through the list and understand how and which college to select to make the most out of it. Read below to learn more about MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra colleges.
MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra Colleges
For engineering students who want to study BTech in Maharashtra, looking for colleges can be tiring, especially for students dealing with two main important exams: JEE Mains and MHT CET. While both entrance tests provide top-tier colleges, the seat allocation rules, quota, and colleges can vary in different ways. However, the main game lies during the Centralised Admission Process (CAP) and JoSAA (Joint Seat Allocation Authority) rounds, where the seats are divided between MHT CET and JEE Main scores. Read below to know more.
- MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra Colleges: Who Should Give What?
- MHT CET Vs JEE Main: Difficulty Level Comparison
- Things to Check Before Choosing Engineering Colleges in Maharashtra
- Top Institutes in Maharastra (State & Autnomous) Accepting MHT CET
- National Institutes (Through Centralised Counselling- JoSAA & CSAB)
- Top Private Universities in Maharashtra Accepting JEE Main Scores
- How to apply for Maharashtra BTech colleges during counselling?
- Counselling Tips While Appying to Maharashtra BTech Colleges
MHT CET Vs JEE for Maharashtra Colleges: Who Should Give What?
If you are planning to study in Maharashtra, then it is better to attempt both exams. MHT CET is mandatory for state-quota seats and JEE for NITs, and is an alternative career path for BTech colleges in Maharashtra.
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Focus on MHT CET, if you want top local colleges or government BTech colleges with low fees.
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Focus on JEE Main, if you want to take admission to premier institutions, such as NITs, IIITs, and IIT with an exposure to learning and wish to relocate anywhere in India.
Benefits on Attempting Both Exams
While both the exams test Physics, Chemistry, and Maths (PCM), nearly 70 to 75% of the syllabus overlap between JEE Main and MHT CET. Also, there are many private engineering colleges in Maharashtra that accept both JEE Main and MHT CET scores for admission. Thus, applying for both entrance exams can help you get the dream college or branch.
Note: JEE Mains qualified candidates can participate in MHT CET counselling to get admission
Commonly asked questions
Yes, MIT WPU offers decent placements annually to its BTech, MBA, BBA, BCA and BDes students. As per the latest report, the the highest package offered during MIT WPU placements 2024 stood at INR 51.36 LPA. More than 600 companies visited the MIT WPU Pune for 2024 placements and placed 1,903 students. Check out the key highlights of MIT WPU placement for the Class of 2024 in the table below:
Particulars | Placement Statistics (2024) |
|---|---|
the highest package | INR 51.36 LPA |
Students registered | 2,544 |
Students placed | 1,903 |
Total recruiters | 600+ |
Median placement ratio | 75% |
Top recruiters | Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Intel, Goldman Sachs |
VNIT Nagpur is one of the oldest NITs in the country. VNIT Nagpur is an institute of national importance and has been ranked 41 and 82 by NIRF 2023 under the Engineering and Overall categories, respectively. Talking about the placements, the overall average package offered during the VNIT Nagpur placements 2023 stood at INR 10.17 LPA. Also, a total of 1,235 offers were released, and 1,000 students were placed during VNIT Nagpur placements 2023. Apart from this, 238 companies visited the campus during VNIT Nagpur placements 2023. The top recuiters during the VNIT placements 2023 are Accenture, Ernst & Young - Global Delivery Services, American Express, EXL Services, BlackRock Solutions, Gail Limited, Comviva, Godrej Industries Limited, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, etc.
No. There is no minimum mark required to pass the MHT CET exam. The only requirement to get the scorecard is to appear in all subjects of MHT CET and obtain a non-zero score.
130 is a good score in the MHT CET exam. To obtain 130 marks in MHT CET, students have to cover all the topics from the MHT CET syllabus and practice the MHT CET PYQs and sample papers.
MHT CET Vs JEE Main: Difficulty Level Comparison
Candidates can check essential differences between two exams based on their question paper difficulty level-
| Parameter |
MHT CET |
JEE Mains |
|---|---|---|
| Exam Level |
State level |
National Level |
| Syllabus |
Maharashtra HSC Board (20% class 11th and 80% Class 12) |
NCERT/CBSE 50% each from class 11th and 12th) |
| Question paper difficulty |
Mostly moderate to slightly tough |
Conceptual and moderate to difficult |
| Shifts |
Held in multiple shifts both |
Held in multiple shifts |
| Negative marking |
No negative marking |
-1 mark for incorrect answer |
Things to Check Before Choosing Engineering Colleges in Maharashtra
If you have appeared for both exams, and building your college preference list for Maharashtra only, then here are some important pointers that every engineering candidate must know -
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Over 540 government and private engineering colleges accept MHT CET scores for admission. Candidates can go through the list of BTech colleges that offer admission through MHT CET exam.
