Mumbai, January 24: As the first session of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2026 progresses, education experts and coaching analysts have released the expected cutoff percentiles for various categories. With nearly 14.5 lakh students registered for the January session, initial reports suggest that the qualifying threshold for JEE Advanced eligibility is likely to remain high. For the Unreserved (General) category, the cutoff is projected to fall between the 93.3 and 95 percentile, reflecting the intense competition this year.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is currently conducting the Session 1 exams from January 21 to January 29, 2026. While the official cutoff will only be released after the conclusion of the second session in April, current trends based on the difficulty levels of initial shifts indicate a slight upward push in scores. Analysts note that while Mathematics continues to be the "decider" section due to its lengthy nature, Physics and Chemistry have remained relatively manageable, leading to higher average scores among top-tier candidates. JEE Mains 2026 Paper: 1st Shift of Session 1 of Joint Entrance Examination Ends, Know How To Raise Objections at jeemain.nta.nic.in Once Answer Key Is Released.

JEE Main 2026 Category-Wise Expected Percentile

Preliminary data suggests a competitive landscape across all reservation categories. Based on previous years' trends and the increased number of applicants, the expected qualifying percentiles are as follows:

  • General (UR): 93.3 – 95.0

  • Economically Weaker Section (EWS): 80.0 – 81.5

  • OBC-NCL: 79.0 – 81.0

  • Scheduled Caste (SC): 60.0 – 63.0

  • Scheduled Tribe (ST): 47.0 – 50.0

Marks vs. Percentile Trends

Due to the NTA’s normalisation process, the "safe marks" required to achieve these percentiles vary by shift. For a moderate difficulty paper, experts suggest that a raw score of 90–95 marks may be necessary to clear the General category cutoff. However, students aiming for the 99th percentile, typically required for top branches at NITs, should target scores in the range of 180 to 210, depending on the toughness of their specific shift.

Several variables determine the final qualifying marks released by the NTA. The primary factor this year is the record-high registration count, which naturally raises the percentile bar for the top 2.5 lakh candidates eligible for JEE Advanced. Additionally, the overall difficulty level across the multi-day shifts plays a critical role; easier papers generally lead to a "bunching" of scores at the top, requiring higher marks to maintain the same percentile. JEE Main Admit Card 2026: When Will NTA Release Hall Ticket?.

Candidates are advised that these figures are tentative and serve as a benchmark for self-assessment. The NTA is expected to release the provisional answer keys and individual response sheets in early February, with the Session 1 results tentatively scheduled for declaration by February 12, 2026. Students who do not meet their target scores in this attempt will have a second opportunity to improve their performance during the April session.

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(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 24, 2026 03:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).