JEE Main Difficulty Level Trends 2026 Session 1: Interview with Subject Expert

CollegeDekho News Desk, New Delhi:Pooja S, a JEE Mains subject expert based out of New Delhi with 5+ years expeience has given an interview to CollegeDekho via a YouTube Live session on JEE Main Difficulty Level Trends 2026. She has analysed the JEE Mains question paper of January 21, 22 and 23. Here are her insights on the difficulty level of the question paper, toughest subject, topics coverage and advice for the Session 2 exam.
Question: JEE Main 2026 - Is it tougher than the previous year? What’s your take?

Answer:If I were to compare, JEE Main 2026 Session 1 seems to be tougher than the previous year's Session 1. While proper comparison will be done once we have the analysis of the upcoming exam shifts, the difficulty level in key subjects seems higher this year. Basically, the emphasis has been more on application-based, time-consuming questions in Maths and Chemistry, which has made this year’s JEE Session 1 a bit more challenging.
Question: Please explain the overall difficulty level of the paper in the past 4 shifts, i.e., on January 21, 22 and 23

Answer Key:So, the overall difficulty level of four shifts has been mostly 'Moderate to Difficult'. Out of these 4 shifts, three were 'moderate to tough', way harder than normal, especially Chemistry and Maths emerged as the biggest challenges. January 22nd Shift 2 was particularly tough, I would say.The Shift 1 paper of January 23 was slightly easier than previous shifts.

Answer:Yeah, Physics had a bunch of past year questions that might have helped some students maximise their scores by recognising patterns. So, looks like, it turned out to be a lifesaver!

Answer:I think Chemistry turned out to be the most worrisome for students. And sharp declines are expected in percentile scores due to its unexpected toughness. For Session 2 takers, I would advise that prioritize targeted Chemistry revision on high-weightage topics, practice time management under simulated tough conditions. I would say good attempts around 40-45 can still push you to 180+ marks.

Answer:I think Mathematics has turned out to be 'Moderate to Difficult' across the shifts. Basically, there were tricky problems that demanded deeper conceptual clarity rather than grinding practice. So, it has particularly stood out as a challenging subject.

Answer:So, the Physics section stayed at a moderate difficulty level. I think students would’ve benefited from previous years' questions that allowed strategic scoring, though it was not totally immune to the session's higher difficulty level.

Answer Key:I think students can expect a slight decline in JEE Main 2026 cutoffs—around 0.1 to 0.2 percentile across categories—due to the tougher paper. General might dip to 93 percentile from 93.10 last year, with similar tweaks for EWS (80), OBC (79.3), SC (61), and ST (47).
Also read |JEE Main Cutoff 2026 might Witness a Slight Decline: What could be the reason?

Answer Key:If you're aiming for 180-185 marks in JEE Main 2026 Session 1, you're pretty much on track for around the 99 percentile. Given the overall difficulty—especially in Chemistry and Math—nailing just 40-45 solid attempts can realistically get you there.
Also read |Majority Test Takers Expecting 150 Plus Marks in JEE Main 2026 Session 1: Is 99 percentile possible?
Conclusion by Pooja S on JEE Main 2026 Exam Difficulty Trends

“Chemistry was the biggest shock, with sharp percentile drops expected, so I suggest that students dive back into NCERT basics and high-weightage topics like Organic/Physical Chem right away. For remaining shifts or Session 2, prioritise the easy section first: start with Physics, and practice time management since Math's tricky problems ate up time in Shifts 1-4”.
Video - YouTube live session with Subject Expert Pooja S on JEE Main Difficulty Level Trends 2026

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