JEE Main Cut off not only determines qualifying criteria for admissions to engineering courses but, it also reflects the competitiveness among the IIT aspirants. Every year around 12 lakh aspirants compete for admissions to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) through IIT Joint Entrance Exam, but only around 220000 candidates are able to qualify the exam. The key factor for such result of JEE Main is the Cut off marks.
What is cut off marks? Cut off marks are the minimum marks determined by exam conducting authority basis which the candidates are considered qualified or non-qualified. For example, to qualify board exam, a student needs to score at least 33% marks in aggregate only then the student will be declared pass. Similarly, for qualifying JEE Mains, candidates need to score the minimum cut off marks to be qualified for next level i.e. JEE Advanced.
Here we discuss cut off marks for IIT JEE Main for past years i.e. 2015, 2016 as well as for JEE Main 2017. Check below the cut off trends for JEE Main –
JEE Main Cut off Trends for the year 2015, 2016 and 2017
| Category |
JEE 2017 Cut off |
JEE 2016 Cut off |
JEE 2015 Cut off |
| General |
81 |
100 |
105 |
| OBC – Non-Creamy Layer |
49 |
70 |
70 |
| SC |
32 |
52 |
50 |
| ST |
27 |
48 |
44 |
Reasons affecting IIT JEE Main Cut off – Rise or Fall in cut off marks
1. The difficulty level of the question paper – One of the most common reasons affecting the cut off marks is how much the difficulty level of the paper is whether online or offline JEE Main exam.
- If JEE Main paper is tough or difficult, then, the cut off marks are expected to be low
- If the paper is easy, then, the cut off marks are expected to be high
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2. Numbers of candidates – Every year almost around 12,00. 000 candidates appear for but only 20% candidates are able to qualify for JEE Advanced. The more the number of candidates, higher the cut off marks. However, JEE Main 2017 the cut off marks were unexpectedly low. Check below the trends for JEE Main qualified candidates –
| JEE Main exam Year |
2017 |
2016 |
2015 |
| Number of Qualified Boys |
175267 |
Around 158000 |
124297 |
| Number of Qualified Girls |
46160 |
Around 40000 |
28104 |
| Total Registered Candidates |
1186454 |
11,94, 938 |
1292711 |
| Total Number of Qualified Candidates |
221427 |
1,98,228 |
152401 |
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Conclusion – Going by the past year JEE Main Cut off trends, IIT JEE aspirants need to understand that the cut off marks are not constant and it can vary every year depending on various factors. The cutoff marks for JEE Main is the minimum marks for qualification but for admissions to IITs or Prominent Engineering Colleges like NITs they need to obtain higher marks out of total marks for both JEE Main and JEE Advanced.
