Step-by-step plan to get a top score in JEE Main 2025
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
Exam On - 21 Jan '26 - 30 Jan '26
By Aman Goel
Planning to take JEE Main 2025 exam? Here's a step-by-step plan to help you nail a top score in JEE Main. Read more on Shiksha.
JEE Main is one of the most competitive engineering entrance exams in India. Approximately 15 lakh students appear for the exam every year. The exam is the entrance to NITs (National Institutes of Technology), IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology), and CFTIs (Centrally Funded Technical Institutes). In order to get a top rank in JEE Main, a well-thought-out strategy is needed. In this blog, we will talk about a step-by-step plan to nail a top score in JEE Main.
- Set a clear goal: This is the most crucial step. The maximum attainable score in JEE Main exam is generally 360 out of 360. Before you start your preparation, you should be very clear about your goal score. For instance, a goal could look like this - I want to score at least 300 out of 360 in JEE Main. Things that are measured can be achieved more easily because, at each step, you can evaluate your performance.
- Start the preparation early: Don’t want for June/July. Start as early as in the month of April, right after your board exams get over. This will give you a head start over your competitors. You will be able to understand concepts better when they are taught in a school/coaching institute.
- Make a timetable: Making a study timetable will help you stay disciplined. This way, at every step, you will be dedicated to your studies and you will be able to efficiently manage your time.
- Start with NCERT textbooks: JEE Main syllabus is exactly the same as the CBSE syllabus. As a result, it would be highly advisable for you to follow NCERT textbooks properly. A lot of problems in JEE Main are directly asked from NCERT textbooks. This happens quite frequently in Chemistry in particular. As a result, you should make sure that you don’t miss out on marks on such problems.
- Study from tougher textbooks: NCERT textbooks are good for a start. However, for an ambitious goal like scoring 300+, you will have to go beyond NCERT level. There are quite a few good books in the market that you can pick up for both theory and practice problems. You should definitely go for such books in order to improve your score.
- Practice a lot of problems: JEE Main paper is mostly numerical oriented. As a result, you should aim to practice a lot of such problems. As mentioned in the previous point, there are lots of good practice books which you must go for in order to improve your problem-solving skills required for JEE Main.
- Make notes: Making appropriate theory notes is going to help you a lot in the long run. First, it is a proven fact that whatever you write is retained better than whatever you listen to. Secondly, making notes is going to help you significantly during the revision period when the exam is near. It is tough to revise the entire chapter from the book again. However, it will be quite easy to revise the most important points from your notes.
- Revise a lot: Quite a few topics require regular revision. For instance, p-block elements, qualitative analysis, etc. These topics are easily forgotten if not revised frequently. You should revise regularly from your lecture notes. You can also revise a chapter by solving say 20 - 30 problems in that chapter.
- Take mock tests: There is a lot of available test series for JEE Main. There are several JEE preparation platforms that you may enroll in order to practice for the final exam day. Make sure that any mock test you take is timed so as to give you a better feel of how it would be on the exam day.
- Get doubts cleared: Never keep an element of doubt in your mind. Always get any doubts clarified with teachers or friends. In fact, you should also try to help your friends in clearing their doubts. This way, you will be able to improve your understanding of the subject/concept as well.
- Rely on self-study: Don’t depend on anyone to come and teach you. Take your own responsibility. You should figure out what are the best books. You should not depend on a coaching institute or school to provide you with sheets or practice problems. You must do these things on your own from books and other study materials available to you.
- Prepare as per the pattern: JEE Main pattern is objective. Therefore, it is recommended, that you should prepare accordingly. All questions asked in JEE Main are single correct type problems. As a result, you should focus a lot on such types of problems to make sure that you are familiar with them. JEE Main paper also involves negative marking for wrong attempts. You must practice as per this pattern to make sure that you are comfortable on exam day.
- Study for board exams as well: The actual seat allocation will be based not on your JEE Main score, but on your JEE Main rank which will be obtained by normalizing your JEE Main score with your board exams percentage (after converting it to percentile). As a result, you must make sure that you take your board exams seriously. The competition in well-known boards like CBSE is quite fierce and good students cannot afford to lose even a single mark because that will lead to a significant drop in the percentage.
Following these pointers is sure to help you prepare for JEE Main and achieve your dream college. Staying motivated and working hard is the key. All the best.
About the Author:
Aman Goel is a co-founder at a Tech Start-up. He holds a BTech in Computer Science Engineering from IIT Bombay with a JEE Advanced AIR 33 (The year 2013).
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JoSAA Counselling 2022 for NIT Jamshedpur admissions 2022 to BTech course has been concluded after six rounds. NIT Jamshedpur CSE Round 6 closing cutoff was 8988. Tabulated below are the JoSAA R6 closing ranks for NIT Jamshedpur cutoff 2022, along with 2021 and 2020 cutoffs for the General category students, to get clarity on past year trends:
JoSAA R6 Closing Ranks: General (OS) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Specialisation | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
Computer Science and Engineering | 8968 | 8569 | 8988 |
Electronics and Communication Engineering | 14,358 | 14,247 | 14,940 |
Engineering and Computational Mechanics | NA | 19,770 | |
Electrical Engineering | 20,295 | 21,333 | 22,026 |
Mechanical Engineering | 26,506 | 27,602 | 28,752 |
Civil Engineering | 35,441 | 35,817 | 42,450 |
Production Engineering | 41,208 | 41,514 | 43,739 |
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering | 42,481 | 43,220 | 43,897 |
Candidates can check JoSAA opening and closing ranks on the official website. They have to enter the details asked to check the list of courses and colleges based on the OR and CR of each counselling round.
