JEST 2025: Answer Key, Result, Cutoff Analysis, and Counselling

Q: What will be the JEST 2024 cut off?

The JEST cut off for 2024 was decided on the difficulty level of the exam, and number of applicants who appeared in the exam. The JEST 2024 cut off marks was released. This year it was released on the official website. For PhD course it was 36 while for Int. PhD it was 30.08.

Q: What will happen after the declaration of JEST 2024 results?

Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) declared the result of JEST exam 2024 on March 26, 2024. So only those candidates who qualified the exam need to further apply in IITs, IISc, IISERs, NISER, etc. It is to be noted that students should apply to multiple institutions in order to take subjects and institutes of their choice. Those who are undergraduate can apply for M.Sc and PhD integrated programmes while those who are post graduate can apply directly for PhD programmes.

Q: Where can I check the JEST result 2024?

Applicants who secured the minimum passing marks are considered passing as per JEST Results. The result was released on the official website of JEST. Along with declaration of the result, IIST also released the score card as well as JEST cut off marks. Applicants who appeared in the exam can check their marks in JEST exam.

Q: When will JEST provisional answer 2024 key be released?

JEST 2024 provisional answer key was released in online mode on the official website. The authorities released provisional answer key on March 5, 2024. After releasing the answer key, authorities gave time to raise objections if they have in any question. After taking input from the students IIST will release the final answer key of JEST exam.

Q: Is JEST Online or Offline?

Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is an entrance exam test for admission to PhD and International PhD programme of different participating institutes for two subjects Physics and theoretical Computer Science/Neuroscience. This exam is conducted in offline mode/ pen-paper mode. This year exam conducting authorities have changed, earlier it used to be Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) but now it has changed to Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Hence the final validation will be declared along with releasing of notification but as per previous year JEST exam pattern it will be conducted in offline mode only.

Q: What will happen after the declaration of JEST 2024 results?

Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) declared the result of JEST exam 2024 on March 26, 2024. So only those candidates who qualified the exam need to further apply in IITs, IISc, IISERs, NISER, etc. It is to be noted that students should apply to multiple institutions in order to take subjects and institutes of their choice. Those who are undergraduate can apply for M.Sc and PhD integrated programmes while those who are post graduate can apply directly for PhD programmes.

Q: What is the exam analysis of JEST 2024?

The JEST exam analysis comprises the difficulty level of the exam, the average questions attempted by the applicants, whether any question was wrong or mis spelt and expected cutoff etc. It will be out after the conclusion of the exam. By checking the exam analysis, applicants can get to know about the chances of qualifying the exam.

Q: Where can I find the download link for the JEST admit card 2024?

Applicants can find JEST admit card 2024 download link via visiting the official website which is jest.org.in. Sometimes it can happen that the link does not work or the website doesn't open then in that case it is advised to retry after some times as it happens mainly due to heavy load on the website or some server side errors. The JEST hall ticket 2024 can be downloaded via entering the login credentials and captcha. After downloading applicants need to carry it to exam centres along with photo copy of one identity proof.

Q: What to do If I am unable to download the admit card of JEST exam?

After the release of the admit card, one may experience in difficulty to download for various reasons, some of them are mentioned below: A) Heavy traffic on website B) Server side/Technical Issue C) Poor internet connectivity at user's home. For all these issues, applicants are advised to wait for some time and try downloading after some time. If you are facing the issue in downloading the JEST 2024 admit card, other than mentioned above then you are advised to get in touch with the coordinators at jest email id by mentioning the issue.

181 Students Q&A

Updated on Sep 10, 2025 22:37 IST

By Ishita Chauhan, Retainer

JEST 2025 Exam was conducted in offline mode on June 22, 2025. The last date for students to complete the application process for JEST exam was June 1, 2025, according to the official website notification. The Result for the JEST 2025 students was out on the official website on July 29, 2025.

