If you plan to study engineering, appearing for both Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) and Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) can brighten your chances of getting admission at some of the top engineering colleges in India. But when planning your preparation, do you need to have separate strategies in place? Can you have a combined strategy that serves both? How will you make one? Careers360 makes a comparison of the exam pattern, marking schemes and syllabus of JEE Main and MHT CET to help you chart a smart study plan
If you plan to study engineering, appearing for both Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) and Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) can brighten your chances of getting admission at some of the top engineering colleges in India. But when planning your preparation, do you need to have separate strategies in place? Can you have a combined strategy that serves both? How will you make one? Careers360 makes a comparison of the exam pattern, marking schemes and syllabus of JEE Main and MHT CET to help you chart a smart study plan
Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MHT CET) is conducted by the Maharashtra government’s State Common Entrance Test Cell. At least 375 colleges accept MHT CET scores for admission to Engineering and Pharmacy programmes. Out of them 357 are in the private sector while 18 are run by the state government. MHT CET opens up enormous opportunities for engineering aspirants who are anyway preparing for Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Main) because it has a lower difficulty level. Moreover, a number of prestigious engineering colleges use MHT CET scores for admission. In this article, Careers360 compares the two entrance exams so that the students can prepare for them with a common strategy.
JEE Main is a national level engineering entrance exam and also the first stage for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) which is done through JEE Advanced. JEE Main can be considered as the screening exam to determine who will qualify to appear for JEE Advanced, which is conducted every year by the IITs on rotation. Qualifying JEE Main will make the candidates eligible to apply for admission to the 4-year BTech, BPharm, 5-year BArch, Integrated MSc and MTech programmes in National Institutes of Technology (NITs), International Institutes of Information Technology (IIITs) and Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs). A number of good private engineering colleges also admit through JEE Main.
When compared to JEE Advanced, the JEE Main is a beginner's exam with a low level of difficulty. It has two papers. Paper 1 is for admission to NITs, IIITs, CFTIs, and other institutions that admit students to undergraduate Engineering programs through JEE Main. Paper 2 is used to determine the eligibility for admission to BArch. and B.Planning programmes.
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JEE Main is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), set up by the government to hold entrance examinations for higher education institutions.
MHTCET is a state entrance exam, which is conducted by the Maharashtra government’s State Common Entrance Test Cell every year for admission to undergraduate courses in engineering, pharmacy and agriculture (BTech/BE, Pharma D and B.Pharma) offered by colleges in Maharashtra. However, this article focuses only on engineering admissions.
The exam is also colloquially known as MAH CET and MahaCET and the exam-conducting body, MAHA CET cell.
The pattern for JEE Main was modified recently and Numerical Answer Questions have been introduced in it. There are 90 questions in this exam and students have to attempt 75 questions in 3 hours. The paper comprises the following three subjects:
Physics
Chemistry
Mathematics
There are two sections for each subject. The first section contains 20 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and the second section contains 10 Numerical Questions (NQ) out of which only 5 have to be attempted. Each question (MCQs and NQs both) carry 4 marks if answered correctly. MCQs carry a negative marking of 1 mark if answered wrongly and there is no negative marking for NQs.
In MHT CET, two papers are conducted for PCM (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). Paper 1 is for Mathematics. Paper 2 comprises Physics and Chemistry. The exam with a duration of 180 minutes has only Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). The Paper 2 comprising Physics and Chemistry will be enabled for the first 90 minutes and auto submitted at the end of it. After that Paper 1 for Mathematics will be enabled for 90 minutes. MHT CET follows a specific marking scheme. For Physics and Chemistry, 1 mark is awarded for every correct answer and for Mathematics, 2 marks are awarded for every correct answer. There is no negative marking. The questions are mainly application based.
The questions of MHT-CET are based on the syllabus of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Questions from the syllabus of Class 11 will have 20% weightage and 80% weightage will be given to questions from Class 12 syllabus.
These are the differences between the two major exams:
Both of them are conducted in computer based mode.
For the MHT CET examination, 4,14,968 candidates appeared in 2021. For JEE Main, over 10.48 lakh students applied for the four sessions in 2021 and 9,39,008 candidates appeared for the exam.
JEE Main is considered more difficult than MHT CET.
MHT CET focuses on Class 12 syllabus while JEE Main focuses almost equally on Class 11 and 12 syllabus.
Physics: The foundation of Physics is conceptual comprehension. Candidates must ensure that their notions are clear in each topic of this subject. Solving problems will help with clarity of concepts and lead to more confidence in the subject. The summary and extra questions of NCERT are helpful in solving the tricky questions of JEE Main. Following is the detailed syllabus comparison of Class 11 Physics and Class 12 Physics chapters and 12 in JEE Main and MHT CET or MAH CET.
