An Engineering degree is one of the most coveted career options in India today. With the heavy competition for the limited number of seats in good institutes, it is vital that engineering aspirants should be aware of some of the most important examinations and of the selection criteria of their dream institutes. Let us, therefore, take a look at the JEE Main and the selection criteria based on this exam.
Entrance to IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology)
The JEE Main Examination forms the first step towards entrance to the highly reputed IITs. The IITs are considered the best engineering institutions in the country and have international repute as well. The 16 IITs and ISM, Dhanbad (Indian School of Mines) together offer around 9,867 seats. Candidates who are interested in studying at the IITs must first appear for the JEE Main Examination. Further, in order to be eligible for the next stage of the selection process of the IITs, candidates must secure a rank among the top one and a half lakh candidates who appear for the JEE Main examination. It must be noted that, in 2014, 13.56 lakh candidates had appeared for the JEE Main examination. Thus, a good performance in the JEE Main examination is vital for candidates interested in studying at the IITs.
Entrance to NITs, IIITs, CFIs and many state level institutions
The JEE Main is the sole examination conducted for admission to many top engineering colleges across India. These top engineering colleges include the NITs (National Institutes of Technology), IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology) and many other institutions funded by the central government. Among these institutions, the NITs offer close to 15,000 seats while the IIITs offer close to a thousand seats. Similarly, many other institutions funded by the central government offer close to three thousand seats based on a candidate’s performance in the JEE Main. Additionally, many institutions funded by various state governments also select candidates on the basis of their performance in the JEE Main.
For selection through JEE Main, CBSE – the organisation that conducts this examination – follows a two stage process. In this process, a candidate’s performance in the Class 12th or equivalent qualifying examination and the candidate’s performance in the JEE Main examination is considered. While 60% weight is given to the candidate’s performance in the JEE Main examination, 40% weight is given to the candidate’s performance in the Class 12th or equivalent qualifying examination.
Each candidate’s performance in the Class 12th or equivalent qualifying examination is normalized in order to ensure that the marks secured by candidates across different boards are comparable. The process of normalization looks at each candidate’s rank in his/her board and then considers the marks secured by candidates of comparable rank in the JEE Main. The average of the marks scored in the JEE Main by candidates of comparable rank at the All-India Level and the marks scored in JEE Main by candidates of comparable rank from the same board is considered in order to calculate the candidate’s Normalized Board Performance.
Each candidate’s composite score is then calculated using the formula
C = 0.6 * JEE Main score + 0.4 * Normalized board performance.
Thus, the composite score of each candidate gives 60% weight to the candidate’s performance in the JEE Main and 40% weight to the performance in the Class 12th or equivalent qualifying examination.
Based on the composite score, each candidate’s rank card is prepared indicating his/her All India Rank, State Rank and Category Rank, along with total marks and marks scored in each paper.
Only the All India Rank (AIR) is used for admissions through the Central Seat Allocation Board to NITs/ IIITs/ CFIs/ SFIs/ Others – the other ranks are only given for information purposes.
This then is the complete selection process through the JEE Main. Now that you know what it would take to secure a seat in your dream institution, you can better prepare and plan for this examination.
All the Best!