Click Here: JEST 2025 Result Download Link

Previously, the JEST 2025 Exam Date was scheduled for April 6, 2025. Before that, the date was February 23, 2025, for candidates who wish to study a PhD/Integrated PhD Programme in Physics or Neuroscience, Theoretical Computer Science or Computational Biology in one of the participating Institutes. Before, around 8278 students appear for the JEST Exam and only 919 clear the JEST exam.

To check the JEST scorecard, candidates must log in using their email IDs and passwords. In previous years, the highest score was 73.67 for PhD and 72 for Integrated PhD. The JEST exam is conducted across the country in 40 JEST exam centres.

Table of content

What is JEST?
JEST 2025 Exam Dates & Schedule
JEST 2025 Exam Highlights
JEST 2025 Counselling
JEST 2025 Result
JEST 2025 Answer Key
JEST 2025 Syllabus
JEST 2025 Exam Pattern
JEST Preparation Tips
JEST 2025 Exam Centres
JEST 2025 Admit Card
JEST 2025 Application Process
FAQs Regarding JEST Exam 2025

What is JEST?

Various renowned institutes like IISERs, NISER, IISc and more conduct the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST). Those who wish to pursue a PhD and Int. PhD programmes need to clear the JEST screening test and seek admission to various participating institutes in different subjects such as Neuroscience or Computational Biology, Physics and Theoretical Computer Science. The JEST examination is conducted for two subjects: theoretical computer science and physics. Also, the qualifications for admission to the PhD and Int. PhD programmes in different for all the participating institutes.

Commonly asked questions

Q: What is the frequency of JEST entrance exam?

Q: What is the mode of JEST Exam?

Q: What is the purpose of conducting JEST Exam?

JEST 2025 Exam Dates & Schedule

Take a look at the table below for the complete schedule of JEST 2024 exam

Dates	Past Exam Dates
29 Jul ' 25	JEST 2025 Result
Jul ' 25	JEST 2025 Provisional Answer Key
Jul ' 25	JEST 2025 Answer Key Objection
View More Past Events (5)

JEST 2025 Exam Highlights

Go through the information related to the JEST Exam 2025.

Particulars	Details
Exam Name	Joint Engineering Screening Test
Conducting Body	IIST
Exam Level	PhD level
Exam Frequency	Once a Year
Mode of Exam	Paper-pencil Based Test (PBT) or Offline
Total Number of Test Takers	To be notified
Courses Offered	Integrated MSc / MTech- PhD/ PhD
Exam Fees	INR 800 for the General category male candidates. INR 400 for SC/ST/Female candidates.
Exam Duration	180 minutes
Sections and Marks	Three sections with a total of 100 marks
Total no of Questions	50
Marking Scheme of JEST	+1 for each correct answer (Part A) +3 for each correct answer (Part B) -1/3 for each incorrect answer (Part A) -1 for each incorrect answer (Part B)
Language of Exam	English
Colleges Accepting JEST score	33 institutes in India
Number of Test Cities	38 cities in India
Official Website	https://www.jest.org.in/
Contact Details	info.jest2024@iist.ac.in

JEST 2025 Counselling

The participating institutes conduct the JEST 2025 Counselling process separately. The list of shortlisted candidates by each JEST participating institute is released based on the cutoff marks that follow the interview rounds. The venue and interview dates, along with the selected candidates, are released via email and SMS by the participating institutes.

JEST 2025: List of Colleges Accepting Scores (Expected)

JEST exam is conducted to examine whether candidates are deserving of securing admission in PhD and integrated PhD programmes or not. Check out the list of JEST participating colleges mentioned below.

Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital	Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore
Bose Institute, Kolkata	Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore
Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Bhopal
Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Allahabad	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Kolkata
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS)-TIFR, Bangalore	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Mohali
Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune
Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram
The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc), Chennai	National Brain Research Centre (NBRC), Manesar
Institute of Physics (IOP), Bhubaneswar	National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA)-TIFR, Pune
Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar	National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune	Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore	Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore
Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore	TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TCIS), Hyderabad
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai
Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata	UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research (UGC-DAE CSR), Indore
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata	TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TIFR-TCIS), Hyderabad

Also Read: List of colleges & courses for JEST admission.

