If you’re preparing for JEE Main 2025, you might want to know the safe score in JEE Main 2025 for NIT. Unlike IITs that require both JEE Main and JEE Advanced scores, NIT admission is based on only marks secured in JEE Main. A JEE candidate’s All India Rank (AIR) and JEE percentile are two most crucial factors that determine your confirmation to secure a seat in NIT. In this article, you will get a detailed breakdown of the safe score in JEE Main 2025 for the National Institute of Technology. The safe score is analysed based on previous year trends, category-wise analysis, branches and campuses that you can target.
What is a Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 for NIT Admission?
Let’s first understand what a “safe score” means. It is the minimum score that every aspirant should target in JEE Main 2025 to secure a seat in a desired NIT in a desired branch. The factors that determine a safe score in JEE Main 2025 are competition, past trends, paper difficulty etc.
Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 (Based on Category & College Preference)
Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 – For Tier 1 NITs
| Category | NIT Tier 1 (Top 5) |
| General | 220+ (99+ percentile) |
| OBC-NCL | 180+ (97 percentile) |
| EWS | 180+ (97 percentile) |
| SC | 110+ (80+ percentile) |
| ST | 90+ (70+ percentile) |
| PwD | 50+ |
Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 – For Tier 2 NITs (Mid-level)
| Category | NIT Tier 2 (Mid-level) |
| General | 180+ (97–98 percentile) |
| OBC-NCL | 150+ (94+ percentile) |
| EWS | 150+ (94 percentile) |
| SC | 90+ (75+ percentile) |
| ST | 70+ (65 percentile) |
| PwD | 35+ |
Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 For Tier 2 NITs (Mid-level)
| Category | NIT Tier 3 (Newer) |
| General | 150+ (94+ percentile) |
| OBC-NCL | 130+ (90+ percentile) |
| EWS | 130+ (90+ percentile) |
| SC | 80+ (70 percentile) |
| ST | 60+ (60 percentile) |
| PwD | 30+ |
Other Factors Influencing Admission
Apart from NIT cutoff 2025 released by JoSAA, other factors that influence admission in NIT depends on the following factors:
- Category (General, EWS, OBC, SC, ST, PwD)
- Home State vs Other State Quota
- Branch Preference
- Your Choice of NIT (Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3)
- Gender-Based Reservation
JEE Main Score vs. Percentile vs. Rank
Understanding how your raw score translates into percentile and AIR is key for admission predictions. For top NITs like Trichy, Warangal, and Surathkal, you usually need to be within top 10,000 ranks for top branches like CSE, ECE, or Mechanical (General category).
| JEE Main 2025 Marks | JEE Main 2025 Percentile | Ranks |
| 276 – 300 | 100 – 99.99989145 | 1-20 |
| 266 – 275 | 99.994681 – 99.997394 | 80 – 24 |
| 257 – 265 | 99.990990 – 99.994029 | 83 – 55 |
| 245 – 256 | 99.977205 – 99.988819 | 210 – 85 |
| 235 – 244 | 99.960163 – 99.975034 | 367 – 215 |
| 225 – 234 | 99.934980 – 99.956364 | 599 – 375 |
| 215 – 224 | 99.901113 – 99.928901 | 911 – 610 |
| 205 – 214 | 99.851616 – 99.893732 | 1367 – 920 |
| 195 – 204 | 99.795063 – 99.845212 | 1888 – 1375 |
| 185 – 194 | 99.710831 – 99.782472 | 2664 – 1900 |
| 175 – 184 | 99.597399 – 99.688579 | 3710 – 2700 |
| 165 – 174 | 99.456939 – 99.573193 | 5003- 3800 |
| 155 – 164 | 99.272084 – 99.431214 | 6706 – 5100 |
| 145 – 154 | 99.028614 – 99.239737 | 8949 – 6800 |
