IIT JAM 2026 Cutoff: Round 1 vs Round 2 Closing Score Trends

IIT JAM 2026 Second Admission List releases on June 8, 2026, and expected closing scores are 3–8 marks lower than Round 1 across most subjects — giving students who narrowly missed their preferred programme a genuine second chance.

IIT Bombay conducted IIT JAM 2026 on February 15, 2026, and declared results on March 20, 2026. Seat allocation runs through JOAPS (JAM Online Application Processing System) across five rounds. The First Admission List released on May 25, 2026; the Second follows on June 8. Knowing how closing scores shift between rounds helps you decide whether to accept your current offer, float for an upgrade, or withdraw and try a later round.

• All IIT JAM 2026 papers are marked out of 100; every cutoff below uses this scale.
• The qualifying cutoff sets the merit list entry bar; the closing score is the marks of the last student admitted in a specific programme and round.
• Round 2 closing scores are typically 3–8 marks lower than Round 1 across the IIT system.
• OBC-NCL and EWS qualifying cutoff is 10% lower than General; SC, ST, and PwD cutoff is 50% lower.
• Biotechnology (BT) and Economics (EN) carry the highest qualifying cutoffs in 2026; Physics (PH) and Mathematics (MA) the lowest.

---

Qualifying Cutoff vs Closing Score: Why Both Matter

Two thresholds determine whether you get a seat in IIT JAM admissions. The qualifying cutoff is the minimum score fixed by IIT Bombay to place you on the merit list — you must cross it to participate in JOAPS at all. The closing score is the score of the last candidate admitted into a specific programme and institute in a given round. Crossing the qualifying cutoff does not guarantee a seat; the closing score does.

In high-demand programmes at IIT Delhi or IIT Bombay, the Round 1 closing score can sit 30–45 marks above the qualifying cutoff. That gap narrows in Round 2 as withdrawn or upgraded seats re-open and students lower on the merit list receive offers.

---

IIT JAM 2026 Qualifying Cutoffs by Subject

The table below lists the official IIT JAM 2026 qualifying cutoffs released after results on March 20, 2026. These are confirmed scores required to enter the merit list in each category.

The low qualifying cutoffs for MA, PH, and MS do not indicate low competition for seats. These papers have large applicant pools and limited IIT seats, so programme-level closing scores are significantly higher. BT and EN require you to clear a more demanding qualifying bar before you even enter the JOAPS seat pool.

---

Round 1 Closing Score Analysis (May 25, 2026)

The First Admission List released on May 25, 2026, filled seats primarily at high-demand IITs. Based on 2024 and 2025 JOAPS admission trends, the table shows expected Round 1 closing score ranges for the General category, separated by institute tier.

All figures are based on 2024 and 2025 JOAPS admission trends and should be read as expected ranges. The wide spread within each subject reflects the gap between highly sought-after IITs and newer or lower-demand programmes in the same discipline.

---

Expected Round 2 Closing Scores (June 8, 2026)

The Second Admission List releases on June 8, 2026. Seats freed by students who withdrew or received upgrades from Round 1 re-enter the pool. This benefits students ranked just below Round 1 closing marks. The table below shows expected Round 2 closing score ranges, based on prior-year admission patterns.

Physics and Mathematical Statistics show the steepest expected drops because a larger band of mid-range scorers competes for seats spread across more institutes. If your score sits 5–10 marks below Round 1 top-IIT closing ranges, Round 2 is a realistic upgrade window. Use JOAPS’s float option to keep your Round 1 seat while competing for a better offer.

---

Round 1 vs Round 2: Subject-Wise Score Drop at a Glance

The comparison below uses mid-range expected values for top IITs, General category, to show the practical shift between rounds.

A 5–6 mark drop is meaningful when you are borderline for a top-IIT programme. Students with scores of 48–54 in Physics who missed Round 1 at IIT Bombay or Delhi should watch Round 2 closely. Note that three more rounds follow — June 16, June 27, and July 3 — so scores can ease further in later rounds for less sought-after programmes.

---

Category-Wise Cutoff Relaxation Across Rounds

The 10% OBC-NCL/EWS and 50% SC/ST/PwD relaxations on qualifying cutoffs carry over proportionally to programme-level closing scores in every round. The table illustrates this using Physics (PH) as an example.

SC, ST, and PwD students scoring above 25 in Physics have realistic chances at IIT seats even in Round 1. The proportional advantage remains constant across all five JOAPS rounds, so the score drop between rounds benefits every category equally.