How to calculate percentile?

How to calculate percentile?

GATE, CAT and many other tests use percentile scores to measure a candidate’s performance. Please note that percentile is different from percentage.

Percentile is a relative term and tells where you stand in a group of people. Your percentile score indicates the percentage of test takers who scores less than you. For example, if you have 99.26 percentile, it means 99.26% candidates scored less than you. Interesting point to note is that if you are topper in a class of 100, your percentile would be 99 and not 100 (as it tells the number of candidates behind you).

Steps to calculate percentile:

1.     Determine total number of candidates appeared for an exam. Let’s suppose it’s N.

2.     Determine your Rank. Let’s suppose it’s R.

3.     Calculate percentile as

Percentile = ( ( N – R ) / N ) * 100

Example: If 1,37,853 candidates appeared for GATE (ECE) and your AIR (All India Rank) is 1947, your percentile would be

( (137853 - 1947) / 137853 ) * 100 = 98

ð  98% candidates scored less than you.