Keep both CLAT and AILET options open to maximize your chances.
CLAT Application Date:01 Aug' 25 - 07 Nov' 25
The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) are two of the most popular entrance exams in India serving different domains. While CLAT is the premier law entrance exam, JEE is the premier entrance exam for engineering courses. Read on to find out if CLAT is tougher than JEE. Also, get to know the differences between CLAT and JEE through the CLAT vs JEE comparison.
CLAT 2025 was conducted on December 1, 2024. JEE Mains is scheduled to be held on January 22 to 31, 2025 for session 1, and on April 1-8 for session 2. JEE Advanced is scheduled to be held on May 18, 2025.
Particulars | CLAT | JEE |
Conducting body | Consortium of National Law Universities | National Testing Agency |
Frequency | Once a year | Twice a year (JEE Mains) Once a year (JEE Advanced) |
Number of attempts | No limit | 6 times over three consecutive years. (JEE Mains) 2 times in two consecutive years (JEE Advanced) |
Mode | Offline | Online |
Domain | Law | Engineering, Architecture, Planning |
Courses Offered | BA LLB, BBA LLB, BCom LLB, BSc LLB, BSW LLB | B.E., B.Tech, B.Arch, B. Plan |
CLAT and JEE relate to different domains. While CLAT is open to candidates from all streams, JEE is open to candidates from the Science stream. In the past, It has been observed through interviews with CLAT toppers that candidates who are preparing for JEE, sometimes, shift to the law domain and start preparing for CLAT and get good results as well. The paragraphs below explain the differences between CLAT and JEE on various parameters that will help understand whether CLAT is tougher than JEE.
CLAT is conducted as a single exam. However, in the case of JEE, there are two exams - JEE Mains and JEE Advanced. The JEE exams consist of Paper 1 and Paper 2. While Paper 1 is for admissions into engineering programs, Paper 2 is for admission into architecture and planning. In this section, we will compare CLAT eligibility criteria, JEE mains eligibility criteria, and JEE Advanced eligibility criteria through the tables below.
Particulars | Details |
Educational qualification | 10+2 or equivalent |
Minimum passing marks | 45% for General/OBC/PWD/NRI/PIO/OCI 40% for SC/ST |
Age limit | No age limit |
Particulars | Admission into Engineering Programmes (Paper 1) |
Educational qualification | 10+2 |
Subject combinations | Physics and Maths as mandatory subjects along with one among Chemistry/Biology/Biotechnology/Technical Vocational subjects |
Minimum passing marks | 75% (General, OBC) 65% ( SC/ST) |
Age limit | No age limit (Should have passed 10+2 in 2023, 2024, 2025) |
Particulars | Admission into Engineering at IITS/NIT/GFTI (Paper 1) |
Educational qualification | 10+2 |
Minimum qualification required in JEE Mains | Among the top 250000 rank |
Subject combinations | Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry as compulsory subjects |
Minimum passing marks | 75% (General/OBC) 65% (SC/ST) |
Age limit | Must have been born after October 1, 2000 Relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST candidates. |
In this section, let’s look at the syllabus of CLAT and JEE to understand if CLAT is tougher than JEE. The CLAT syllabus tests the candidates on different sections that test the critical and logical reasoning skills of the candidates. The JEE syllabus, on the other hand, tests the candidates on their proficiency in subjects such as Maths, Physics, and Chemistry.
Sections | No. of questions | Marks |
22-26 | 22-26 | |
28-32 | 28-32 | |
28-32 | 28-32 | |
22-26 | 22-26 | |
10-14 | 22-26 | |
Total | 120 | 120 |
Subjects | Section A (No. of questions) | Section B (No. of questions) | Marks |
Maths | 20 | 5 | 100 |
Physics | 20 | 5 | 100 |
Chemistry | 20 | 5 | 100 |
Total | 75 | 300 | |
Subjects | Paper 1 | Paper 2 |
Maths | 18 | 18 |
Physics | 18 | 18 |
Chemistry | 18 | 18 |
Total marks | 60 | 60 |
Sections | Type of questions | Marking scheme of JEE Advanced | Maximum marks |
1 | 08 questions of Numerical Based Decimal Type with answers correct to 2 decimal digits. | 3 marks for the correct answer 0 in all other cases | 24 |
2 | 6 questions with four options in which one or more than one option(s) were correct. | Full marks: +4 If only (all) the correct options are chosen Partial Marks: +3 If all four options are correct but ONLY three correct options are chosen Partial Marks: +2 If three or more options are correct but only two correct options are chosen Partial Marks: +1 If two or more options are correct but only one correct option is chosen Zero Marks: 0 If none of the options are chosen Negative Marks: -2 In all other cases | 24 |
3 | 04 questions of Match List type i.e. Match List-I to List-II. List-I had 4 questions to be matched to List-II which had 5 options. One or more than one options were correct. | Full marks: +3 in case all options are correct, Zero Marks: 0 if none of the options are chosen Negative Marks: -1 In all other cases | 12 |
The tables given below provide the exam statistics for CLAT and jEE.The exam statistics provide data about the number of candidates registered and appearing for the exam. This data reveals the level of competition in the exam and determines whether CLAT is tougher than JEE or not.
