The National Testing Agency’s (NTA) Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) is the national-level examination for entry into B.E./B.Tech., B.Arch. and B.Planning courses. JEE Main 2021 exam will act as the qualifier for students to get admission in engineering and architecture colleges across the country and serve as an eligibility test for JEE Advanced.

Marks vs Percentile vs Rank in JEE Main 2021

A lot of students face confusion, understanding how rankings are calculated. The JEE Main result 2021 will use normalisation to equate scores as the exam is held in multiple slots with different sets of questions. The percentile score indicates the percentage of candidates that have scored either equal to or below the score acquired by a particular candidate.

Calculating Your Percentile

  • Step 1 – Calculating the raw score: Raw Score = 4 x (correct answers) – 1 x (incorrect answers)
  • Step 2 – Percentile = 100 x (No. of candidates with a raw score less than equal to candidate’s score) / (Total no. of candidates)

Understanding Ranking

Now that the difference between marks and percentile is clear, let’s look at how the rank is going to be assigned in JEE Main result 2021. The top percentile scorer is assigned a rank 1 and the next one rank 2, and so forth. Those with equal percentile scores are given a rank based on tie-breaker techniques.

Ranking Equal Scores

Different tie-breaking criteria are utilised depending on the institute preference:

  • Tie-breaking criteria for BE/B.Tech (other than IITs)
    The priority is given to those with higher marks in subjects in the following order – Mathematics > Physics > Chemistry > Older in age
  • Tie-breaking criteria for B.Arch (other than IITs)
    The priority is given to those with higher marks in subjects in the following order – Mathematics > Aptitude Test > Drawing Test > Lesser negative responses > Older in age
  • Tie-breaking criteria for B. Planning (other than IITs)
    The priority is given to those with higher marks in subjects in the following order – Higher Mathematics > Aptitude Test > Planning Based Question > Lesser negative responses > Older in age

If the tie is still not broken, candidates are assigned the same ranks in JEE Main result 2021.

Example Scores vs Ranks vs Percentile

Based on the results  over the years, the following correlation has been noticed:

Score range Rank range
285–300 Top 100
275 – 284 100 – 200
260 – 274 200 – 500
250 – 259 500 – 1000
240 – 249 1000 – 1500
220 – 239 1500 – 3500
200 – 219 3500 – 6000
180 – 199 6000 – 9500
150 -180 9500 – 15000
120 – 149 15000 – 35000
<120 More than 35000

 Similarly, following trends here are some example scores to percentile relation:

JEE Main Marks Percentile
360 to 310 100 – 99.98724751
309 to 299 99.985572 – 99.9740296
298 to 288 99.97589128 – 99.96258028
287 to 278 99.96146328 – 99.94424276
277 to 268 99.94098483 – 99.91929629
267 to 258 99.91836545 – 99.89081262
257 to 248 99.88643768 – 99.84845946
247 to 238 99.84510844 – 99.79959043
237 to 228 99.79679791 – 99.73294238
227 to 218 99.73005678 – 99.65475193
217 to 208 99.64888765 – 99.55273201
207 to 198 99.54919482 – 99.43609792
197 to 188 99.4200875 – 99.28958392
187 to 178 99.26473052 – 99.07781811
177 to 168 99.06329703 – 98.85683701
167 to 158 98.82509541 – 98.55710695
157 to 148 98.53104347 – 98.20040957

This should give one a fair idea of how marks or scores will relate in JEE Main 2021.

NTA also releases answer keys for the exam. In case one is not satisfied with their scores or finds them incorrect, they can challenge the same by filing an online application. The application process incurs a non-refundable fee of Rs. 1000 to discourage frivolous claims.