Hello,

You have not mentioned the exam regarding which the above question is about.

In general, for exams which have the percentile system for results, Percentile is considered for cutoff. Eg: JEE Main.

Actual score is only the medium to calculate the Percentile and hence, percentile also reflects your actual score indirectly.

Moreover, for some exams/colleges, Rank can be derived from Percentile and that can be used to set the cutoff.

Hope this helps.

Thanks.