IIT Rank Cutoffs: What You Need to Know for JEE Advanced

When you hear IIT rank cutoffs, the minimum JEE Advanced scores needed to get into an IIT. Also known as IIT admission cutoffs, they determine whether you get a seat in one of India’s most competitive engineering colleges. These numbers aren’t random—they change every year based on exam difficulty, number of applicants, and seat availability. If you’re aiming for IIT Bombay or IIT Delhi, you’re not just competing against thousands—you’re fighting for a spot in the top 0.5% of test-takers.

JEE Advanced, the entrance exam that unlocks IIT admissions is the gatekeeper. It’s not like school exams. It tests problem-solving under pressure, not memorization. Your rank here is what matters—not your board marks, not your coaching institute’s reputation. A rank of 500 might get you Computer Science at IIT Madras, but a rank of 2,000 might only land you Civil Engineering at a newer IIT. And if you’re below 5,000? You’re likely looking at other top engineering colleges, not IITs.

IIT admission, the process that turns rank into a seat isn’t just about the cutoff. It’s about branch preference, category (General, OBC, SC, ST), and home state quotas. A cutoff of 1,200 for General category in Computer Science at IIT Kanpur might be 3,500 for OBC and 8,000 for ST. That’s why looking at just the top rank isn’t enough—you need to see where your category stands. And these cutoffs don’t stay the same. In 2023, IIT Delhi’s CSE cutoff dropped by 400 ranks from the year before because the paper was harder. In 2022, it jumped by 600 because the paper was easier. It’s a moving target.

What you’ll find below are real posts that break down what these numbers mean. You’ll see which coaching institutes produce the most IITians, how to prepare for JEE Advanced without burning out, and what alternatives exist if your rank doesn’t land you an IIT. No fluff. No hype. Just what actually happens when you sit for the exam and what happens after.