am a dropper candidate and will be appearing for JEE Advanced 2026. I seek clarification regarding my Class XII eligibility under the top 20 percentile criterion. I passed the Maharashtra HSC Board examination in February with an overall percentage of 70%. For eligibility under the top 20 percentile rule, the required aggregate for my board is 368 marks, whereas I obtained 358 marks in the February examination. Instead of appearing for all subjects again, I appeared for Marathi as an isolated subject in the June examination conducted by the same Maharashtra HSC Board, in which I secured 86 marks. With this, my total aggregate becomes 374 marks, which meets the top 20 percentile requirement. Currently, I have two marksheets: - February Marksheet: English – 77, Physics – 56, Chemistry – 77, Mathematics – 58 , IT – 97 Aggregate: 358 marks - June Marksheet (Isolated Subject): Marathi – 86 My query is: 1. Should both marksheets be combined and uploaded as a single PDF during document verification? 2. Or will the Maharashtra Board issue a merged / updated final marksheet, and will that merged marksheet alone be considered valid for JEE Advanced eligibility?

Ans: Kartik, I hope you have completed the JEE Main 2026 January session examination and reviewed your performance against the available answer keys to assess your preliminary JEE Advanced eligibility prospects. Regarding your eligibility question, please note that the isolated Marathi marksheet from the Maharashtra State Board is fully valid for JEE examination purposes. Both your February and June examination marksheets hold equal validity. I recommend requesting an updated aggregate certificate from the Maharashtra Board, or alternatively, combining both marksheets into a single consolidated PDF file for the document verification process. Your eligibility will not be questioned if you maintain comprehensive, proper documentation throughout the verification process. I strongly suggest exploring 4-5 backup options through alternative engineering entrance examinations such as MHT-CET, SET-E, COMEDK, Amrita's, MET, VITEEE etc., rather than relying exclusively on JEE as your sole pathway. Additionally, if possible and affordable, I encourage you to attempt a comprehensive psychometric assessment to identify the most suitable career options aligned with your aptitude, interest inventory, personality characteristics, and professional orientation style preferences. All the BEST for a Prosperous Future!

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