JEE 2026 Vs IAT 2026 Syllabus Comparison, Difficulty Level, Weightage Analysis

JEE Vs IAT Syllabus: JEE is the most preferred entrance exam for science students in India after Class 12, as it provides them the opportunity to secure admission to BTech, BPlan, and BArch courses offered by some of the most prestigious institutes, including IITs and NITs.

Most JEE aspirants are aware of the high competitiveness of the exam because more than a million candidates appear for it.

Therefore, appearing for other top science entrance exams after Class 12 is a wise decision to broaden career options in the field of science, technology, and research. One of these exams is IAT, a national-level entrance exam conducted for admission to the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs).

If you want to appear for IAT 2026 alongside JEE 2026, SciAstra can help you with the first step of preparation by explaining the difference between the two exams. It prominently focuses on explaining differences between the JEE 2026 syllabus and the IAT 2026 syllabus. So, read on!

What is JEE?

JEE Main is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to BTech, BPlan (Bachelor of Planning), and BArch courses offered by IITs, NITs, and CFTIs. Candidates need to note that they will have to clear JEE Advanced top scores after JEE Main for admission to IITs. Many private institutes also accept JEE Main scores for admission.

The exam is held twice a year, in January and April, in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode across more than 300 cities in India and abroad. Check out the overview of the exam below:

What is IAT?

The IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) is a national-level entrance examination conducted for admission to undergraduate science and research programmes offered by the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs).

Through IAT, students can secure admission to undergraduate courses, including the 5-year BS–MS dual degree, 4-year BS programmes, and BTech programmes offered by IISERs. In addition, IISc Bangalore also uses IAT scores for admission to its Bachelor of Science (Research) programme. To check the details of the courses offered through IAT at a particular participating institute, candidates must visit the official website of that institute.

Check out the overview of the IAT 2026 below:

JEE Vs IAT Dates

If you are planning to appear for both IAT 2026 and JEE Main 2026, you must know the dates related to the two exams. The dates have been mentioned below.

JEE 2026 Dates

JEE Main is conducted twice every year, in January and in April. The application form for the JEE 2026 session was available from October 31 to November 27, 2025. JEE 2026 Session 1 exams will be held between January 21 and 30, 2026 in a Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.

The session 2 of JEE Main 2026 will be conducted between April 2 and 9, 2026. If you are planning to appear for session 2 of the exam, check out all the important dates related to it below:

IAT 2026 Dates

The IAT 2026 application form is expected to be released in March 2026 at iiseradmission.in. Based on last year’s exam schedule, the tentative dates for IAT 2026 have been provided below:

JEE 2026 Syllabus Vs IAT 2026 Syllabus: Key Differences

The syllabi for JEE and IAT are based on Class 11 and Class 12. However, there are some key differences between them that candidates preparing for both exams must know. The differences between the JEE 2026 syllabus and the IAT 2026 syllabus have been highlighted as follows.

JEE 2026 Syllabus Covers Only PCM

JEE is conducted for admission to undergraduate engineering courses. Therefore, the question paper of the exam includes only three subjects: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Biology is not a part of JEE syllabus. The syllabus of IAT includes  NCERT Class 11 and Class 12 Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths topics.

JEE Vs IAT Syllabus: Differences in Topics

Check out the comparison between the topics covered in the JEE syllabus and the topics covered in the IAT syllabus:

JEE Vs IAT: Exam Difficulty Level

In order to differentiate between the difficulty level of JEE and IAT, SciAstra mentors have analysed the previous years’ question papers of the two exams. The parameters for comparison are the nature of the questions, the number of questions and the required number of correct answers to score well in the exam.

Check out the comparison between the difficulty levels of IAT and JEE:

IAT Topic-Wise Analysis

The expert mentors of SciAstra have analysed IAT question papers from 2023 to 2025 to identify the Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Maths topics from which questions occur in the exam. This analysis can help candidates understand the topics, which can help them score well in IAT 2026 well. These details related to IAT topic-wise analysis are available below:

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Biology

As per the IAT chapter-wise analysis, the most important Biology topics/chapters for IAT are Human Physiology, Plant Physiology, Genetics, Molecular Biology and Reproduction (Human Health).

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Chemistry

The Chemistry chapters from which most of the questions have been asked in the past 3 years in IAT are Aldehydes, Ketones and Carboxylic Acids, Chemical Bonding and Thermodynamics.

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Physics

The Physics chapters from which most of the questions were asked in the past years in IAT are Modern Physics, Rotation, Magnetism and Simple Harmonic Motion. There is a probability that most questions from these topics will occur in the IAT 2026 question paper.

IAT Chapter-Wise Analysis: Mathematics

As per the IAT chapter-wise analysis, the most important Mathematics topics/chapters for IAT are Application of Derivatives, Continuity & Differentiability, Functions, Straight Lines, and Probability.

IAT Weightage Trends for PCMB Chapters

Understanding which chapters deserve more attention during your IAT 2026 preparation can significantly boost your overall score. To do this, it’s important to be aware of the Class 11 and Class 12 topics that have consistently carried higher weightage in previous IAT exams. Based on a detailed analysis of IAT question papers from 2017 to 2025, SciAstra has compiled subject-wise chapter weightage for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics. You can find the detailed breakdown below.

IAT ​Biology Weightage

Based on the weightage analysis for the IAT Biology section, the most important chapters are Molecular Biology (with 18.5% weightage), Human Physiology (with 15.6% weightage) and Human Health (with 12.6% weightage). Check out the complete weightage analysis for the subject below:

IAT Chemistry Weightage

The most important chapters for the IAT Chemistry section are Organic Chemistry (with 33.8% weightage) and Inorganic Chemistry (with 28.2% weightage).

​

IAT Physics Weightage

According to the weightage analysis for the IAT Physics section, the most important chapters are Electricity (with 20.84% weightage), Mechanics (with 20.83% weightage) and Electromagnetism (with 13.33% weightage). Check out the complete weightage analysis for the subject below:

IAT Mathematics Weightage

The Maths chapters with the highest weightage for the IAT Mathematics section are Differential Calculus (with 25.93% weightage), Algebra (with 25.19% weightage) and Coordinate Geometry (with 18.5% weightage). The complete weightage analysis for the subject is below:

Conclusion

Awareness about the differences between the syllabui of JEE-2026 and IAT-2026, as well as their testing formats, levels of difficulty, and weightage of topics, can go a long way in enabling the students to prepare for these exams in a proper manner. Those students who will be appearing for both exams can greatly benefit if they can improve their basic understanding as IAT gives more importance to analytical calculations, owing to its interdisciplinary approach, whereas in JEE, speed, accuracy, and problem-solving ability are of utmost importance.

Also Explore!
JEE examination is highly competitive, where a large number of aspirants appear each year for a limited number of seats in IITs and NITs. Likewise, students who pursue their career in research-oriented fields in the Science domain, the NEST exam is one of the most recognised ones.

For the exam preparation of such exams where seats are limited, the right guidance, high-quality study material, and consistent practice under real exam conditions are required. SciAstra offers a comprehensive and result-oriented learning ecosystem designed to help aspirants strengthen their conceptual understanding and maximise their performance.

SciAstra Batches

Candidates can enrol in SciAstra’s expert-led preparation batches, curated specifically for NEST and IAT aspirants, which focus on concept clarity, problem-solving skills, and exam-oriented strategies.