NTA explains JEE (Main) 2026 percentile system across 9 shifts

India Apr 21, 2026

Wondering how your JEE (Main) 2026 rank was decided? The NTA has explained its percentile system, used for exams held April 2-8 across nine different shifts.
Since each shift's difficulty can vary, a raw score alone doesn't tell the whole story.
This year, even the 99th percentile ranged from 165 to 196 out of 300.

NTA merges shift percentiles for fairness

The NTA treats each exam shift as its own group and ranks students within that shift by raw marks.
These percentile scores are then merged into a single national merit list.
According to the agency, this method is essential for fairness. Otherwise, your rank could depend more on which shift you got than how well you performed.
Only two shifts saw perfect scores this time, with the top percentile hitting 285 in one session.