The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the first shift of the JEE Main 2026 April 2 exam as part of Session 2 of the engineering entrance test. With official results yet to be declared, coaching experts and analysis platforms have released an expected marks vs percentile chart for Shift 1 candidates to help estimate performance ahead of the result announcement.
Expected Marks vs Percentile – April 2 Shift 1
Based on preliminary analysis of student feedback, paper difficulty and trends from previous sessions, the following expected marks to percentile ranges have been suggested for April 2 Shift 1:
- 99 percentile: ~175‑188 marks
- 98 percentile: ~165 marks
- 97 percentile: ~155 marks
- 96 percentile: ~145 marks
These estimates provide candidates with a rough idea of how their raw scores might translate into normalized percentiles once the NTA finalizes results using the official answer key and normalization method across shifts.
Why Marks vs Percentile Matters in JEE?
In JEE Main, the percentile score reflects a candidate’s performance relative to other test‑takers in the same session after normalization. It is not the same as the percentage of marks obtained; instead, it indicates how a student ranks compared to others. Higher percentiles increase the chances of admission into NITs, IIITs, and other top engineering institutes during counselling. For example, securing above 175 marks could place a candidate in or near the 99 percentile, often required for competitive branches or top institutes. Meanwhile, mid‑range scores will correspond to respective percentile bands enabling broader admissions opportunities.
How Percentile Is Calculated in JEE?
NTA conducts JEE Main across multiple shifts, and papers may vary in difficulty. To ensure fairness across shifts, a normalization process is used: raw marks are converted into NTA scores (percentiles) so that candidates in different shifts are fairly compared. The percentile reflects performance relative to all candidates in the same shift. Thus, two students with the same raw marks in different shifts might receive slightly different percentile scores depending on the difficulty level of each shift.
What Candidates Should Do Next?
- Estimate Score: Compare your attempted answer count with the expected marks vs percentile chart above.
- Wait for Official Result: The NTA is expected to release the JEE Main 2026 Session 2 results by around 20 April 2026.
- Monitor Counselling: Following result declaration, aspirants should prepare for JoSAA counselling based on their percentile and category rank.
These expected percentile ranges are provisional and based on expert analysis; the official NTA results will provide the definitive percentile scores.