IIT JAM Exam is the dream for almost all candidates who want to pursue a master’s degree in India.
But, how difficult is IIT JAM? – This question comes to mind of every BSc Candidates.
The journey of the IIT JAM may be hard as you have to sacrifice many things to study in IITs for MSc courses. But, if you have the right preparation strategy and know the difficulty level, then you can crack the exam in the first attempt.
To help you with this, Eduncle has come up with the IIT JAM Difficulty level. It will help you to know the toughness of the exam so that you can prepare accordingly.
Candidates Appeared in IIT JAM
Difficult Level In Terms of Selection Ratio
Difficulty Level of the JAM Test Paper
Difficulty Level of the Questions
How Difficult is IIT JAM from Undergraduate Exams?
Number of Candidates Appeared in IIT JAM Yearwise – 2015 to 2024
Every year, the number of appeared candidates are increasing in IIT JAM Exam for limited seats. So, we can say that the competition and the difficulty of the IIT JAM Exam is high.
In this section, you can analyze the last few years no. of candidates that appeared in the IIT JAM Exam.
| Year | No. of Candidates Appeared (Approx.) |
| 2015 | 25,000 |
| 2016 | 45,000 |
| 2017 | 54,654 |
| 2018 | 55,498 |
| 2019 | 66,958 |
| 2020 | 60,972+ |
| 2021 | 62,654 |
| 2022 | 51554 |
| 2023 | 54,714 |
| 2024 | 62,654 |
The above table shows that the no. of candidates is increasing every year. It means the chances to crack the Joint Admission Test is getting lower year by year.
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How Difficult is IIT JAM – In Terms of Selection Ratio
JAM is a tough nut to crack because of the selection ratio.
In 2024, around 70 to 80 thousand candidates appeared in IIT JAM Chemistry, and only 3000 seats were available in all the colleges put together (805 in IITs, 418 in NITs & CFTIs), which means a Selection Ratio of 9.45%.
As per the given analysis, there is no doubt that the competition is increasing. Despite the increased competition and candidates, the number of seats remains the same every year (more or less around 1500).
Difficulty Level of the JAM Test Paper – Last Year’s Comparison
According to the IIT JAM Analysis and expert reviews, we have found that JAM 2024 was of moderate level as like 2023 exam. Below, we have listed the difficulty level of the last few year's IIT JAM Exam.
| Year | Level of difficult |
| 2016 | Moderate |
| 2017 | Moderate |
| 2018 | Difficult |
| 2019 | Moderate |
| 2020 | Moderate |
| 2021 | Moderate |
| 2022 | Moderate |
| 2023 | Moderate |
| 2024 | Moderate |
IIT JAM – Last Year Trend of Cutoff
The marks required to qualify IIT JAM Exam are always a topic of speculation. In this post, we have decided to give insights about the last year trend of cut-off marks. You can check the last 5 years IIT JAM Cut Off to get an analysis of the difficulty level of the exam.
Get Free PDF of IIT JAM Previous Papers & Solutions
Difficulty Level of the Questions Asked in Joint Admission Test
As per the IIT JAM Exam Analysis, conceptual and tricky questions are asked in the exam, which makes the paper a little different from the previous trends. In the last 2 years, formula-based questions were asked in the exam.
In 2024, the NAT section was quite lengthy & time-consuming. There were some tricky questions in the MSQ’s section, which made the paper harder as compared to previous papers.
How Difficult is IIT JAM from Undergraduate Exams?
JAM Exam is a lesser known exam as compared to JEE, CAT, GATE etc. It is not even as competitive as them. The reason behind this is that pure sciences don't attract the masses as much as other fields do.
Here we have compared the IIT JAM Exam with other exams through which you can get admission in IIT’s.
IIT JAM vs IIT JEE
Even though IIT JAM and IIT JEE look similar, there are certain key differences between these two exams. If we talk about the difficulty level, IIT JEE is tougher than IIT JAM. Unlike JAM, IIT JEE is conducted in two stages involving JEE Mains and JEE Advanced.
IIT JAM vs GATE
GATE and IIT JAM both are the Post Graduate Level Exams to get admission into IITs. But, if we talk about the difficulty level, then we must say, GATE is tougher than IIT JAM.
IIT JAM vs JEST
Both the exams are popular for MSc Exams. The basic difference is that after cracking the JEST Exam one cannot get admission into IIT. JEST Exam is easier the JAM.
Know the difference between IIT JAM and JEST Exam here.
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