You can definitely prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced together. JEE advanced is more difficult as compared to JEE mains, but the preparation off Advanced makes you ready for your Mains as well. The syllabus is almost similar for both the exams, but in case of advanced JEE, there are a few additional topics.
While preparing for JEE advanced, you should emphasise on the conceptual aspects of every topic. Once the basic concepts are clear, qualifying Mains will become easier for you. However, situations may vary from one candidate to another depending on which they should decide whether to prepare for one exam or both. For instance:
If you are planning to take a year off for preparation, it makes sense to prepare for both these exams simultaneously.
If you have exhausted most of your attempts, it is better to focus of a particular example.
If you are confused and cannot make up your mind, you are likely to find the answers here. You will also understand balancing between JEE Mains and JEE Advanced preparation.
However, before proceeding further, you must have a clear idea about this exam first. Read till the end to clarify doubts related to these exams.
JEE Main vs JEE Advanced
If you are in a dilemma whether you should prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced together, you should analyse their differences and similarities. While both the exams are interconnected, one cannot overlook differences in their pattern and approach. In this section, you will get a detailed analysis of differences in both these exams.
Conducting Bodies
The conducting bodies of both exams are different. JEE Mains is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to enrol students into the BE and B.Tech courses in NITs and other Central aided engineering colleges. The Indian Institutes of Technology conduct JEE Advanced to enrol students only for the IITs. As the exam conducting bodies are different, there is a difference in the pattern and approach of these examinations.
Pattern of Examination
Before starting the preparation of any exam, it is essential to know its pattern. After understanding it, you can easily make a suitable strategy and start with your preparation.
Joint Entrance Examination is no different. JEE Main and JEE Advanced difference lies in the fact that their pattern is different. Once you are familiar with this pattern, you can decide whether you should opt for one or prepare for both simultaneously.
JEE Mains comprises of 360 marks in total whereas Advance is of 306 marks. Both these exams follow the multiple-choice question pattern. It includes topics from Physics, Chemistry and Maths. In the case of Mains paper, there is only a single correct answer for every question, but in the case of advanced paper, there may be more than one correct answer.
Difficulty Level
To answer, what is difference between JEE Main and JEE Advanced, one has to weigh in the difficulty levels of both the exams. Needless to say, JEE Advanced has a higher level of difficulty. The competition to get admission in the IITs is very intense. Students aspiring to get admission in the IITs must be mindful of this difference. It would require a thorough preparation if one decides to sit for the Advanced exam.
Eligibility
As JEE Advanced is one step ahead in the difficulty level in comparison to the Mains, the eligibility of the former varies too. To sit for the Mains, qualifying your class 12 Board exam is enough. However, to be eligible for Advanced, you must qualify the Mains with requisite marks. The fact will be more evident if you see the statistics of candidates in 2020 eligible for writing the advance papers. While 9,21,261 candidates appeared for the Mains, approximately only 27% of candidates will be eligible for the Advanced. This fact is enough to prove the difficulty level of this competition. If you are thinking of appearing in JEE Advanced, you must be prepared to compete with the best candidates.
Should I Prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced Together?
While deciding whether to prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced together, you must take into consideration your aim in life. If you have an ambition to get admission into one of the IITs, then qualifying JEE Advanced should be your goal, and for that, preparation of both the examinations will have to be done together. However, do not neglect the level of competition in this exam. For instance, in 2019, 1.73 lakh students appeared for this exam where seats available were only 13,853.
Qualifying Advanced exam demands serious effort and merit. The questions asked in this exam is conceptual. Candidates merely preparing the topics will not be able to qualify this exam unless their concepts are clear. Studying from a single source might not be enough for this. Students should take reference from multiple sources to get a thorough understanding of every topic.
If studying engineering is your primary motive and choosing institutions is not, then you can definitely go for JEE mains. The topics covered in this exam is closely related to the syllabus of class 11 and 12. And therefore, to clear this examination, you will need to cover the syllabus of these classes religiously. However, JEE Advanced is at a level higher than JEE Mains. To appear for JEE Advanced, in-depth knowledge is needed. Questions do not strictly adhere to the syllabus; they are concept based. The main motive of this exam is to assess the understanding of every candidate and their conceptual clarity.
Is Preparing for JEE Advance a Better Option?
If you are an aspiring candidate who is ready to put enough hard work, you can always consider preparing for the Advanced. Preparing for a tough examination can be tiring, but in this process, easier examinations can be easily handled. While covering topics for the Advanced, you will be ready for Mains as well. Those candidates who are in a position to qualify the Advanced has a wide possibility of clearing the Mains also. If you are willing to prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced together, your strategy should be to emphasise on the Advanced. You should consciously choose relevant study materials and be sure to put in extra hours of hard work.
Balancing Between JEE Mains and JEE Advanced Preparation
If you are considering sitting for both these examinations, you should keep in mind a few things before you formulate your strategy:
Compare the syllabus of both these exams.
Understand their pattern thoroughly.
Go through the previous years papers.
Once you have understood the approach of these exams, you should carefully choose the study materials and give regular mock tests. However, giving a mock test is not enough; you should analyse your results carefully and rectify your mistakes.
It is possible to prepare for the JEE Mains and JEE Advanced together, but before deciding, you should understand your aim. Situations vary from person to person, and it is upto you to decide what suits you best.
Now that you already know the details of these exams, take an informed decision. Analyse all these aspects carefully and start preparing for that particular exam, which is most convenient for you.
