JEE Main: Offline v/s Online Mode. Which Is Better?

JEE Main is one of the most important entrance exams held for admission in top-notch engineering colleges. This year, it is set to take place in the month of April. The JEE Main exam dates are April 8th for the offline mode whereas, it’s online mode will be on April 15 and 16.

JEE Main: Offline v/s Online Mode. Which Is Better?

In the offline mode, pen and paper are used and a candidate has to mark correct answers in an OMR sheet, whereas an online mode is basically a computer based online test, the entire exam takes place on a computer. And this choice of selecting either mode to attempt JEE Main exam still remains one of the most important choices to be made by every candidate, along with time and date slot booking.
A concern remains in this choice exertion for candidates between choosing the online mode or offline mode to write JEE Main. And that is precise, what we would like to focus in the rest of this blog which will highlight the pros and cons of opting either modes of JEE Main and how one can make the right choice in the end.
Pros and Cons of JEE Main Online Mode
It's easier to come to a final decision after understanding the major differences and few advantages and disadvantages between the two modes of this exam.
Firstly, in the case of the online mode of JEE Main, it is quite easy to navigate between the various sections of the exam, by simply scrolling down the screen. So, it eliminates the need to keep turning any pages of the exam paper or look at backsides for certain questions or sections. The questions put up on a computer screen also makes it easier to mark the answers by simply clicking on the right option circle.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of the online mode would be the availability of a number of unattempted questions left in each section and for overall exam. This definitely helps to save time and help candidates to quicken their pace as needed. The option to change one’s answers that have been already marked, also makes the online mode more appealing to students who are familiar with online tests.
However, students who choose to write computer-based tests for the first time may be nervous and apprehensive. This is also followed by a chance of copying down wrong figures or numerical questions from the computer screen onto the paper in case of numerical calculations. Many a time, the scare of probable power failures, especially in rural areas also stop students from attempting in this mode.
Pros and Cons of JEE Main Offline Mode
Next, moving on to the offline mode of JEE Mains, there are also a few advantages and disadvantages that ought to be considered.
In this case, time management can be an issue for those who require more time to navigate manually the various sections of the question paper and prioritize which question or section to answer first. This can be stressful too.
The second point that follows here is filling up of the answer sheets or OMR sheets. These sheets need adequate care and attention while marking the answer options. One needs to be necessarily careful to highlight the right circle option in such a way that it is neat, presentable and not partially marked or have markings extending to outside the circle. So, doing this for every question demands more time per question.
Finally, the biggest drawback of the offline mode is the lack of an option to change the answers once they are marked on the OMR sheet. It also demands more time in order to think and choose the right option, which has to be done for every question. Sometimes it also becomes difficult to mark the answers in a hurry as that can create possibilities of marking an option for another question. This, unfortunately, leads to loss of valuable marks even if the right answer was known to the candidate.
There is also a possibility of acknowledging a rightly marked answer as a wrong one during the evaluation of the offline OMR answer sheets through the Optical Marker Reader. This is possible when stray pen marks are left near the marked circle option or elsewhere, and hence can be read differently by the machine.

Offline v/s Online- The Better Choice
Now, it's time to assess the better among the two modes of JEE Main.
For years, the continuous popular choice of offline mode of exams has often led students to lean towards it, out of familiarity and convenience. Hence, it's quite natural if candidates would choose the same for JEE Main too. However, it's also beneficial to see how the trend of online exams has picked up in the past several years. Actually, a major credit goes to all the mock tests series, both online and offline.
So, going through all the advantages and disadvantages of both the offline and online mode of JEE Main, the online mode stands out slightly more than the offline mode. There are three major reasons for this. Firstly, opting to write the online mode of JEE Main, saves a lot of time by planning and allotting time for various sections through the presence of un-attempted questions on the computer screen. This leads to more time for any numerical calculations and also to review the answers that have been already marked for the questions. The biggest advantage is definitely the option to change the marked answers in the online mode, which is not present in the offline mode. Hence, one can enhance the speed instead of slowing down in an online mode of JEE Main.
Then, the tension of technical or power failures remain. Though it is a concern, it isn't a large one as authorities are bound to take care in case of any technical glitches etc. Today, with the majority of the entrance exams taking place in the computer-based test formats, power backups are usually maintained in almost all the exam centres. However, sometimes the geographical location of exam centres may not enjoy complete benefits of power backups and can suffer from unsuccessful power connections.

From a students’ point of view, though this line between choosing the online and offline mode can be pretty thin. It has also become a matter of need and comfort.
If doubts still exist for the first-timers, they can always attempt mock test papers before the final exams. It is an excellent way to get the hang of the actual JEE Main paper. In fact, the official mock tests were recently released, which operates exactly like the real exam. One does not have to worry about the difficulty level as they will be pretty much the same in the online and offline mode of JEE Main.
In the end though the performance and actual scores matters for any aspirant. Even in the offline mode, a good navigation of the exam is possible through adequate preparations and ample practice.