JEST 2025 Result

JEST Result 2025 was released in online mode by the examination body on the official website. Students need to go through the official website, use their login credentials to download their socrecard to check out their section-wise scores and their AIR rank as well. Once the students pass the JEST exam they can go ahead to get admission to their preferred institutes.

JEST 2025 Exam Analysis

Candidates who appeared for the previous year's JEST Exam found the difficulty level of the exam from moderate to difficult compared to the previous year. Most of the questions that came in the JEST Examination were from the postgraduate and master's levels. Most of the questions were asked from the postgraduate and master's level.

Some questions were based on wave optics and quantum mechanics topics, and then some topics came from the Hamiltonian air perturbation matrix, flux, electric field, magnetic field, and Lagrangian concept, and virtual ground concept related to some direct questions were also asked in the JEST Exam.

Commonly asked questions

Q: What will happen after the declaration of JEST 2024 results?

Q: Where can I check the JEST result 2024?

JEST 2025 Answer Key

The JEST answer key was out on the official website. Once the JEST Final Answer key is published, it can not be modified or changed under any conditions. Candidates who want to calculate their estimated JEST Scores with the help of the Answer Key need to first visit the official website to download the PDF file. In case a candidate wants to challenge the provisional answer key, they need to visit the official site and then pay an objection fee along with the proof that supports their objection. If the proof is valid for the objection, then the exam conducting authority will approve the objection, and then the Final Answer will be released.

Commonly asked questions

Q: What will be the JEST 2024 cut off?

View answer key

JEST 2025 Syllabus

The JEST 2025 syllabus has been released along with the official notification on the official website by the exam authorities, along with the JEST Sample paper. The exam takers are examined based on various subjects such as Classical Methods, Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics and Electronics, Electromagnetism & Optics, and Mathematical Methods.

Download Now: JEST 2025 Syllabus

Download Now: JEST Sample Paper

View Syllabus

JEST 2025 Exam Pattern

There are a total of 50 questions in the Exam pattern for the JEST. The test paper consists of MCQ and is sectioned into two parts. In the JEST exam, students are evaluated out of 100.

No. of Sections	Total Questions
Part A	25
Part B	15
Part C	10
Total	50

JEST New Marking Scheme

Part	Total Questions	Marks for Correct answer	Marks for the wrong answer
Part A	25	1	1/3
Part B	15	3	1
Part C	10	3	0

JEST 2025 Courses Offered

Courses in which aspirants can secure admission based on their JEST result are as mentioned below:

Course Name	Courses offered
PhD in Physics	Integrated PhD in Physics
PhD in Theoretical Computer Science	Integrated PhD in Theoretical Computer Science
PhD in Neuroscience	Integrated PhD in Neuroscience
PhD in Computational Biology	Integrated PhD in Computational Biology

JEST Preparation Tips

Candidates must know that it can take six to eight months to prepare for the JEST Exam to pursue PhD courses in their preferred subjects and preferred university. Read some of the helpful tips mentioned below to prepare well for the JEST Exam.

Candidates need to work on their basics and must clear their concepts.
Selecting the right preparation material is also crucial for the preparation process. Therefore, candidates must choose the right books and avoid getting too much unnecessary study material to avoid confusion and clutter.
One of the best methods to prepare for competitive exams is to practice mock tests. These tests help candidates gain confidence in their strong areas and master their weak areas. This preparation method also helps them gain speed and the correct way of answering a question within a limited period to get maximum marks.

Candidates must read the last-minute preparation tips before they appear for the JEST Exam:

Revise Daily: Daily revision is one of the most crucial steps for candidates to prepare effectively, or else they will forget whatever they are reading daily. To remember things for a long period, it is better to revise daily or on alternative days. Reading new topics without remembering the previous one is of no use.
Previous Year Question Papers: It is a great way to prepare for any exam because knowing what is important and what was asked in the previous year's question paper is a smart way of preparation.
Work on weak topics: It is good to focus on the weak topics along with the topics you are good at. This will help candidates to prepare well for the JEST Exam and they will feel confident on the day of the exam.

