JEE Main is held in multiple sessions (January and April) and multiple shifts per session. Each shift has a different question paper. Some shifts are harder than others.
NTA normalisation is the process of adjusting raw scores to account for this difficulty difference. The goal is to make sure a student in a hard shift is not penalised compared to a student in an easier shift.
The result is a percentile score, not a raw mark. Your percentile tells NTA where you rank among all candidates who appeared in your session.
Suppose you both scored 180. If your shift was harder (tougher questions, lower average marks), your raw 180 places you higher relative to others in your shift. NTA rewards this.
If your friend's shift was easier and the average score was higher, their 180 places them lower within their shift. Their percentile comes out lower even though the raw number is the same.
Key takeaway: compare percentiles, not raw scores.
See how the same score gives different percentiles across sessions
April session historically has more competition. Same raw score may yield ~1-3 percentile points lower than January.
| Year | Session | Advanced cutoff %ile | AIR 1 score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Jan | 89.7 | 310/360 |
| 2024 | April | 93.2 | 318/360 |
| 2023 | Jan | 90 | 360/360 |
| 2023 | April | 90.7 | 350/360 |
| 2022 | Jan | 88.4 | 343/360 |
| 2022 | April | 87.9 | 296/360 |
| 2021 | Feb | 87.9 | 300/360 |
| 2021 | March | 87.9 | 300/360 |
Source: NTA official result data. Cutoffs vary by category; table shows General (UR) only.
More students appear in the April session because it's the last chance before counselling. Higher participation + more preparation time = higher competition.
This means the same raw score often yields a lower percentile in April compared to January — even after normalisation, because the raw score distribution is compressed at the top.
Strategy: Use January as a baseline attempt. Analyse gaps. Grind hard for 3–4 months. Attack April for your best percentile.