Grades play a major role in a student’s higher education life. These metrics determine their academic performance in college and admission tests and contribute to many other factors like career opportunities.
Every educational institution follows different standard grading metrics to determine a student’s academic performance in a specific subject in a semester. Percentage and percentile are considered important metrics in the higher education sector.
Table of Contents
- What is a percentage?
- What is a percentile?
- Is percentile the same as a percentage?
- Percentage applications in higher education
- Percentile applications in higher education
- Frequently asked questions
Although the percentage and percentile are academic metrics, they follow different methods and formulas to determine the grades. This article helps you understand the concept behind these metrics and the difference between percentage and percentile.
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What is a percentage?
A percentage is a unit of proportion depicted as a fraction of 100, represented by the symbol %. It plays a vital role in higher education as the metric showcases a student’s academic excellence as they search for job opportunities.
It is essential in higher education since it highlights a student's academic achievement at the time of job search or employment.
Here’s the formula to obtain the percentage of your score.
Percentage = (Score/Total score) x 100
Also read: How to calculate the percentage of marks?
What is a percentile?
A percentile is a metric that refers to the percentage of candidates who scored below you on the exam. A high percentile score indicates that you have performed well. Educational institutions often prefer percentiles to evaluate candidates and proceed with their applications.
The formula to obtain your percentile is
Percentile = (n/N) x 100
How to calculate percentile?
- Arrange the data in ascending order (smallest to biggest).
- According to the formula, Percentile = (n/N) x 100, ‘n’ is the value below the data value you want to find the percentile. And ‘N’ is the total number of values in the data set.
- Divide ‘n’ and ‘N’ and then multiply the result by 100 to obtain your percentile.
Is percentile the same as a percentage?
While the percentile and percentage determine a student’s academic performance, both are entirely different metrics. Here’s the difference between percentage and percentile.
What is the difference between the percentage and percentile examples?
| Percentage | Percentile |
|---|---|
| A metric indicating a number out of 100. Denied by the ‘%’ symbol. | A statistic that measures the value below a specific percentage. |
| Percentage = (Value/Total value) x 100 | Percentile = (n/N) x 100 |
| Percentages cannot compare values. | Percentiles can be used for comparison with the provided data. |
| Percentages exhibit the individual performance. | Percentiles can compare the performance with other candidates. |
| Example: 60% indicates the score you have secured in a particular exam. | Example: 60th percentile means that you have performed and scored better than 60% of the candidates who appeared in an exam. |
Data updated as of May 2024
Percentage applications in higher education
Percentages play a vital role in academics than you can imagine. This metric acts as the standard grade in various universities, even in many companies when they evaluate a candidate’s academic profile.
Here’s the formula to determine the percentage of your score.
Percentage of marks = (Marks earned/Total marks) x 100
Students often convert their CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average) and SGPA (Semester Grade Point Average) into percentages for various purposes. Here’s the formula for converting these grades to percentages.
For CGPA
Percentage = CGPA x 9.5
For SGPA
Percentage = (SGPA x 10) - 7.5
You can also refer to the conversion tables below for easy access to determine the percentages.
CGPA to percentage conversion table
| CGPA | Percentage (%) | CGPA | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 95 | 6.9 | 65.55 |
| 9.9 | 94.05 | 6.8 | 64.6 |
| 9.8 | 93.1 | 6.7 | 63.65 |
| 9.7 | 92.15 | 6.6 | 62.7 |
| 9.6 | 91.2 | 6.5 | 61.75 |
| 9.5 | 90.25 | 6.4 | 60.8 |
| 9.4 | 89.3 | 6.3 | 59.85 |
| 9.3 | 88.35 | 6.2 | 58.9 |
| 9.2 | 87.4 | 6.1 | 57.95 |
| 9.1 | 86.45 | 6.0 | 57 |
| 9.0 | 85.5 | 5.9 | 56.05 |
| 8.9 | 84.55 | 5.8 | 55.1 |
| 8.8 | 83.6 | 5.7 | 54.15 |
| 8.7 | 82.65 | 5.6 | 53.2 |
| 8.6 | 81.7 | 5.5 | 52.25 |
| 8.5 | 80.75 | 5.4 | 51.3 |
| 8.4 | 79.8 | 5.3 | 50.35 |
| 8.3 | 78.85 | 5.2 | 49.4 |
| 8.2 | 77.9 | 5.1 | 48.45 |
| 8.1 | 76.95 | 5.0 | 47.5 |
| 8.0 | 76 | 4.9 | 46.55 |
| 7.9 | 75.05 | 4.8 | 45.6 |
| 7.8 | 74.1 | 4.7 | 44.65 |
| 7.7 | 73.15 | 4.6 | 43.7 |
| 7.6 | 72.2 | 4.5 | 42.75 |
| 7.5 | 71.25 | 4.4 | 41.8 |
| 7.4 | 70.3 | 4.3 | 40.85 |
| 7.3 | 69.35 | 4.2 | 39.9 |
| 7.2 | 68.4 | 4.1 | 38.95 |
| 7.1 | 67.45 | 4.0 | 38 |
| 7.0 | 66.5 | - | - |
Data updated as of May 2024
Also read: How to convert CGPA to percentage?
