IIT aspirants Shubham Sunderka and (above) Rishal Raj. Pictures by Jai Prakash

This year, the hurry for IIT aspirants is not to know the marks but ranks.

The IIT-JEE results will be declared on Friday. But well before that, candidates have checked the answer keys uploaded on the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) site and their marks. All they are waiting for now is which of the 15 IITs would they spend their four years in.

For the first time, the IIT administration has uploaded the answer keys on its website in a bid to ensure more transparency in the examination process.

Shubham Sunderka, an IIT aspirant who checked his answers, said: “We have gone through the answer sheets, OMR (optical mark recognition) sheets and even the marks that we have got in the examination. I was confident of cracking the test. But I am still eagerly waiting for the results. I want to know my rank.”

Sunderka has got 194 out of 401 marks, according to the website. He took the IIT-JEE from the Guwahati zone. Patna falls under the zone.

Another IIT aspirant, Rishal Raj, said announcement of the JEE results was just a formality now. “Students who have performed well and have gone through the answer keys are sure of cracking the test. The only worry is their rank,” said Raj, who went to the national capital to take the entrance test from the Delhi zone. “According to the IIT website, I am getting 219 marks out of 401,” added Raj.

He also said: “With my marks, I am confident of cracking the test. However, celebrations would be premature till the results are declared.”

Although IIT aspirants answered for 408 marks, they would be marked on 401 as few questions in IIT-JEE 2012 were incorrect.

Experts said to qualify, a candidate would have to score at least 10 per cent marks in each of the three subjects — chemistry, physics and mathematics — and a minimum of 35 per cent in total to get a rank. Anand Jaiswal, the director of Mentors Eduserv, said: “We expect that students who score above 175 marks out of 401 would have a fair chance of cracking the test. For top ranks, a student would have to score 225-250 marks.”

Anand Kumar of Super 30 said, like his students, he is also eagerly waiting for Friday. He said: “They already have their marks. Now their excitement is about their rank and the stream and institute they would be eligible for.”

Apart from the 15 IITs, aspirants can also get admission to a few other engineering colleges with their IIT-JEE score.