JEE Main 2026 January Session: Will Day 1 and 2 Exam Difficulty Level Impact Cutoff?

JEE Main 2026 January session started with different difficulty levels on day 1 and 2 exams. With this students are wondering whether JEE Main 2026 cutoff will be affected or lowered. Check details here 

Will JEE Main 2026 Day 1 and 2 Exam Difficulty Level Impact Cutoff?

JEE Main Analysis: The first two days of Joint Entrance Examination Main 2026 January session saw difference in difficulty levels across shifts. JEE Main 2026 day 1 and 2 difficulty level may affect final cutoff and percentile distribution. As per candidates who appeared for JEE Main exam on January 21, shift 1 paper had a lengthy Chemistry and moderate Math and Physics. Whereas, shift 2 paper of JEE Main 2026 was slightly tougher than shift 1.

The overall JEE Main Jan 22 shift 2 exam 2026 was Moderate to tough. Whereas, day 2 shift 1 exam was overall easier than the Jan 21 shift 1 exam. NTA is conducting  JEE Main session 1 exam from January 21 to 29, 2026 in morning and afternoon shifts.

Also Read: JEE Main Jan 23 Exam Analysis Live Updates 

JEE Main 2026 January Session Day 1 Difficulty Level 

On day 1, January 21, student and expert shift 1 was described as moderate to difficult, particularly in Physics and Chemistry, with some questions demanding conceptual clarity. JEE Main Jan 21 Shift 2 was slightly tougher than shift 1, with Mathematics and Chemistry as time taking calculations. According to initial feedback, Chemistry was based on NCERT but had tricky questions in Physical Chemistry, while Mathematics posed a challenge due that could suppress raw scores.

JEE Main 2026 January Session Day 2 Difficulty Level 

JEE Main Jan 22 Shift 1 was rated easy to moderate. Physics and Chemistry were comparatively more straightforward, while some candidates found Mathematics tricky but manageable. Shift 2 was moderate to difficult with Mathematics and Physics as challenging again. Experts noted that this shift might be among the most demanding so far.  Physics had more theoretical emphasis in several shifts, and lengthy calculations in Maths increased time pressure, factors that influence overall performance.

JEE Main 2026 January Session Day 1 and 2 Difficulty Level Impact on Cutoff

After day 1 and 2 feedback, students were wondering whether this difficulty would lower or raise JEE Main 2026 session 1 cutoffs

JEE Main Difficulty vs Cutoff 

Tougher papers generally reduce JEE Main cutoffs, as very few candidates achieve high raw marks, reducing raw score needed for a given percentile. Easier shifts raise raw JEE Mains mark requirements for the same percentile, yet normalisation across shifts ensures fairness.

Through the normalisation process, NTA adjusts scores across shifts. A tougher day 1 shift 2 may see higher normalised performance points than easier shifts, balancing out differences.

JEE Main 2026 Cutoff Expectations

General qualifying percentile may fall around 93.0, with slight adjustments depending on final session variance. Experts predict that 99 percentile will fluctuate based on shift difficulty, candidates in tougher shifts may need significantly fewer raw marks to reach the same percentile compared with an easier shift.

Read More

• JEE Main 2026 Jan 23 Shift 1 Over: Know Subject-Wise Difficulty Level and Students’ Reactions