SGPA to percentage conversion table
| SGPA | Percentage (%) | SGPA | Percentage (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.0 | 92.5 | 6.9 | 61.5 |
| 9.9 | 91.5 | 6.8 | 60.5 |
| 9.8 | 90.5 | 6.7 | 59.5 |
| 9.7 | 89.5 | 6.6 | 58.5 |
| 9.6 | 88.5 | 6.5 | 57.5 |
| 9.5 | 87.5 | 6.4 | 56.5 |
| 9.4 | 86.5 | 6.3 | 55.5 |
| 9.3 | 85.5 | 6.2 | 54.5 |
| 9.2 | 84.5 | 6.1 | 53.5 |
| 9.1 | 83.5 | 6.0 | 52.5 |
| 9.0 | 82.5 | 5.9 | 51.5 |
| 8.9 | 81.5 | 5.8 | 50.5 |
| 8.8 | 80.5 | 5.7 | 49.5 |
| 8.7 | 79.5 | 5.6 | 48.5 |
| 8.6 | 78.5 | 5.5 | 47.5 |
| 8.5 | 77.5 | 5.4 | 46.5 |
| 8.4 | 76.5 | 5.3 | 45.5 |
| 8.3 | 75.5 | 5.2 | 44.5 |
| 8.2 | 74.5 | 5.1 | 43.5 |
| 8.1 | 73.5 | 5.0 | 42.5 |
| 8.0 | 72.5 | 4.9 | 41.5 |
| 7.9 | 71.5 | 4.8 | 40.5 |
| 7.8 | 70.5 | 4.7 | 39.5 |
| 7.7 | 69.5 | 4.6 | 38.5 |
| 7.6 | 68.5 | 4.5 | 37.5 |
| 7.5 | 67.5 | 4.4 | 36.5 |
| 7.4 | 66.5 | 4.3 | 35.5 |
| 7.3 | 65.5 | 4.2 | 34.5 |
| 7.2 | 64.5 | 4.1 | 33.5 |
| 7.1 | 63.5 | 4.0 | 32.5 |
| 7.0 | 62.5 | - | - |
Data updated as of May 2024
Also read: How to convert SGPA to percentage?
Percentile applications in higher education
Percentile compares a student’s performance with other student scores who took the test on the same day. The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) primarily uses the percentile metric to determine the candidate’s performance.
You can check the table below to determine the GRE percentiles.
GRE percentiles for Verbal and Quantitative Reasoning
| Scaled Score | Verbal Reasoning Percentile | Quantitative Reasoning Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| 170 | 99 | 94 |
| 169 | 99 | 91 |
| 168 | 98 | 87 |
| 167 | 97 | 83 |
| 166 | 96 | 80 |
| 165 | 95 | 76 |
| 164 | 94 | 73 |
| 163 | 92 | 70 |
| 162 | 89 | 68 |
| 161 | 87 | 65 |
| 160 | 84 | 61 |
| 159 | 81 | 58 |
| 158 | 77 | 55 |
| 157 | 73 | 52 |
| 156 | 70 | 49 |
| 155 | 65 | 46 |
| 154 | 60 | 42 |
| 153 | 56 | 39 |
| 152 | 50 | 36 |
| 151 | 46 | 33 |
| 150 | 41 | 30 |
| 149 | 36 | 27 |
| 148 | 32 | 24 |
| 147 | 29 | 21 |
| 146 | 25 | 18 |
| 145 | 22 | 15 |
| 144 | 19 | 13 |
| 143 | 17 | 11 |
| 142 | 15 | 9 |
| 141 | 12 | 7 |
| 140 | 10 | 6 |
| 139 | 9 | 5 |
| 138 | 7 | 4 |
| 137 | 6 | 3 |
| 136 | 5 | 2 |
| 135 | 4 | 1 |
| 134 | 3 | 1 |
| 133 | 2 | 1 |
| 132 | 2 | - |
| 131 | 1 | – |
| 130 | – | – |
Data updated as of May 2024 | Source: ETS
GRE percentiles for Analytical Writing
| Analytical Writing score | GRE writing score percentiles |
|---|---|
| 6 | 99 |
| 5.5 | 98 |
| 5 | 91 |
| 4.5 | 81 |
| 4 | 56 |
| 3.5 | 38 |
| 3 | 15 |
| 2.5 | 7 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1.5 | 1 |
| 1 | – |
| 0.5 | – |
| 0 | – |
Data updated as of May 2024 | Source: ETS
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a percentage and a percentile?
A percentage is a number or quantity expressed as a fraction of 100. A percentile is a statistical metric that compares a value with a set of values below the same. Percentage and percentile are two different grading metrics.
Here are the formulas to find the percentage and percentile.
Percentage = (Value/Total value) x 100
Percentile = (n/N) x 100
What is the percentile rank of 75%?
While the percentage and percentile indicate a student’s academic performance, they are entirely different metrics. For example, if you scored 75% on a test of 100 marks, your score on the assessment would be 75.
In contrast, obtaining the 75th percentile in an exam means that you scored better than 75% of the candidates who took the test on the same day.
What is the 95th percentile in percentage?
It is important to understand that percentile and percentage are metrics, serving different academic purposes.
Obtaining the 95th percentile in an assessment shows that you have scored better than 95% of the candidates who appeared for the exam on the same day.
Meanwhile, a 95% on an assessment with an overall score of 100 means that your total score is 95.
Is the 70th percentile good?
The 70th percentile in exams means that you have performed better than 70% of the students who attended the test on a particular day. The score is a significant achievement, opening various opportunities for students.
What does the 100th percentile mean?
If you have obtained the 100th percentile, it means that you are among the top 1% of the successful candidates to have scored the maximum marks. The 100th percentile is a student's maximum achievement in the percentile grading system.