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JEE qualified candidates can also participate in MHT CET counselling, using their JEE scores.
Besides that engineering colleges in Maharashtra itself has a whole different quota and eligibility. Candidates who want to study BTech in Maharashtra colleges must note the following -
Home Universities (HU) Vs Other than Home University (OHU) Status
Maharashtra divides engineering seats based on where you passed your class 12th exam. Cutoffs are generally low for colleges located within HU.
Quota Eligibility (MHT CET Vs JEE Main)
Top government colleges take 100% of their students via MHT CET. If you are applying via JEE Mains, you are only eligible for 15% of All India Quota Seats in private and unaided colleges.
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Home Quota Reservation - 80 to 85% via MHT CET
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All India Quota - 15 to 20% via JEE Main
Category and Tuition Fee Waiver Scheme
Check cutoff specific to your reservation category. If your family income is under 8 lakhs, then look for colleges offering high tuition fee waiver scheme seat matrices to save significantly on tuition fee.
Branch-Specific Cutoff Analysis
Look at the past three to five year’s of cutoff trends for the branch you are targeting. CSE, AI/ML has more demand in Maharashtra and cutoff usually spikes. While core branches like Mechanical or Electrical have moderate level competition.
Commonly asked questions
The MHT CET syllabus is of medium difficulty level. The topics covered in MHT CET syllabus is that of the Maharashtra state board for classes 11 and 12. Students can prepare for MHT CET exam using their NCERT textbooks and score a good score. Candidates are however advised to refer some additional books in order to score good marks in MHT CET. Also, not all topics of class 11 are covered in MHT CET exam whereas all class 12 topics are part of MHT CET syllabus.
Various companies visit College of Engineering, Pune for placements some of them are given below:
College of Engineering, Pune Placement: Top Recruiters | |
|---|---|
Barclays | Whirlpool |
Bajaj | NVIDIA |
Master Card | IBM |
Wells Fargo | Goldman Sachs |
No, there is no mock seat rounds in MHT CET counselling. The CET Cell conducts MHT CET counselling in three or four rounds. Candidates after registering for the counselling have to enter their preferred choice of college and branch in the order of preference. The allotment of seats will be made on the basis of All India Rank and choices filled by the candidate.
MHT CET counselling 2025 is over. The schedule of MHT CET counselling registration was announced on the official website and the same can be checked on Shiksha. The MHT CET counselling registration started on June 28 and the last date to register for the counselling was July 11. The last date for documents verification was July 12, 2025.
Top Institutes in Maharastra (State & Autnomous) Accepting MHT CET
The following list of colleges are state-level based that primarily accept MHT CET scores. However, they have 15% seat reservation for JEE qualified as well.
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College of Engineering, Pune (COEP Technological University)
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ICT Mumbai (Institute of Chemical Technology) - offer specialised Chemical and Polymer Engineering courses
National Institutes (Through Centralised Counselling- JoSAA & CSAB)
These institutes accept JEE Main scores for admission for National Seats, through JoSAA or CSAB counselling -
Top Private Universities in Maharashtra Accepting JEE Main Scores
Candidates can check the list of best private universities that accept JEE scores-
How to apply for Maharashtra BTech colleges during counselling?
For NITs, IITs, and IIITs, candidates have to apply through JoSAA. On the other hand, for state-govenement colleges, candidates have to register for state counselling on MHT CET Cell official website. Students can use their JEE Main scorecard/rank under All India Quota.
Counselling Tips While Appying to Maharashtra BTech Colleges
When registering for Maharashtra CAP counselling rounds, students can enter both their MHT CET and JEE scores. The portal evaluates automatically and checks merit on both to get the best seat allocation.
| Scenarios |
What to do? |
|---|---|
| 95+ percentile in JEE Mains but average marks in MHT CET |
Focus on All-India Quota seats in top private colleges, such as SIT, PICT, etc. |
| If you want VJTI or COEP |
Prepare well for MHT CET exam to obtain good score. |
| Low score in JEE Main and average marks in MHT CET |
In that case, you might get a seat in tier 1 college, but geting a high-demanding branch can be impossible. MHT scorecard can be useful and help you get into a good college and branch. |
If you are good at conceptual knowledge and want to get admission to national-level colleges then JEE Main can be a good option. However, if you want to improve your chances of staying in Maharashtra with an advantage of state-domicile quota/seat reservation, then getting good rank in MHT CET and applying can be a smart move.