The KEAM ranks are based on two components. One is the normalised KEAM score, and the other is the marks scored by a student in Class 12 PCM (Physics, Chemistry, Maths).

  • The KEAM rank is determined by a 50:50 weightage with equal importance given to both components.
  • If a student scores above 550 marks out of 600, he/ she is likely to secure a rank in the range 1-1,500.
  • To secure a rank above 4,000-5,000, a student must score above 400 in KEAM.
  • It is mandatory to pass in Hindi, English, and other optional subjects.

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KEAM 2026 marks vs rank out of 600

Key Summary

  • The KEAM 2026 rank is calculated based on 50:50 weightage with equal importance given to both CLass 12th marks and KEAM 202 entrance exam marks.
  • The minimum percentage required for qualifying the KEAM exam is 50% for general category students and 40% for SC/ ST category students.
  • Students are also expected to score a minimum of 10 marks in each section to qualify the paper.
  • A score of 450 is considered to be a safe score with an expected rank range of 5,000-20,000.
  • Students who score above 550 marks out of 600 are considered to have shown “top-tier” performance with a very good score and rank.

Qualifying Marks for KEAM 2026

The qualifying marks for KEAM 2026 depend and differ based on the student’s category.

  • If the student is from the general category, his/ her minimum qualifying marks are 240 out of 480, which sums up to 50% in aggregate.
  • Whereas, for an SC/ ST category student, you only have to score 192 marks out of 480 and secure a minimum of 40% of aggregate marks to qualify for the paper.
  • Each student should also score above 10 marks in each subject/ paper to qualify for the exam.
  • For example, if you score 15 marks in Physics but score only 8 marks in Chemistry.
  • You will still fail the paper and not be eligible for normalisation and ranking.
Category Minimum Marks Required (out of 480)
General (SM) 240 marks (50%)
SC/ ST 192 marks (40%)

Source: kmct.org

Ques. How many marks is required to qualify for KEAM pharmacy?

Ans. A general category student must score a minimum of 50% aggregate marks in both KEAM 2026 exam (if pharmacy then specially Physics and Chemistry) and Class 12th to qualify the KEAM 2026 admissions for B. Pharm. However, for SC/ ST category students the minimum score is 40% aggregate score in both, and a score of 10+ marks in every section. So even if you score 20 marks in one section and 8 marks in the other, you won’t qualify the KEAM 2026 exam.

KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Rank (General Merit)

The expected rank for KEAM 2026 can be estimated based on the previous years, KEAM 2025 and KEAM 2024 trends and analyses.

  • Any student scoring above 490-500 marks is expected to secure a rank within 5,000.
  • A rank within 5,000 is considered to be a good score to apply for top private colleges and a few government engineering colleges.
  • A score around or above 580 marks is most likely expected to be within the top 100 rankings.
  • Any score below 400 marks will fall within a rank range of 30,000+.
Score Range (out of 600) Expected Rank Range
580 - 600 Top 100
550 - 579 100 - 500
520 - 549 500 - 1,500
490 - 519 1,500 - 5,000
450 - 489 5,000 - 15,000
400 - 449 15,000 - 30,000
Below 400 30,000+
KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Rank (General Merit)

Source: kmct.org

Ques. Is 40,000 a good rank in KEAM?

Ans. No. Any rank below 5,000 is considered to be a good rank. A score of 450+ marks is considered to be a “safe score” that gives the candidates the possibilities to fall within 5,001 - 20,000 rank, making them eligible for applying to top private colleges and some government colleges.

What is a good score in KEAM 2026?

The KEAM 2026 exam is conducted for a total of 600 marks.

  • Any score above 450 marks is considered to be a good score.
  • 450+ marks is most likely to secure a rank between 5,001 - 20,000 and is eligible to apply for top private colleges and some government colleges.
  • However, a score above 550 marks is most likely to secure seats in top government colleges.
  • A score above 550 marks is considered as a “very good” score and the candidate is said to have given a “top=tier” performance in the exam securing a rank within top 5,000.

KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Ranks for Engineering

The expected ranks for engineering for KEAM 2026 marks is approximated based on the previous year, KEAM 2025’s cutoff closing ranks.

  • A score below 300 is most likely to fall above 50,000 expected rank.
  • Any student scoring above 550 marks has a high possibility of securing an expected rank within 5,000.
  • Similarly, a score between 450-549 is estimated to be within 5,000 - 20,000 rank, and a score between 350-449 is considered to be within 20,001 - 50,000.
Marks (out of 600) Expected Rank
550+ 1 - 5,000
450 - 549 5,000 - 20,000
350 - 449 20,001 - 50,000
Below 300 50,000+
KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Ranks for Engineering

Ques.How much rank is 300 marks in KEAM for engineering?

