Considering JEE Main as one of the toughest entrance exam, Maharashtra domiciled candidates now aim at MHTCET for engineering admissions in their desired discipline.
Analysis of the previous year question papers and performance of the candidates infer that JEE Main being a national level exam was undoubtedly tougher than MHTCET. The syllabus of each vary and is set by the organising authority of each exam separately.
CBSE, organising body sets the JEE Main question paper from Class XI and Class XII while DTE, Maharashtra, conducting body of MHTCET considers Class XII syllabus for making the question paper.
Talking about the exam dates, JEE Main is conducted nationally so it is scheduled generally before the state level exam. This gives an edge to the candidates appearing for MHTCET. They can analyse and practice from the JEE Main Question Paper to get a better MHTCET Result.
Considering the admissions, candidates who do not succeed to get admissions through JEE Main can look for opportunities through MHTCET Counselling. You can also use your JEE Main score for admissions through MHTCET Counselling as 15% seats in Private Unaided Institutions are reserved for admitting candidates through JEE Main. You need not be a domicile of Maharashtra for allotment process of these seats through MHTCET.
MHTCET vs JEE Main: Which is easier?
JEE Main being a national level exam is tougher than MHTCET undoubtedly. But candidates found MHTCET lengthier than JEE Main due to more number of calculation based questions. The ratio of the number of applications in JEE Main to application in MHTCET have been approximately calculated as 10:1.
The major difference lies in the exam pattern and syllabus of the exam. Given below is the exam pattern for MHTCET and JEE Main:
- The duration of JEE Main is 3 hours wherein each section is allotted one hour strategically. However, this is not compulsory. While there are different slots in MHTCET for engineering program to test different subjects. Each paper is for 90 minutes. Engineering aspirants have to appear for Paper I (Physics and Chemistry) and Paper III (Mathematics) as per MHTCET Exam Pattern
- In JEE Main, candidates with great conceptual knowledge can attain high rank while MHTCET focuses more on enhancing the analytical abilities.
- Though JEE Main includes class XI and XII syllabus both, JEE Main just focused on Class XII topics last year and most of the questions were tricky. While MHTCET focused on Class XII by placing questions with an analytical approach.
- There is a variation in the number of questions also. There are 30 questions from each subject in JEE Main. While there are 40 questions in Physics and Chemistry and 75 questions in Mathematics section in WBJEE.
- JEE Main was inferred to be tougher than MHTCET. MHTCET just considers Class XII which makes it easier but lengthier.
- The questions in both the exams are objective type in nature while there are different papers in MHTCET. The marking scheme also varies accordingly
- Each question in JEE Main carries one mark while each incorrect answer is penalised by deduction of ¼ mark.
- In MHTCET, Paper I have one correct answer for every question. 1 mark is awarded for each correct answer. There is no negative marking in the exam
- Paper III will fetch you 2 marks for every correct answer but you do not lose any mark for incorrect answer.
Expected changes in MHTCET
MHTCET is expected to be modified in a manner to reach up to the difficulty level of JEE Main. State Government has recently asked DTE, Maharashtra to look into the matter to bring MHTCET at par with JEE Main. This decision was announced through a Government Resolution (GR) in the last week of February 2017. The changes will be implemented from the next year.
The changes have been requested to bring better quality applicants for engineering courses across Institutes in the state. The changes are being discussed well before the MHTCET 2018 so that the students get ample time for their preparations as per the changes introduced.
Introduction of new changes at the last minute brings in problems to the students who want to appear for the exam. This might affect their confidence and will slow down their preparations. The changes introduced shall bring state students are par with others across the change. Experts are sceptical about the changes but the early introduction of changes has somewhat resolved the dilemma.
MHTCET will include syllabus of both class XI and XII from the next year instead of just Class XII syllabus. Lucky were the ones who appeared for it this year. While the new batch and the droppers are at loss because of the change. However, JEE Main preparations will be a help.
Practicing even after JEE Main and analysing the errors made in the exam can help you fetch better marks in MHTCET. The difficulty level of MHTCET 2018 is expected to be similar to the JEE Main 2018. So, start better preparation well in time to get the best MHTCET Result.
Another important change in MHTCET Exam Pattern includes introduction of negative marking. Till 2017, there was no negative marking which increased the number of attempted questions. To test the analytical skills of the candidate and to extract the better-quality candidates from the entire strength, negative marking will be introduced from 2018.
MHTCET Top Engineering Colleges and Reservation Policies
A good MHTCET Result and domicile of Maharashtra can get you better colleges in the exam. Also, state government has proposed better reservation policies for admission through MHTCET. Seat reservation for SC, ST and OBC are general category standards while there are many other reservations offered to the candidates who are a domicile of Maharashtra.
15% Seats allotted through CAP in Maharashtra are reserved for candidates applying through their JEE Main scores while there are many categories that get reservations in Maharashtra. Categories with their reservations are mentioned below:
- Vimukta Jati (VJ)/ De-Notified Tribes (DT NT-A) get a reservation of 3% through MHTCET
- Nomadic Tribes I (NT-A), II (NT-B) and III (NT-C) get a reservation of 2.5%, 3% and 2% respectively
- 5% seats in any institute is reserved for wards of Defence Personnel
- 3% seats are reserved for Physically handicapped candidates
Given below is the list of top engineering colleges where you can seek admissions through MHTCET:
| College | Region | Status |
| College of Engineering, Pune | Pune | Government – Autonomous |
| Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) | Mumbai-City | Government-Aided – Autonomous |
| Sardar Patel College of Engineering | Mumbai-Suburban | Government-Aided – Autonomous |
| Bansilal Ramnath Agrawal Charitable Trust’s Vishwakarma Institute of Technology | Pune | Un-Aided- Autonomous |
| K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering | Mumbai-Suburban | Un-Aided – Autonomous – Linguistic Minority – Gujarati |
| Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering and Management | Nagpur | Un-Aided – Autonomous – Linguistic Minority – Hindi |
| Walchand College of Engineering | Sangli | Government-Aided – Autonomous |
| Government College of Engineering | Satara | Government |
| Government College of Engineering, Aurangabad | Aurangabad | Government – Autonomous |
| Government College of Engineering, Amravati | Amravati | Government – Autonomous |
| MIT Academy of Engineering | Pune | Un-Aided |
| Shri Guru Gobind Singhji Institute of Engineering and Technology | Nanded | Government-Aided – Autonomous |
| Yeshwantrao Chavan College of Engineering | Nagpur | Un-Aided – Autonomous |
| Government College of Engineering, Jalgaon | Jalgaon | Government |
| Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere | Raigad | University Managed |
| Rajarambapu Institute of Technology | Sangli | Un-Aided – Autonomous |
| Dattajirao Kadam Technical Edu. Society’s Textile & Engineering Institute | Kolhapur | Un-Aided |
| G.H.Raisoni College of Engineering | Nagpur | Un-Aided – Autonomous – Linguistic Minority – Hindi |
