JEE Advanced 2026: Female Candidates Achieve Milestone with Over 10,000 Qualifiers

Historic Achievement for Female Students in JEE Advanced

In a remarkable development, more than 10,000 female students have successfully qualified for JEE Advanced for the first time in six years. This year, a total of 10,107 female candidates passed the exam. However, despite this increase, their representation in the overall IIT admissions remains around 20%.

The data from the JEE Advanced 2026 results indicates a notable enhancement in the performance of female candidates. Out of 43,112 registered female candidates, 40,562 appeared for both papers, leading to a success rate of 23.4%, an increase from 21.7% in 2025. Among those who took both papers, the success rate was 24.9%. Although women made up about 23% of total registrations, their qualifying percentage was 17.76%. In the previous year, 9,404 female students qualified.

Female Representation in IIT Admissions

Despite the rise in female qualifiers, their share in IIT seat allocations has not significantly changed. Out of 18,861 total IIT admissions, female candidates secured 3,851 seats, which is 20.22% of the total, a slight increase from 20.15% last year. Of these, 3,777 seats were filled under the supernumerary quota for women, while 37 seats were filled through the gender-neutral pool.

Top Female Candidate Achievements

The highest-ranking female candidate achieved an All India Rank (AIR) of 77 with a score of 280, breaking down to 101 in Mathematics, 86 in Physics, and 93 in Chemistry. Among the top 100 rankers, 97 candidates enrolled in prestigious institutions like IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, and IIT Madras, with IIT Bombay admitting 68 of these top performers.

Performance of SC and ST Candidates

The JEE Advanced 2026 results also highlighted improved qualification rates for SC and ST candidates. The success rate for SC candidates increased from 40.41% to 50.16%, marking a significant milestone as it is the first time this category has surpassed the 50% threshold. The success rate for ST candidates rose from 33.99% to 42.14%. This year, 15,856 SC and 6,379 ST candidates qualified, compared to 12,499 and 5,008 last year, respectively.

Conversely, the qualification rate for the General category decreased from 43% to 39.8%, while OBC-NCL candidates saw a drop from 18.2% to 17.5%. However, the number of EWS qualifiers increased from 6,291 to 6,377.

Overall Qualification Statistics

The JEE Advanced 2026 examination took place in two shifts on May 17, with 1,87,389 candidates registered and 1,79,694 appearing for both papers. Ultimately, 56,880 candidates qualified, with some also eligible for a one-year preparatory course.