Ans. A score of 300-350 marks in KEAM is most likely to secure a rank around 20,000 for engineering. This gives the student the opportunity to apply for mid or sometimes top private colleges in Kerala for engineering.

Ques.How much rank is 300 marks in KEAM for engineering?

Ans. A score of 400-450 marks in KEAM is most likely to secure a rank between 5,000 - 20,000 for engineering. This gives the student the opportunity to apply for top private colleges or sometimes government colleges in Kerala for engineering.

KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Ranks for Pharmacy

Based on KEAM 2025’s marks vs. ranks result, the KEAM 2026 expected ranks for pharmacy can be analysed.

  • A student scoring above 255 marks out of 300 in KEAM 2026 is most likely to expect a rank ranging from 1,001 - 2,500.
  • Any score less than 100 is very rarely considered for admission and secures a rank above 20,000.
  • A score above 100 marks is likely to fall within 8,001 - 20,000 rank range, and a score above 162 marks is considered to secure a rank range between 2,501 - 8,000.
Marks (out of 300) Expected Rank
255+ 1,001 - 2,500
162+ 2,501 - 8,000
100+ 8,001 - 20,000
Less than 100 20,000+
KEAM 2026 Marks vs Expected Ranks for Pharmacy

Ques.What is a good rank in KEAM for pharmacy?

Ans. A score above 450 marks in KEAM is considered as a “safe score” for studying pharmacy in top colleges, whereas 350 is considered to be “moderate” and 250 is taken as “average” . The closing rank for studying pharmacy in good government colleges usually falls within 10,000 rank and 20,000 rank is kept as the closing rank in most top private pharmacy colleges.

Ques.How many pharmacy seats are there in Kerala?

Ans. A total of 4086 seats are only available in Kerala which is spread across 58 institutions, with 100 seats available in Al-Shifa College of Pharmacy, Perinthalmanna, Nirmala College of Pharmacy, Ernakulam, Kerala Academy Of Pharmacy,Kandala,Thiruvananthapuram, National College of Pharmacy, Kozhikode, Jamia Salafia Pharmacy College, Malappuram, Prime College of Pharmacy, Palakkad, Malik Deenar College of Pharmacy, Kasaragod, Nirmala College of Health Sciences Thrissur, Dr. Moopen’s College of Pharmacy, Nehru College of Pharmacy, Thiruvilwamala, Moulana College of Pharmacy, Perintalmanna, JDT Islam College of Pharmacy, Kozhikode, Nazareth College of Pharmacy, Thiruvalla, Mar Dioscorus College of Pharmacy, Thiruvananthapuram and K.T.N. College of Pharmacy, Palakkad.

(Source: dme.kerala.gov.in)

Expected KEAM 2026 Branch-Wise Closing Ranks — Top Government Colleges

The branch-wise expected closing cutoff shows the high demand in securing CSE branches and the increase in the cutoff ranks for core engineering branches like Mechanical and Civil.

  • CSE branch has the lowest cutoff rank across the colleges as it has high demand.
  • CET Trivandrum is most likely to take in students only within 7,000 rank.
  • RIT Kottayam has the highest cutoff rank that goes up to 15,000.
Branch CET Trivandrum GEC Thrissur TKMCE Kollam GEC Barton Hill RIT Kottayam
CSE 400 - 500 500 - 600 900 - 1,300 1,000 - 1,500 1,500 - 2,500
ECE 650 - 850 800 - 1,100 1,500 - 2,500 1,500 - 2,500 2,500 - 4,000
EEE 1,500 - 2,000 2,000 - 3,000 3,000 - 5,000 3,000 - 5,500 4,000 - 7,000
Mechanical 3,000 - 4,000 4,000 - 6,000 5,000 - 8,000 5,000 - 8,500 7,000 - 12,000
Civil 5,000 - 7,000 6,000 - 9,000 7,000 - 11,000 7,000 - 12,000 9,000 - 15,000
Expected KEAM 2026 Branch-Wise Closing Ranks — Top Government Colleges

Source: kmct.org

Also Check:

Ques. Which engineering college has the highest package in Kerala?

Ans. IIT Calicut has the highest package for an engineering college in Kerala. It has a 99% placement rate with a median salary of INR 11.7 lakhs. Apart from that IIST Thiruvananthapuram, and other state government colleges like College of Engineering Trivandrum (CET), GEC Thrissur and TKM College of Engineering are other notable colleges to study engineering in Kerala.

Reddit Discussions

Recent reddit discussions also show previous year candidates suggestions on scoring above 400 to secure a good rank and seat in top colleges.

Reddit Discussions

Source: Reddit