Which shift of JEE Mains 2026 was toughest?

see full answer

Your Exam Success, Personally Taken Care Of

1:1 expert mentors customize learning to your strength and weaknesses – so you score higher in school , IIT JEE and NEET entrance exams.

An Intiative by Sri Chaitanya

(Unlock A.I Detailed Solution for FREE)

Best Courses for You

JEE

NEET

Foundation JEE

Foundation NEET

CBSE

Detailed Solution

No single shift was universally toughest, but January 23 Shift 2 stands out as the hardest in JEE Main 2026 Session 1 based on student feedback and expert reviews.

Top Tough Shifts

Jan 23 Shift 2: Lengthy Maths with multi-step calculations, Advanced-level Physics concepts, time crunch even for prepared students.
Jan 22 Shift 2: High Physics difficulty (Modern Physics, Electrostatics), tricky Chemistry assertions.
Jan 28 Shift 1: Tough Physics needing deep application, balanced but challenging Chemistry.

Why They Felt Hard

Maths drove difficulty across shifts—lengthy, calculation-heavy (unlike easier Chemistry which stayed NCERT-based). Normalization helps: lower raw scores in tough shifts often yield higher percentiles.

Watch 3-min video & get full concept clarity