We’ve all been
there. You spend months – or even years – studying for an
exam, only to turn over the question paper and discover that it has
been written in an apparently alien language, discussing topics
that have never even danced across one’s memory. However, after
some profuse sweating and maybe a few tears, the mortal panic
starts to subside and familiar words begin to drift into view; the
brain whirs into life, and a torrent of crammed knowledge can
finally be unburdened onto the paper. It’s a terrifying enough
process even when someone knows their subject, so we certainly
don’t envy the thousands of people that sit the world’s hardest
exams.
Anyone who
wants to work in an engineering role for the Indian government
better have a voraciously competitive streak. The Indian
Engineering Services (IES) exam is widely regarded as the toughest
in India, with the number of candidates outweighing the number of
available jobs by a staggering margin. In 2010, for example,
157,649 hopeful candidates competed for just 434 vacant positions.
The exam itself consists of a two-part written test spanning 12
hours plus an interview-format personality test. While the number
of available engineering posts was said to have risen to up to 763
in 2013, we’re still not sure we’d fancy our chances with this
one.
Only a select
few will do well in the admission test for Mensa, the oldest and
biggest high IQ organization on the planet. In order to become a
member of the society, applicants simply need to prove that they
have an IQ in at least the 98th percentile of the general
population, by way of an approved IQ-testing procedure. Though
membership does not confer the same benefits or advantages as some
of the other exams on our list, individuals get to join an elite
and incredibly smart club. Interestingly, Christina Brown became a
member of U.S. Mensa at the terrifyingly young age of two years and
eight months, while the oldest person belonging to American Mensa
is 102.
The Chartered
Financial Analyst (CFA) exam – which has been dubbed Wall Street’s
hardest test – sees less than a fifth of entrants pass on their
first attempt. There are actually three separate exams (levels I,
II and III), which must be passed in order. The first two are
multiple-choice format tests, while the third features essay
questions as well as further multiple-choice sections. Only two
types of calculator are permitted in the exam, and the level II and
III tests are held on a single day once a year, so it’s a long wait
for a retake should examinees fail – which, statistically at least,
they are likely to do.
Gruelling
questions and ultra-low pass rates are two of the most obvious
hallmarks of a tough exam, but when an administrative body is sued
for its exams being “unnecessarily difficult,” it’s safe to assume
that its tests are no walk in the park. And that’s precisely what
happened to the State Bar of California, albeit in 1934. The
lawsuit was unsuccessful, but the state’s bar exam retains its
fearful reputation to this day, and it is widely regarded as one of
the most difficult of its kind in the U.S. The exam is split over
three days and consists of 18 hours of essay questions and
performance tests. Moreover, its pass rate oscillates between 35
and 55 percent, which is consistently the lowest in the
country.
Introduced in
1993, the Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) certification
is recognized as perhaps the foremost qualification in the
networking industry. Attaining the certification is no mean feat,
with a two-stage exam process for which the typical candidate will
spend a minimum of 18 months preparing. The first part of the exam
is a two-hour written test, featuring 90 to 110 questions, which
currently costs $350 to enter and will provide an immediate pass or
fail result. The fortunate recipients of a pass then become
eligible to spend a further $1,500 on the second part of the
program, an eight-hour hands-on lab exam. Fewer than 1 percent of
networking professionals hold the qualification, which gives some
insight into the toughness of the exam.
As its name
suggests, Malaysia’s Certificate in Legal Practice is one of the
qualifications that enables the holder to become a qualified lawyer
in the country. The test is conducted annually and requires
candidates to complete five papers on subjects including
professional practice, evidence and criminal procedure; all five
must be successfully passed before the certificate is awarded.
Since the exam’s launch in 1984, the pass rate (excluding re-sits)
has plunged from near 80 percent in its first year to 26.63 percent
in 2012 – testament, it would seem, to the exam’s incredible
difficulty levels. The lowest ever pass rate was actually in 2001,
where it bottomed out at below 20 percent.
China’s
National Higher Education Entrance Examination, also known as
Gaokao, is the main exam sat by the country’s students who wish to
go to college. The test is so important that building work is
suspended, the areas around schools are cordoned off by police, and
flights are diverted so as to minimize noise. The Olympic torch
relay was even rerouted during the 2008 Beijing Olympics to avoid
any distractions. Pressure on the high school students sitting the
exam is immense and has been associated with fainting, depression
and increased youth suicide rates in China. In 2012 reports even
emerged of students at one school apparently getting intravenous
amino acid drips to help their concentration while studying for the
exam.
Comprised of a
written exam of four three-hour papers, the Fellowship Examination
at Oxford University’s All Souls College is widely regarded as one
of the toughest tests in the world. Perhaps part of that reputation
stems from the notorious fifth paper, in which candidates were
required to write an essay response to a single word. This element
of the exam was dropped in 2010, but the test remains daunting,
with just two successful candidates from the 50-plus field in any
year. Successful students receive free lodgings, a salary or
stipend, and usually have their tuition fees paid for them, so for
some it’s probably worth all the anguish. However, with past exam
questions having included “Did the left or the right win the
twentieth century?” and “Is gardening art?” you might need an
imaginative streak as well as knowledge in order to succeed. And
who knows? That nightmarish fifth paper may be re-introduced
in the future.
The Indian
Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) was
until recently the bane of around 500,000 Indian engineering
students’ academic lives. The annual entrance exam for India’s more
prestigious engineering colleges saw its half a million candidates
competing for just 10,000 college places. It originally debuted in
1960 and has come to exert such a strong influence on contemporary
Indian society that coaching for the exam is itself a
multi-billion-rupee industry. Incredibly, some tuition classes even
have entrance exams of their own. In 2013 the IIT-JEE was switched
for a common exam covering entrance to a wider range of colleges,
but whether it’s any easier remains to be seen.
The first
Master Sommelier Diploma exam took place in 1969 in the U.K. Since
then, a mere 202 candidates have made the grade to ascend to the
wine world’s highest professional tier. Before the exam can even be
taken, three other levels of qualification – introductory,
certified and advanced – need to be attained, with pass rates for
the advanced test usually no more than 30 percent. The Master
Sommelier Diploma exam itself is split into three sections: an oral
theory test, a blind tasting and a practical wine service test.
Each section costs $795 to enter, and while failed tests can be
retaken, all three sections must be passed within a three-year
window, otherwise it’s back to square one. Furthermore, if that
wasn’t tough enough, the test is said to be getting harder, with
just one of 70 U.S. candidates emerging triumphant from an exam
that took place in
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I like the
"One Word" exam paper. 'The Word is "Bird". ' Now you have 4 hours.
lol
