How to use the selection ratio calculator
When an examination announcement goes up, the first number everyone hunts for is the ratio. Enter how many people filed and how many openings there are and you get the ratio as applicants to one opening, the applicants per opening, and the plain selection rate as a percentage. If you also know how many candidates actually sat the exam, add that too: no-shows are common, so the effective ratio measured on exam takers is often noticeably lower than the ratio on filings.
The arithmetic is straightforward. The ratio is applicants divided by openings, shown to two decimals in the form "N : 1". The plain selection rate is openings divided by applicants as a percentage. The show-up rate is exam takers divided by applicants, and the effective ratio is exam takers divided by openings. Leave the exam-taker box blank and those two rows are simply not displayed.
If there are fewer applicants than openings the ratio falls below 1 : 1, and the calculator says so with a separate note. The case where only the exam-taker count falls below the number of openings is flagged separately as well.
The selection rate here is a plain headcount ratio and nothing more. Your real chance depends on who else sat the exam, how hard it was and where the cutoff lands, so this calculator does not judge whether your own score is good enough. Use a cutoff rank calculator for that.
Frequently asked questions
Some people file and then never sit the exam. Enter the number who actually sat and the calculator adds the ratio measured on them.
Not on its own. Only the headcount ratio dropped; the cutoff still moves with the strength of the field and the difficulty of the exam.
The ratio is computed below 1 : 1 and a note appears saying the list is undersubscribed.