Formula
percentile = 100 × (candidates scoring at or below you) ÷ (candidates who appeared)rank (no ties) = N − (candidates at or below you) + 1
- N is the number of candidates who appeared
- Candidates with equal scores share a rank and a percentile
Your percentile is the percentage of candidates who did no better than you.
Worked examples
Percentile from a rank
- What do you want to find?
- Percentile — from my rank
- Candidates who appeared
- 300,000
- Your rank
- 3,000
Percentile
99%
Candidates at or below your score: 297,001
Candidates strictly above you: 2,999
Rank from a percentile
- What do you want to find?
- Rank — from a percentile
- Candidates who appeared
- 300,000
- Percentile
- 99 %
Approximate rank
3,001
Candidates at or below that score: 297,000
Candidates ahead of you: 3,000
How it works
A percentile is not a score out of 100. It states what share of all candidates scored at or below you: a 99th percentile means about 99 in every 100 candidates did no better. This calculator applies that definition to the counts you give it, so it answers questions like "what percentile is rank 3,000 out of 300,000 candidates?" and, the other way round, "what rank does the 99th percentile correspond to?".
It needs real inputs: the number of candidates who appeared and your rank (or how many scored at or below you). It cannot turn raw marks into a percentile. The relationship between a raw score and a percentile changes with every slot and year because the candidate pool and paper difficulty change, and the IIMs scale scores across slots before computing percentiles. Any fixed table that claims otherwise would be invented.
Rounded percentiles hide ties, so the rank you get back from a percentile is approximate. For raw marks start with the CAT Score Calculator. The same arithmetic, with NTA's reporting conventions, is used in the JEE Main Percentile Calculator, and Percentage Calculator handles ordinary percentages.
Assumptions and limits
- Uses the standard definition: the percentage of candidates scoring equal to or lower than you. Compare with your official scorecard, which is the authority.
- You must supply real figures; nothing here estimates a rank from marks.
- Results are shown to two decimal places, which is how percentiles are usually reported on CAT scorecards.
Rules, sources and review date
- Applies to
- Percentile as the share of candidates at or below a score — supply figures for your own test — India (Indian Institutes of Management)
- Effective from
- 2025 cycle
- Last checked
- 13 Oct 2026
- Sources
- Note
- Describes the standard percentile definition for arithmetic purposes. CAT scaling across slots is performed by the IIMs and is not modelled.