Entrance exams have become a necessity for securing your admission to your dream college or institute. These exams take place so that a student’s potential and his/her knowledge can get identified on a particular subject. Entrance exams have become more of a compulsion for the Students because entrance exams offer a pathway to the students for their future and can make or break their future. Because of this, students get into too much stress to cope up with. Not all exams are built with the same wavelength of difficulty. Every exam is built differently in terms of time duration, qualification and durability. Some exams might seem easier to crack whereas some exams can be cracked only by the top 5% of students with superior intellectual ability. We have compiled a list of 10 toughest exams in the world.
Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World:
1. Gaokao exam:-
Although there are a lot of exams in the world that are tough to crack, the Gaokao exam of China is considered the world’s toughest exam of 2021. Gaokao translates into “high exam” in mandarin and is a standardised college entrance exam held annually in mainland China. Almost 9.7 million students of various age groups appear for the Gaokao exam annually. Gaokao exam plays a very vital role in the Chinese education system. This is the only exam that will determine a student’s future and also provides a balance between the poor and the rich. The Gaokao exam is known as the NCEE i.e. national college entrance exam and can be known as china’s version of the American SAT.
The Gaokao exam is scored for 750 points in form of multiple-choice questions, fill in blanks and essay-based questions. It includes tests of Chinese literature, mathematics and a foreign language (mostly English). Western and European education systems criticises Gaokao because of the inhuman treatment and the long time duration of the exam. These institutes believe that the Chinese system fully focuses on rote learning. But in China, the exam is considered so important that the government has declared a national holiday on the day of the exam. Initially, Gaokao was only valid for securing admissions at Chinese institutes but now western institutions have also started considering Gaokao. The University of Hampshire was the first US University to accept gaokao scores for admission in 2018.
2. CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)
This exam takes place in 6 parts and 2 phases. The second stage lasts for 8 hours and only 1%of the population can clear it. It is the most prestigious exam in the networking industry. CCIE is for senior networking professionals who build, define, maintain and implement complex enterprise networking problem and offers them a series of technical certifications. The CCIE professionals are highly in demand in 2020 and have great career prospects in the networking industry. Some of the certifications included are –
a) CCNP enterprise infrastructure
b) CCNP enterprise wireless and
c) CCIE security.
d) CCIE data centre
e) CCIE collaboration
Although there is no prerequisite for the CCIE exam, the candidates are still expected to have a full detailed understanding of the topics. They should also have a minimum job experience of 3-5 years.
3. Mensa exam
The American Mensa was founded in 1960 is the largest and the oldest high IQ society in the world. American Mensa has its application process. The youngest member of Mensa is 4 and the elders 101. It is an NGO for people who score at the 98th percentile on the Mensa exam. Mensa is one of the toughest exams in the world. The standardised Mensa test contains a variety of questions to test logic and reasoning and also contains mathematical and linguistic questions. The Mensa examination consists of 2 tests. The first text includes 50 questions and there is a limited period of 12 minutes in which the candidates have to complete those questions. The second test comprises 7 questions. The Mensa test is also available in countries such as India and Pakistan.
4. IIT Jee Exam( Indian Institute of Technology- Joint Entrance Examination )
The IIT jee exam is for undergraduate courses in Indian engineering institutes. The Jee main exam is an online-based exam. The NTA (National testing agency) conducts it. Two phases of it takes place either in January or April. By taking the average of the scores of both exams they prepare the merit list. There are a total of 90 questions containing 20 macs and 10 numerals.
Also, know about total seats in NEET in 2021, here.
5. GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
The GRE is a standardised test that is required for many graduate business schools in United State and Canada. This exam is superior to the SAT and ACT and is one of the toughest exams in the world. The GRE is an online-based test with standardized multiple-choice questions and includes questions on maths, language and logical analysis. The candidates will receive a separate score for each section. The range must lie between 130-170 to clear the score.
6. The CFA Exam
The CFA (chartered financial analyst) institute is a globally recognised institute that creates the curriculum, code of ethics and exams that underlie the CFA designation. The students have to utilise over 300 hours to clear the CFA exam Because of its complexity and intensity. The exam consists of three levels in which the candidate has to pass every section. Level 1 is a computer-based exam that consists of 180 multiple choice questions. It is focuses on tools that are applicable for investment management and evaluation. In level 2 the students have to deal with the asset valuation. And finally in level 3 students will have to go through portfolio management in depth.
7. UPSC exam (Union Public Service Commission)
The UPSC exam consists of 3 stages:- a) UPSC civil services preliminary exam b) UPSC civil services mains exam c) interview assessment. The UPSC main exam consists a total of 9 exams which includes 2 qualifying exams and 7 merit-based papers
8. All Souls Price Fellowship Exam
The fellowship exam is one of the toughest exam in the world. Oxford University conducts it. Only the top 1% of the global population can clear this exam. Hence, making it one of the toughest exams in the world. The all souls college is the sister University to the University of Oxford. This examination consists of 4 papers of three hours each. Only those can give the fellowship exam who have recently completed their bachelors from Oxford University.
9. MCAT exam
MCAT is designed for prospective medical students who wish to go to Australia, the USA of, Canada and a Caribbean islands. Students from the USA and Canada having a UG qualification is eligible for MCAT. Whereas, International students are to complete their MBBS degree. The total exam duration is of 7.5 hours and has 4 sections:- a) physics and chemistry,b) logical reasoning,c) biology and d) psychological and social pattern of behaviour. MCAT also requires diverse knowledge in major areas of science, psychology and sociology. Besides these, they also assess the critical reasoning and analytical skills in the test.
10. LNAT (National Admission Test for Law)
The LNAT exam is also a very important law entrance exam for undergraduates. Prestigious universities like king’s College and the University of Oxford accept scores of LNAT. It is also one of the toughest exams in the world. The LNAT exam is divided into the following sections –
a) verbal reasoning
b) deductive reasoning
c) interpretive of information.
There are a total of 42 questions. They need to answer it within 95 minutes. In the essay section candidates have 40 minutes to showcase their ability to form and conclude an argument.
Conclusion
Just like how every entrance exam is different, each Student is also differently. Not every student is capable enough to crack these exams, irrespective of his/her background. Moreover, entrance exams doesn’t restrict to only one college. For every college, there is a different entrance exam. So the students can now follow their true passion with the right guidance and path.
Entrance exams also serve as a pathway and balance between the rich and poor by giving every student a fair and square chance to prove one’s worth. Previously there was a common notion among the society that only those who are rich will be able to afford high-quality education. But the situation has changed. Thanks to modernization and the internet, nowadays students are smart enough to make bold choices in their studies and are more aware of what they want to do.
So now it’s not always necessary that only rich students can get higher education. The entrance exams are so difficultly that all the students of rural areas as well as urban areas can have access to it. Not only entrance exams but even the coaching institutes offer subsidised rates for the preparation of national level exams to students so that no one misses out on any opportunity. This is the reason why international institutes have started accepting both national and international scores so that there is the inclusion of students from every background and to stand by the motto “Unity is Diversity“.