Clearing the JEE Main exam in first attempt is not a difficult task. Several students clear JEE Main while in class 12. One thing that makes it easy to clear JEE Main with class 12 is that students are in regular touch of most JEE syllabus. To score good marks in JEE Main in the first attempt, it is advised that you study class 11 and 12 topics thoroughly, clear all the concepts and solve mock test papers. Also, NCERT books which you study in class 11 and 12 are the best books for JEE Main preparation. Students must study NCERT properly and solve all the questions in the book and do not memorize the concepts as some students do rather understand the concepts.
The time period required to complete the JEE Main preparation depends mainly on the students. Every student has their own pace of study. Ideally, 6-month time is good enough to complete the JEE Main preparation. Students who have started preparing from class 11 or 12 can easily prepare for JEE Main in 6 months considering the topics of JEE syllabus have already been studied in classes 11 and 12.
JEE Main preparation is most effective with classes 11 and 12 as almost 90-95 percent of topics are similar in both exams. This way students can easily complete the entire JEE Main syllabus as well as the syllabus of classes 11 and 12. After the board exams, students get 1-2 months' time where they can focus entirely on JEE Main. Students who have started late for the JEE Main exam can make a 6-month plan where in the first three months they have to focus on revising the syllabus studied in classes 11 and 12. In the next two months focus on solving questions of JEE Main and analyzing the mistakes being made, if any. The last month should be focused on solving mock tests and JEE Main previous year question papers.
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
Bundelkhand University considers AKTU Entrance Test or Bundelkhand University Entrance Test scores for admission to BTech. Aspirants do not require passing JEE Main for admission to BTech programme of the university. Candidates must also meet the eligibility requirements for admission. Aspirants who
N
Guide-Level 15
Answered Yesterday
JEE Main is a national-level engineering entrance exam. It is held for candidates who pass the class 12 exam for admission to the best colleges of the nation, like the NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. Various top private engineering colleges also accept the JEE Main exam score for admission.
JEE Main is also
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered Yesterday
JEE Main 2026 session 1 exam will be held between January 21 to 30. Less than 1 month is left for the exams. Candidates can also appear for the JEE Main 2026 session 2 exams to be held between April 2 to 9.
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Contributor-Level 6
Answered Yesterday
KIET Ghaziabad accepts JEE Main score for admission to BTech programme. However, it is not compulsory. Aspirants can also get admission in BTech based on their CUET scores. Aspirants must also complete Class 12 with PCM stream for admission in BTech.
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Guide-Level 15
Answered 4 days ago
CSJMU JEE Main Cutoff in 2021 for the General category candidates under the Home State quota, ranged from 98162 to 818777 for admission to various BTech programmes in the last round closing ranks. The course which was the toughest of admission was BTech in Computer Science and Engineering (Artificia
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Kurukshetra University JEE Main Cutoff 2025 was released for all the categories and rounds belonging to the AI and HS quota. For the General AI category, the cutoff ranged from 431535 to 1076882, according to the first and last round closing ranks. According to the last round, University Institute
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
MDU Rohtak JEE Main Cutoff 2025 has been released for admission to the BTech course specialisations for all categories and rounds for students belonging to All India and Home State quota. For the General AI category, the cutoff ranged from 165563 to 1389859, according to the first and last round clo
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Contributor-Level 10
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, a good JEE Main score can significantly increase chances of admission in emerging B.E. fields such as AI, Data Science, Cyber Security, Cloud Computing, and Full Stack Development. High-ranking candidates are considered for merit-based scholarships, priority counseling, and early branch allocat
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered 6 days ago
JEE Main percentile is supportive but not mandatory for admission to growth-oriented B.E. branches like ECE, Electrical, or Mechatronics at Chandigarh University. A strong percentile improves merit recognition, scholarship eligibility, and counseling priority, especially in branches with high demand
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Contributor-Level 9
Answered a week ago
Chandigarh University typically starts B.E. admission counselling before the declaration of JEE Main Phase 2 results. This early counselling is mainly conducted through CUCET, allowing students to secure seats and plan their academic journey in advance. JEE Main scores, including Phase 2 results, ca
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Beginner-Level 4
Candidates are required to fulfil the eligibility requirement to apply for any of the UG or PG programmes. The eligibility includes the qualifying exam and the minimum aggregate that aspirants need to fulfil. Below is the criteria for top NIT Durgapur courses:
Class 12 with at least 60% aggregate or 6.5 CGPA (55% aggregate or 6.0 CGPA for SC/ ST) and BTech in relevant discipline