NCERT Physics Class 11 | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Units And Measurements | ✔ | ✖ |
Motion In A Straight Line | ✔ | ✖ |
Motion In A Plane | ✔ | ✔ |
Laws Of Motion | ✔ | ✔ |
Work, Energy And Power | ✔ | ✖ |
System Of Particles And Rotational Motion | ✔ | ✔ |
Gravitation | ✔ | ✔ |
Mechanical Properties Of Solids | ✔ | ✖ |
Mechanical Properties Of Fluids | ✔ | ✖ |
Thermal Properties Of Matter | ✔ | ✔ |
Thermodynamics | ✔ | ✖ |
Kinetic Theory | ✔ | ✖ |
Oscillations | ✔ | ✔ |
Waves | ✔ | ✔ |
NCERT Physics Class 12 | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Electric Charges And Fields | ✔ | ✔ |
Electrostatic Potential And Capacitance | ✔ | ✔ |
Current Electricity | ✔ | ✔ |
Moving Charges And Magnetism | ✔ | ✔ |
Magnetism And Matter | ✔ | ✔ |
Electromagnetic Induction | ✔ | ✔ |
Alternating Current | ✔ | ✔ |
Electromagnetic Waves | ✔ | ✔ |
Ray Optics And Optical Instruments | ✔ | ✔ |
Wave Optics | ✔ | ✔ |
Dual Nature Of Radiation And Matter | ✔ | ✔ |
Atoms | ✔ | ✔ |
Nuclei | ✔ | ✔ |
Semiconductor Electronics | ✔ | ✔ |
Communication Systems | ✔ | ✔ |
Experimental Skills | ✔ | ✖ |
Mathematics: As the questions are consistently tough, this subject needs more practice. The more applicants learn and practise Maths, the more analytical and problem-solving skills they will gain. Learning the tricks to solve questions helps students to save time and get exact answers. These tricks are available on YouTube.
Class 11 Maths NCERT | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Sets | ✔ | ✔ |
Relations And Functions | ✔ | ✔ |
Trigonometric Functions | ✔ | ✔ |
Principle Of Mathematical Induction | ✔ | ✖ |
Complex Numbers And Quadratic Equations | ✔ | ✖ |
Linear Inequalities | ✔ | ✖ |
Permutations And Combinations | ✔ | ✔ |
Binomial Theorem | ✔ | ✖ |
Sequence And Series | ✔ | ✔ |
Straight Lines | ✔ | ✔ |
Conic Sections | ✔ | ✔ |
Introduction To Three Dimensional Geometry | ✔ | ✔ |
Limits And Derivatives | ✔ | ✔ |
Mathematical Reasoning | ✔ | ✔ |
Statistics | ✔ | ✖ |
Probability | ✔ | ✔ |
Class 12 Maths NCERT | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Relations And Functions | ✔ | ✔ |
Inverse Trigonometric Functions | ✔ | ✔ |
Matrices | ✔ | ✔ |
Determinants | ✔ | ✔ |
Continuity And Differentiability | ✔ | ✔ |
Application Of Derivatives | ✔ | ✔ |
Integrals | ✔ | ✔ |
Application Of Integrals | ✔ | ✔ |
Differential Equations | ✔ | ✔ |
Vector Algebra | ✔ | ✔ |
Three Dimensional Geometry | ✔ | ✔ |
Linear Programming | ✖ | ✔ |
Probability | ✔ | ✔ |
Chemistry: Organic, Inorganic, and Physical Chemistry are the three fields of Chemistry that candidates must be familiar with. Go through all the Reaction Mechanisms and make a list of all of the named reactions. Make notes while studying each chapter. The theoretical chapters of Chemistry are the scoring chapters for both JEE Main and MHT CET.
NCERT Chemistry Class 11 | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Some Basic Concepts Of Chemistry | ✔ | ✔ |
Structure Of Atom | ✔ | ✔ |
Classification Of Elements And Periodicity In Properties | ✔ | ✖ |
Chemical Bonding And Molecular Structure | ✔ | ✔ |
States Of Matter | ✔ | ✔ |
Thermodynamics | ✔ | ✖ |
Equilibrium | ✔ | ✖ |
Redox Reactions | ✔ | ✔ |
Hydrogen | ✔ | ✔ |
The s - Block Elements | ✔ | ✔ |
The p - Block Elements | ✔ | ✖ |
Organic Chemistry Some Basic Principles And Techniques | ✔ | ✔ |
Hydrocarbons | ✔ | ✔ |
Environmental Chemistry | ✔ | ✖ |
Class 12 Chemistry NCERT | JEE Main | MHT-CET |
Solid States | ✔ | ✔ |
Solutions | ✔ | ✔ |
Electrochemistry | ✔ | ✔ |
Chemical Kinetics | ✔ | ✔ |
Surface Chemistry | ✔ | ✔ |
General Principle And Processes Of Isolation Of Elements | ✔ | ✔ |
The p-Block Elements | ✔ | ✔ |
The d-And f-Block Elements | ✔ | ✔ |
Coordination Compounds | ✔ | ✔ |
Haloalkanes And Haloarenes | ✔ | ✔ |
Alcohols, Phenols And Ethers | ✔ | ✔ |
Aldehydes, Ketones And Carboxylic Acids | ✔ | ✔ |
Amines | ✔ | ✔ |
Biomolecules | ✔ | ✔ |
Polymers | ✔ | ✔ |
Chemistry In Everyday Life | ✔ | ✖ |
Know The Syllabus And Exam Pattern: To ace at any exam the candidates must understand its pattern and syllabus before starting their preparation. The syllabus of MHT CET 2022 is based on the subjects taught in Class 11 and 12. So, the candidates must necessarily know which topic to study from the syllabus of both the classes.
Prepare A Timetable: Candidates should always prepare a study time table. They should divide their preparation time in such a way that all the topics are covered before the exam.
Study Material: Selection of suitable books and study material is very important. One must start with NCERT books and refer to other books only after that.
Revision: Candidates should make a provision in their study plan for extra time for revision. As the syllabus is vast the candidates must revise all the topics at least once before the exam.
Sample Papers And Mock Tests: Candidates should practise a number of sample papers and mock tests in order to increase speed in problem solving. This will also help in time management. The sample papers and mock tests are usually based on the pattern of the exam. By attempting them the candidates will also be able to analyse their performance.
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