| 135 – 144 | 98.732389 – 98.990296 | 11678 – 9000 |
| 125 – 134 | 98.317414 – 98.666935 | 15501 – 11800 |
| 115 – 124 | 97.811260 – 98.254132 | 20164 – 15700 |
| 105 – 114 | 97.142937 – 97.685672 | 26321 – 20500 |
| 95 – 104 | 96.204550 – 96.978272 | 34966 – 26500 |
| 85 – 94 | 94.998594 – 96.064850 | 46076 – 35000 |
| 75 – 84 | 93.471231 – 94.749479 | 60147 – 46500 |
| 65 – 74 | 91.072128 – 93.152971 | 82249 – 61000 |
| 55 – 64 | 87.512225 – 90.702200 | 115045 – 83000 |
| 45 – 54 | 82.016062 – 86.907944 | 165679 – 117000 |
| 35 – 44 | 73.287808 – 80.982153 | 246089 – 166000 |
| 25 – 34 | 58.151490 – 71.302052 | 385534 – 264383 |
| 0 – 24 | 0.8435177 – 56.569310 | 264383+ |
Safe Score in JEE Main 3025 and List of NITs Ranked by Preference (Tier-wise)
| Tier | List of NITs | Safe Score |
| Tier 1 (Highly Competitive NITs) | NIT Trichy, NIT Surathkal, NIT Warangal, NIT Calicut, MNIT Jaipur | 220 – 250+ |
| Tier 2 (Good Branch Flexibility) | NIT Rourkela, VNIT Nagpur, MNNIT Allahabad, NIT Kurukshetra, NIT Durgapur | 180 – 210+ |
| Tier 3 (Newer NITs or less competition) | NIT Mizoram, NIT Uttarakhand, NIT Nagaland, NIT Arunachal Pradesh | 130 – 160 |
Branch-Wise Safe Score Insights (General Category)
| Branch | Top NITs (CSE, ECE) | Mid NITs | New NITs |
| CSE (Most in-demand) | 240–260+ | 200–220 | 160–180 |
| ECE | 210–230+ | 180–200 | 150–170 |
| Mechanical/Civil | 180–200 | 150–180 | 130–160 |
| Chemical | 170–190 | 140–170 | 120–150 |
| Biotechnology | 160–180 | 130–150 | 110–140 |
Note that lower competition branches like Metallurgy, Mining, or BioTech may be available at lower scores, even in top NITs.
Tips to Secure a Safe Score in JEE Main 2025
- Strengthen NCERT Concepts: Chemistry especially comes straight from NCERT.
- Analyze Previous Year Papers: Know the question trends and difficulty level.
- Take Mock Tests: Mimic actual exam conditions to improve time management.
- Aim Higher Than the Cutoff: Because cutoffs change slightly every year, it’s better to stay well above the borderline.
- Target Both Sessions: Appear for both January and April attempts to improve your percentile.
- Be Strategic About Choices: Use JoSAA counselling wisely, target a mix of dream, reach, and backup NITs.
When is a Score NOT Safe?
A “safe score” becomes unsafe when:
- You’re overly dependent on the Home State quota with a very competitive state.
- You’re aiming for a top branch (like CSE) but scoring just at the cutoff.
- You’re applying through the open category in a high-demand NIT without backup options.
Remember a single number doesn’t define you, but aiming for a safe score gives you more college and branch choices, which can define your career.
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Safe Score in JEE Main 2025 for NIT: What You Need to Know FAQs
To play it safe, your target score for NITs in JEE Main 2025 should be 230–250+ for general/EWS/OBC categories aiming top NITs (CSE), 180–210 for general/EWS/OBC categories aiming mid NITs (core branches), 100–130+ for SC/ST categories aiming decent NITs. For lower branches or newer NITs, you must aim to score 130–160 for general category and 80–100 for reserved categories.
Some of the tips to secure a safe score in JEE Main 2025 are strengthening NCERT concepts, analyzing previous year papers, taking mock tests, aiming higher than the cutoff, targeting both JEE sessions and becoming strategic about your choices.