JEE Main 2026 General Category Cutoff Trends: Reality Check for Aspirants

The General Cutoff for JEE Main 2026 trends is usually one of the first things you look up once the exam is over. The cutoff helps you understand the percentile or raw score you need to qualify for JEE Advanced. It also gives a clear idea of whether you have a chance of getting admission into top NITs, IIITs, or GFTIs.

Based on student reactions and early reports, the JEE Main 2026 exam was a bit difficult than recent years. Because of this, the cutoff is expected to dip slightly. Keeping past cutoff trends, exam difficulty, and the NTA normalization process in mind, CollegeDekho experts have estimated the expected cutoff range for General category students in terms of both percentile and marks. Scroll down to check the details.

General Cutoff for JEE Main 2026

The table below shows the qualifying percentile range for General and UR-PwD categories in JEE Mains 2026. Remember, this cutoff only decides your eligibility for JoSAA counselling, not your final college admission.

Expected JEE Main 2026 Safe Score for General Category

A “safe score” is one that keeps students comfortably above the JEE Main cutoff , even if competition increases slightly. Based on trends, the JEE Main 2026 expected safe percentile and marks for General category students are:

Expected JEE Main 2026 College-Wise Cutoff Trends

Clearing the General Cutoff for JEE Main 2026 trends trends only makes you eligible. Your actual admission depends on college-wise cutoffs, which vary every year. Based on trends from JEE Main 2024 and 2025, this is what you can expect for 2026.

Check JEE Main NIT Cutoff 2026

Factors Affecting General Cutoff for JEE Main 2026

There is never a single criteria responsible for changing the cutoffs every year, and neither it is easy to predict the exact change in cutoffs. But, for 2026, there seem to be multiple factors influencing JEE Main cutoff. According to the existing trends and the performance seen in the JEE Main January 2026 session, the following are some factors influencing this year’s cutoff:

Rising Number of Unique Candidates

This is one of the biggest reasons for rising cutoffs. Every year, more and more students are appearing for JEE Main. For 2026, registrations are expected to touch 15.5 lakh or even higher. However, the number of students allowed to qualify for JEE Advanced stays fixed at around 2.5 lakh. When more students compete for the same limited slots, the qualifying percentile naturally goes up.

Shift-Wise Difficulty and Normalization

JEE Main is held in multiple shifts across several days. Not all shifts are equally difficult. To balance this, NTA uses a normalization process. If your shift had tougher sections, such as Mathematics being lengthy or calculation-heavy in some January 2026 shifts, you may need fewer raw marks to reach the same percentile.

Better Preparation Resources for Students

Students today have access to more resources than ever before. Online coaching, test series, and quality study material are easily available. Because of this, the average preparation level has improved. Many students end up scoring in similar ranges. Which means that the cutoff tends to increase, as there are many students around higher scores.

Seat Availability and High Demand

Qualifying for JEE Advanced is one thing. Getting a seat in a top college is another. For top NITs , the CSE cutoff is expected to stay above the 99.5th percentile. Although a few new seats and colleges are added every year, this growth is much slower than the rise in applicants. This keeps competition extremely high.

Also Check:

If you are targeting a top-tier NIT, do not stop at just clearing the qualifying cutoff. Aim at least 2-3 percentile points higher so that you have more branch options during counselling. The JEE Main 2026 January session results are expected by the second week of February. If your percentile is below your goal, the April session will give you another chance.