JEST 2025 Question Paper

The JEST Question Paper will be out by the exam conducting authority and the JEST Exam is a paper-based Test (PBT). Once, the exam is over students are allowed to bring the JEST Question paper out of the exam centre. Those who wish to appear for the JEST 2025 Exam must get the previous year's question papers from the exam takers to prepare for the JEST Exam for the academic session 2025. The previous year's question paper will be helpful for those who are preparing for the JEST Exam 2025.

JEST 2025 Mock Test

JEST 2025 mock test or demo test is released along with the admit card by the exam conducting authorities once the online applications are filled. There are a total of nine questions and there are a total of three questions in each section based on the official mock test. The navigation system and the JEST 2025 exam format help candidates get exposure, understanding and clarity regarding the exam. Candidates must also solve and practise the sample papers available on the official website.

JEST 2025 Exam Centres

Go through the below list of exam centres, for students to select their most preferable location if they are planning to appear for the JEST Exam.

Ahmedabad
Aligarh
Allahabad
Amritsar
Bangalore
Bardhaman
Bhopal
Bhubaneswar
Chandigarh
Chennai
Delhi
Goa
Guwhati
Hyderabad
Indore
Jaipur
Kanpur
Kharagpur
Kochi
Kolkata
Kozhikode
Madurai
Mangalore
Mumbai
Nagpur
Nainital
Patna
Pune
Raipur
Rajkot
Ranchi
Roorkee
Sambalpur
Silchar
Siliguri
Srinagar
Trivandrum
Udaipur
Vijayawada
Vishakhapatnam

JEST 2025 Admit Card

The JEST 2025 Hall Ticket was out before the commencement of the exam on the official website. The JEST 2025 Admit Card was made available on the official website for the exam takers before the exam date, and candidates can get access to their Hall Ticket by filling in their login credentials, like password and registration number. All the exam takers must carry their JEST Admit Card on the day of the exam.

Commonly asked questions

Q: Where can I find the download link for the JEST admit card 2024?

Q: What to do If I am unable to download the admit card of JEST exam?

JEST 2025 Application Process

The last date for students to complete their JEST Application form was June 1, 2025. Students need to submit their personal information while filling out the application form, such as educational details, uploading documents, signature and photographs, exam centre preference, and college and course details as well. Once the Application Form is filled, they need to submit the JEST 2025 Application fee via debit card, credit card or net banking.

FAQs Regarding JEST Exam 2025

Read some of the most frequently asked questions listed for the JEST 2025 Examination.

Commonly asked questions

Q: When will JEST provisional answer 2024 key be released?

Q: Is JEST Online or Offline?

Q: What will happen after the declaration of JEST 2024 results?

Q: What is the exam analysis of JEST 2024?

JEST Exam

Student Forum

Anything you would want to ask experts?

Write here...

What is the purpose of conducting JEST Exam?

Answered 3 weeks ago

The JEST Exam is conducted for those students who want to get admission to courses and programmes to complete their PhD and Integrated PhD in theoretical computer science, physics, and neuroscience in India.

Ishita Chauhan

Contributor-Level 10

What is the frequency of JEST entrance exam?

Answered 3 weeks ago

The JEST exam is only conducted once a year. Also, it is recommended to all the students who want to qualify the JEST exam is to always go through the official website for the latest updates and notices related to the JEST Admission process and exam related dates.

Ishita Chauhan

Contributor-Level 10

What is the mode of JEST Exam?

Answered 3 weeks ago

The JEST exam is conducted once in a year and the mod eof JEST exam is offline. This exam is an opportunity for students who want to study PhD and International PhD courses in Physics and theoretical computer science/neuroscience.

Ishita Chauhan

Contributor-Level 10

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