Particulars | Details (UG) |
No of the candidates registered | 60925 |
No. of candidates appeared | 58,504 |
Attendance% | 97.03% |
Number of common candidates Registered in both sessions (January/April) of the JEE Main 2024 | 9,24,636 |
Number of common candidates Appeared in both sessions (January/April) of the JEE Main 2024 exam | 8,22,899 |
Number of candidates registered in January 2024 Session 1 exam | 12,21,624 |
Number of candidates who appeared in the January 2024 Session 1 exam | 11,70,048 |
Number of candidates registered in April 2024 exam | 11,79,569 |
Number of candidates who appeared in the April Session exam | 10,67,959 |
Total number of Unique Candidates Registered in both Sessions (January/April) of the JEE (Main) - 2024 Examination | 14,76,557 |
Total Number of Unique Candidates Appeared in both Sessions (January/April) of the JEE (Main) - 2024 Examination | 14,15,110 |
Category | Total number of students |
Total number of students that applied | 186584 |
Total number of students that appeared | 180200 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Candidates can gain admission to B.Tech, B.E, B.Arch, and B.Planning programmes through JEE.
Candidates can gain admission into 5-year LLB and LLM programmes through CLAT
JEE is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA)/
CLAT is conducted by the Consortium of National Law Universities.
The full form of JEE is Joint Entrance Exam.
The full form of CLAT is Common Law Admission Test.
On Question asked by student community
For CLAT 2025, the General Knowledge and Current Affairs section has around 28 to 32 questions. These questions come from recent news, events, and general topics like the Constitution, international issues, awards, and government schemes.
You should mainly focus on current events from the last 12 to 18 months. The exam gives short passages from newspapers or magazines, and you have to answer questions based on those passages.
The most important topics are national and international current affairs, major government policies, legal news, awards and honours, science and technology updates, sports events, important personalities, and environmental issues.
Some of the most expected topics for CLAT 2025 are global conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war and Middle East updates, major elections in India and other countries, new laws, bills, and reforms in India, international meetings like G20 and COP climate conferences, important awards in 2024 and 2025, recent achievements in science and space technology, and new government schemes and court judgments.
To prepare, you should read current affairs daily, revise important news from April 2024 till now, and practice passage-based questions from mock tests. Static GK (like history, geography, or constitution) should also be studied but only the parts that are connected to current events.
Career360 website for CLAT GK: https://law.careers360.com/articles/clat-gk-questions
Hello dear candidate,
Yes, you are right UGC rules do not allow two regular full time courses simultaneously.
But for CLAT or NLU admission they only check if your 12th certificate is valid and is from a recognized board, not if you did another course along with it.
The BCI also do not reject candidate for this reason.
Thank you.
Hello,
If you are from Delhi and appearing for CLAT, then you come under the General (All India) category, as CLAT reservation is based on the domicile of NLUs, and Delhi does not have a National Law University under CLAT (NLU Delhi conducts AILET separately).So, you can apply for CLAT through All India Quota, and if you don’t get a seat in NLUs. You can apply through CLAT, AILET, or private law colleges like Amity, Symbiosis, or IPU for admission.
Keep both CLAT and AILET options open to maximize your chances.
Hope you understand.
Hello,
Since you are in class 11 and targeting CLAT 2027, you have enough time to prepare without coaching. First, understand the CLAT pattern – it has English, Current Affairs, Legal Reasoning, Logical Reasoning, and Quantitative Techniques. Start with basics and read daily to improve vocabulary and comprehension.
Best books to start:
Word Power Made Easy – Norman Lewis
High School English Grammar & Composition – Wren & Martin
Legal Aptitude for CLAT – A.P. Bhardwaj
A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal
Quantitative Aptitude – R.S. Aggarwal
Manorama Yearbook or Lucent’s GK for current affairs
Read newspapers like The Hindu daily, practice mock tests regularly, and revise current affairs every month. With consistent practice and reading, you can easily prepare for CLAT 2027 along with JEE.
Hope it helps !
Hello,
No, you are not elligible to appear for the CLAT exam while in Class 11, as the elligiblity criteria require you to be in or have completed Class 12 . However, you can start preparing for the exam now.
You can get the CLAT Exam practice tests by following this link:
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