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Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World

Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World

The toughest things are harder to achieve. But it is not impossible to get the toughest one. Achieving the tough things requires hard work and patience. Exams are there for evaluation, selection or to create competition. It feels a wonder land after getting success in the toughest exam. Individuals have different career choices and want to grow professionally. Due to increase of population and level of intelligence for a job, examinations are held. The growing number of choices makes it difficult for you to select one course. And the course is accompanied by an entrance exam. In this article, we will talk about the toughest exam in the world.

1 Master Sommelier Diploma Exam

Master Sommelier Diploma is known as number one toughest exam in the world
Source: mastersommeliers.org / Master Sommelier Diploma Exam

Master Sommelier Diploma Exam is the toughest and hardest exam in the world. It is a wine-tasting test for expert winemakers. The exam for the Master Sommelier Diploma is conducted by the Court of Master Sommeliers. The exam is considered to have the highest failure rate of any test in the world. The pass percentage is of only 10%. Only nine candidates are reported to have ever passed the exam on a first try. There are only 273 professionals worldwide having Master Sommelier title since its establishment. There are 3 components that are put to test, i.e. theory, service and blind tasting. The toughest part is to know the exact year, date and region where the wine was made. This makes Master Sommelier Diploma Exam the toughest exam to pass.

2 All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam

All Souls Prize Fellowship, second toughest exam in the world
Source: asc.ox.ac.uk / All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam

The Oxford University’s All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam is a historic examination. It is for a 7-year fellowship at the institution. The competition, offered since 1878 and open to women since 1979. It is held over for two days with two papers of three hours each per day. The questions are abstract, and there are no right or wrong answers. It has been described in the past as “the hardest exam in the world. Only one or two out of eighty candidates are selected every year. General questions are asked from various disciplines of Humanities. The candidate is expected to write an essay on the given topics. Once passing this exam, the candidate is financially free for the opted course.

3 UPSC – Union Public Service Commission

UPSC – Union Public Service Commission, a challenging exam in the world
Source: UPSC / UPSC – Union Public Service Commission

UPSC is considered as one of the toughest exams in India and across the world. The examination is for filling the posts for various departments of Indian government. The posts include the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS). And also, Indian Revenue Service (IRS). The examination is held with three levels. Objective paper at preliminary level. Seven subject papers at the mains level. And the last for those who qualify the earlier two is an interview round. Pass percentage of the UPSC exam is very low. Around 5 lakh candidates compete for less than 1000 seats. Great efforts are required for clearing the toughest exam. Different institutes are set for preparation for the tough levels of the exam.

4 CFA (Chief Financial Analyst)

CFA (Chief Financial Analyst), a very tough exam
Source: cfainstitute.org / CFA (Chief Financial Analyst)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is in the field of finance. It is one of the world’s most difficult exam to clear. The CFA Program is a three-part examination. It tests the fundamentals of investment tools, valuing assets, portfolio management, & wealth planning. Each level involves a complicated six-hour exam consisting of 240 questions. Passing all three levels of exam, a candidate needs to gain professional experience. Candidates will have a total of six maximum attempts per exam level. With the hope of passing the exam, candidate for all Around the world apply for it. The pass percentage is low for each level. In most of the case, the reason for failure is time commitment. The preparation time for exam require is expected to be higher than others.

5 Mensa

Mensa IQ Challenge
Source: mensa.org / Mensa IQ Challenge

Mensa is the world’s largest organization for people with high IQs. Mensa was founded in 1946 to create a “society for bright people. Amongst the world’s oldest societies, Mensa is a high intelligence IQ society. Their members have a higher IQ than the 98th percentile. The members score in the top 2% in its famous IQ test. It analyses one’s intelligence on parameters of reasoning, problem-solving and logic. To be a member age is no bar. Two-year-old Isla McNabb became the youngest member of Mensa. You can only take the Mensa test once, or in exceptional cases twice. Mensa has a renowned presence in almost every country across the globe. The Mensa test is an extremely demanding test in the world.

6 IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination)

IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination)
Source: jeeadv.ac.in / IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Examination)

To pursue engineering degree in top class University in India is not everyone cups of tea. IIT-JEE is an entrance test for Engineering courses at the IIT. It is constituted by two different examinations: the JEE-Main and the JEE-Advanced. The JoSAA conducts the joint admission process for a total of 23 IIT, 31 NIT, 25 IIIT campuses. And other GFTIs based on the marks of exams. Each of which has gone many changes in exam pattern, making it tougher. It is very tough to pass the entrance exam for +12 level students. The syllabus is vast to be covered by the teenagers. Questions prediction is also not much possible. These many things add on to make IIT exam the toughest of all. But the rewards for these have lifetime impacts. For JEE, around 10 lakh applicants registered in 2019 and only, 13376 seats were available at the IITs.

7 GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, India)

GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, India)
Source: iitkgp.ac.in / GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering, India)

From the field of engineering, the toughest exam is GATE. It started in year 1983. It has the purpose of Post-graduate engineering admissions, & screening for entry-level engineering jobs. Likewise, it is administered by IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology). In GATE exam the concepts of Engineering, Mathematics, Science & General Aptitude are tested. After clearing the exam, the candidate can get admission into master’s degree courses. Seats are available in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Ethiopia & United Arab Emirates. Some universities in Germany and Singapore also take the GATE exam scores. The is held in English language for 3 hours. The one single paper consists of both MCQs and numerical questions. The overall pass percentage for the exam range between 17 and 18 per cent. More of knowledge and practice is required to pass the tough exam of GATE.

8 CCIE

CCIE Exam
Source: cisco.com / CCIE Exam

CCIE exam is for hiring networking experts by Cisco Systems. It is one of the toughest exam in the world. The exam is conducted in Two phases with six parts. There is a written exam and a performance-based lab exam. Candidates passing the first phase get to appear for the second one. The second stage exam is very tough to clear. Phase two exam is of 8 hours duration. Hardly 1% of the total number of candidates are able to clear it. The exam certificate is acknowledged worldwide. CCIE certification is the most prestigious certificate in the entire networking industry.

9 Gaokao

Gaokao Exam
Source: chinahighereducation.org / Gaokao Exam

The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), in China, is known as the Gaokao. It is a college entrance exam held annually in China. More than 10 million students across the country appear for the exam. Many international universities accept the Gaokao as part of a student’s application form. It is infamous as one of the top 10 toughest exams in the world. There is immense pressure on students for the exam preparation. But as it plays a very important role in making the future bright, candidate need to attempt it. The exam benefits the candidate with a reputed position in Chinese government.

10 GRE

GRE Exam
Source: ets.org / GRE Exam

The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test, is an objective assessment of skills. It is basically for graduate, business and law programs worldwide. The GRE is a multiple-choice, computer-based, standardized exam. The exam main features to check the skill of candidates applying to study abroad. The GRE’s challenging essays, reading, and vocabulary sections make it a tough exam. The three sections of exam includes Verbal Section, Quantitative Section, & Analytical writing section. Time allotted for the exam is about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Scores of GRE are Widely accepted across various US universities.

Life is full of examination at every step. Some exams cleared with hard work & skills, while some requires knowledge & consistency. The level of toughness of exam depends on once likeness and hardship. If prepared well, then it’s easy to crack. In life, the most important thing to remember is participation. Do you really think that there is actually the need for tough exams to get success in this world? Share your valuable views with the world.

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