NEET 2025 – Difference Between Percentage and Percentile

NEET, which stands for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, is an entrance examination for students seeking admission to undergraduate medical courses in India. The NEET exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) and is considered as one of the most competitive exams in the country. NEET 2025 is to be held on 04th May 2025. 

In competitive exams like NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test), terms like “percentage” and “percentile” are often used interchangeably by candidates, leading to confusion. However, these terms represent two distinct concepts that play different roles in the evaluation and ranking of students. Understanding the difference between percentage and percentile is crucial for interpreting your NEET 2025 results accurately. In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss the difference between percentage and percentile and their importance in the NEET exam.

What is Percentage?

Percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100. It is denoted by the symbol % and is used to represent a proportion or a fraction of a whole. For example, if a student scores 80 marks out of 100 in a test, their percentage score would be 80%. The formula for calculating percentage is:

Formula for Calculating Percentage

Percentage=(Marks Obtained/ Total Marks​)×100

Example: If a student scores 360 out of 720 in NEET 2025, the percentage will be:

$$\times 100=50\%$$

Key Highlights of Percentage:

• Percentage shows the proportion of correct answers out of the total possible answers.
• It is an absolute measure and does not compare your performance with other candidates.

What is Percentile?

Percentile, on the other hand, is a way of ranking students based on their performance in the exam. It is a statistical measure that indicates the percentage of students who have scored equal to or below a particular rank. For example, if a student’s percentile score is 90, it means that they have scored equal to or higher than 90% of the students who appeared for the exam.

In the NEET exam, the percentile score is calculated using a formula that takes into account the total number of students who appeared for the exam and the rank obtained by the student.

Formula for Calculating Percentile

Percentile = (number of students who scored less than the candidate / total number of students who appeared for the exam) x 100

Example: If a student’s percentile is 90, it means that 90% of the candidates scored less than or equal to that student.

Key Highlights of Percentile:

• Percentile ranks your performance relative to other candidates.
• It is crucial for understanding your standing in a competitive exam like NEET.
• Percentile does not reflect the exact marks you scored but rather your position in the overall pool of candidates.

It is important to note that the percentile score is not based on the total marks obtained by the student but on their relative performance in the exam.

Percentage vs. Percentile: Comparison

How Percentage and Percentile Impact NEET 2025?

Understanding the role of percentage and percentile in NEET 2025 can help you better gauge your performance and expectations:

1. Role in NEET Ranking:

• Percentage: NEET 2025 does not use percentages directly for ranking candidates. The ranking is primarily based on the scores and the percentile derived from those scores.
• Percentile: NEET 2025 ranks candidates based on their percentile, which helps in determining the merit position for admissions to medical colleges.

2. Cut-Off Determination:

• The NEET 2025 cut-off is expressed in terms of percentile, not percentage. For instance, to qualify, a general category student typically needs to score in the 50th percentile or above.

3. Counseling and Seat Allocation:

• Percentile plays a crucial role in the counseling process, as seat allocation is based on the relative performance of candidates, which is reflected through their percentile.

To conclude, Percentage and Percentile are two distinct concepts that are used to evaluate the performance of students in the NEET exam. While percentage is a way of expressing a number as a fraction of 100, percentile is a way of ranking students based on their performance in the exam. It is important for students to understand the difference between these two concepts and to focus on improving their relative performance to achieve a higher percentile score in the NEET exam.

NEET 2025 Percentage vs Percentile FAQs