In 2019, the National Testing Agency (NTA) introduced the JEE Main two attempt system in the JEE Main exam pattern. Until 2018, students had only one chance to take the exam each year. This meant years/months of preparation, and the student's future depended on a single 3-hour test.
From 2019 onwards, NTA changed the JEE Main exam pattern and allows students to appear for the JEE Main exam twice: once in January and again in April.
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This change was aimed at reducing pressure, giving students a backup option, and improving fairness. But did it actually help students perform better? The analysis below shows a clearer picture of how this system has improved JEE Main results and student behaviour.
| Period | Number of Attempts Per Year | Months of Attempts | Reason/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 2019 | 1 | April (once a year) | Traditional single-attempt system |
| 2019–Present | 2 | January & April | NTA introduced a two-session format |
| 2021 (Special Case) | 4 | Feb, Mar, Jul, Aug | COVID-19 flexibility for students |
| Overall Attempt Limit | 6 total attempts | Over 3 years | Students can attempt JEE Main for three consecutive years after Class 12 |
How Student Participation Changed After the Two-Attempt System?
- The number of students taking the JEE Main exam has varied significantly over the last 10 years.
- This shows number of students taking JEE Main has increased a lot after 2019. Since more students are appearing but the qualifying seats are the same, the competition has become much tougher.
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Check: How Many Marks for 99 Percentile in JEE Mains 2025?
Session-Wise Breakdown
If you check the number of students in each session, you can see a clear pattern.
- Session 1 (January) consistently has more students than Session 2. In 2025, about 12.58 lakh students appeared in January compared to 9.92 lakh in April.
- This is because most of the students treat the first attempt as their main exam, while many others skip the second session if they have a good score in Session 1
| Year | Session 1 (Jan/Feb) | Session 2 (April/July) | Session 3 | Session 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 8,69,000 | 6,35,000 (Sept)* | - | - |
| 2021 | 6,21,033 (Feb) | 5,56,248 (March) | 5,43,553 (July) | 4,81,419 (Aug) |
| 2022 | 7,69,604 (June) | 5,40,242 (July) | - | - |
| 2023 | 8,23,967 | 8,83,367 | - | - |
| 2024 | 11,70,048 | 10,67,959 | - | - |
| 2025 | 12,58,136 | 9,92,350 | - | - |
*The April 2020 session was postponed to September due to the pandemic.
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How the JEE Main Two-Attempt System Increased Scores but Raised the Competition?
The Good News: Students Are Improving:
- Most students are able to improve their scores. As per the previous date, 60-70% of students who take both sessions perform better in their second attempt.
- Some students improved their percentile. In 2020, nearly 3,700 students improved their percentile from below 80 percentile to the 90-100 percentile range between attempts.
- The pressure is gone. Students no longer face the "do-or-die" stress of a single exam day. A bad morning, illness, or panic attack doesn't end their dreams.
The Challenge: Competition Got Tougher:
- Here, you need to understand that students are getting two chances to improve their score, so the JEE Main two attempt system has raised the competition as well.
- From the table below, you can see that the minimum percentile needed to qualify for JEE Advanced (the next stage) has been increasing
- Just a few years ago, scoring 88-89 percentile was enough to qualify. Now, you need over 93 percentile.
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JEE Advanced Qualifying Cut-offs (2019–2025)
| Year | General Category Cut-off | EWS | OBC-NCL | SC | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 89.75 | 78.21 | 74.31 | 54.01 | 44.33 |
| 2020 | 90.37 | 70.24 | 72.88 | 50.17 | 39.06 |
| 2021 | 87.89 | 66.22 | 68.02 | 46.88 | 34.67 |
| 2022 | 88.41 | 63.11 | 67.00 | 43.08 | 26.77 |
| 2023 | 90.77 | 75.62 | 73.61 | 51.97 | 37.23 |
| 2024 | 93.23 | 81.32 | 79.67 | 60.09 | 46.69 |
| 2025 | 93.10 | 80.38 | 79.43 | 61.15 | 47.90 |
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Even though more students are scoring higher percentiles, only a few are able to qualify. This is because only about 2.5 lakh students can make it to JEE Advanced each year, and this number is fixed. But as the total number of students taking JEE Main is increasing due to the JEE Main two attempt system, the chances of qualifying are going down.
| Year | Total Candidates | Qualified for Advanced | Qualifying Percentage | Odds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 11,13,325 | 2,50,255 | 22.5% | 1 in 4.5 |
| 2024 | 14,15,110 | 2,50,284 | 17.7% | 1 in 5.7 |
| 2025 | 14,75,103 | 2,50,236 | 16.96% | 1 in 6 |
Check: JEE Main Passing Marks 2026- Check Expected, and Previous Years’ Cutoffs
How Should This Change Your Strategy?
- Don't consider Session 1 as a practice exam. A strong first attempt gives you a huge advantage and lets you focus entirely on JEE Advanced preparation.
- If you think if you have not prepared well, then use Session 1 as your diagnostic test. It shows your real strengths and weaknesses under actual exam conditions, which is much better than any mock test.
- Remember what you're competing against. You're not just competing against other students; actually, you're competing against their best possible performance from the JEE Main two attempt system.
- Improvement plan, not just backup. The second session isn't a safety net; it's a strategic opportunity to score higher based on what you learned.
The JEE Main two attempt system is better for students as it gives students more control over their results, but it has not made JEE Main easier. Rather, the competition has increased as a larger number of students are fighting for the same number of seats.
The bottom line is that having multiple attempts helps students to perform better, but it has increased the cut-off for everyone. So the question isn't whether you should use both attempts, it's how effectively you'll use them.
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