A 98 percentile in JEE Main 2026 is considered a good score. At this score, candidates can usually get between ~15,000 – 22,000 (CRL).
If you’ve scored around this range, you have a good chance in mid-tiers to newer NITs and IIITs, mainly in branches like ECE, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, or Chemical.
Colleges like NIT Hamirpur, NIT Jalandhar, IIIT Kottayam, and IIIT Surat have seen cutoffs close to this range in past counselling rounds.
Candidates also have the opportunity to get the CSE, AI branches in NITs, IIITs and state government colleges through state quota and smart counselling.
So at 98 percentile, your final college depends a lot on smart choice filling and staying till the last rounds of JOSAA.
That’s why many students check a JEE Main College Predictor before counselling, it gives a much clearer idea of what’s actually possible at this percentile.
Top Colleges at 98 Percentile in JEE Main 2026
If your percentile is close to 98, these are some realistic colleges you can expect during counselling.
Here is the list of NITs, IIITs, GFTIs and State Government options for students scoring around 98 percentile in JEE Main 2026.
NITs
Students in this range usually start getting core branches in mid-level and newer NITs.
- NIT Kurukshetra
- NIT Jamshedpur
- NIT Silchar
- NIT Hamirpur
- NIT Patna
- NIT Raipur
- NIT Agartala
IIITs
- IIIT Una
- IIIT Kottayam
- IIIT Vadodara
- IIIT Nagpur
- IIIT Sri City
- IIIT Kalyani
GFTIs
- Punjab Engineering College
- Birla Institute of Technology Mesra
- Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology Shibpur
- Assam University
State Government Colleges
- Delhi Technological University
- Institute of Engineering and Technology Lucknow
- College of Engineering Pune
- Madhav Institute of Technology and Science, Madhya Pradesh
- University Institute of Engineering and Technology Kurukshetra University
- Government College of Engineering Karad, Maharashtra
Note:
For Delhi colleges like DTU and NSUT, home state quota changes the picture completely. Delhi students get a major advantage compared to outside Delhi candidates.
This is also the stage where students get confused between “possible” and “realistic.” A lot of colleges may technically appear in counseling, but not all are practical choices.
That’s why many students compare previous cutoff trends before filling their order list.
You can also try the JEE Main College Predictor 2026 to see what students with similar ranks got in recent counselling rounds.
Are IITs Possible at 98 Percentile?
This is where many students get confused.
IIT admission does not depend on JEE Main percentile directly. IITs use JEE Advanced ranks.
So even though 98 percentile is enough to qualify for JEE Advanced in most cases, getting an IIT seat depends entirely on your Advanced performance.
So if your target is IIT, your focus should shift completely towards JEE Advanced preparation now.
If you are preparing for the next attempt, trying a Free JEE Main 2026 Mock Test can help you improve speed, accuracy, and time management before the actual exam.
Why Counselling Strategy Changes Everything
A 98 percentile in JEE Main 2026 is definitely a strong score. You may not get every top branch, but many solid opportunities are still open — especially in NITs, IIITs, and state government colleges.
The biggest difference at this stage usually comes from counselling strategy:
- staying till final rounds
- keeping flexible branch choices
- and understanding realistic cutoff trends instead of only chasing famous college names.
Many students around this percentile improve their final college outcome simply by making smarter counselling decisions.
FAQs
Q. What matters most after getting 98 percentile?
A. At this stage, counselling strategy matters a lot like staying till final rounds, keeping flexible choices, and understanding realistic cutoff trends.
Q. Is the home state quota important at 98 percentile?
A. Very important. For example:Delhi students get a major advantage in DTU and NSUT. Also the home state quota also helps in many NITs.
Q. Are state government colleges better than lower NITs?
A. In some cases, yes. Colleges like DTU, NSUT, IET Lucknow, or COEP may offer better placements or location advantages compared to lower NIT branches.
Q. Do JoSAA Round 5 and CSAB really help at this rank?
A. Yes. Many students around this percentile improve their college or branch in later rounds.
Cutoffs in newer NITs and IIITs often drop during Round 5, Round 6, and CSAB counselling.
Q. Which branches are most realistic at 98 percentile?
A. The most realistic branches usually include: Electrical, ECE, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Production, IT or AI-related branches in newer IIITs.
Q. What rank can I expect at 98 percentile in JEE Main 2026?
A. For most students, 98 percentile usually falls around the 15,000–25,000 CRL rank range, depending on normalization, shift difficulty, and total candidates.