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Top 15 Toughest Exams in the World

Top 15 Toughest Exams in the World

Nitika Sharma · Updated on Jan 6, 2022

! 9 minute read " 182.5K views # 10 shares !!!!!

What is the hardest exam in the world?

Master Sommelier Diploma Exam is
considered as the toughest and hardest exam
in the world and is a wine-tasting test for expert
winemakers. Want to know the top 10 toughest
exams in the world? Here are the top 10
toughest exams in the world:

1. Master Sommelier Diploma Exam

2. All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam
3. UPSC – Union Public Service
Commission
4. CFA (Chief Financial Analyst)
5. Mensa
6. JEE-Advanced
7. GATE
8. CCIE
9. Gaokao
10. GRE

Now, let’s know more about these hardest

exams in the world along with some more
toughest competitors as well as top 10
toughest exams in India!

Toughest Exams in India

Career Objectives

Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World

Gaokao
IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of Technology
Joint Entrance Examination)
UPSC (Union Public Services
Commission)
Mensa
GRE (Graduate Record Examination)
CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetworking
Expert)
GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in
Engineering, India)
All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam
Master Sommelier Diploma Exam
Top 10 Toughest Exams in India
More Hardest Exams in the World to
Crack
LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test)
UMSLE (The United States Medical
Licensing Examination)
CA (Chartered Accountant)
California Bar Exam
LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test)
UMSLE (The United States Medical
Licensing Examination)
CA (Chartered Accountant)
California Bar Exam
IES (Indian Engineering Services)

Gaokao

Courtesy: CGTN

Gaokao is a college entrance exam in China

and is infamous as one of the top 10 toughest
exams in the world. Due to its difficulty level,
some European and American universities
have also started to accept Gaokao scores. In
the Gaokao exam 2013, candidates were
asked to write an essay on how Edison would
have reacted to the invention of mobile phones
if he teleported himself to the 21st century.

IIT-JEE (Indian Institute of

Technology Joint Entrance
Examination)

Is IIT the toughest exam in the world? As

the entrance test for Engineering courses at
the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), the
JEE is an exam that most certainly breathes
the meaning of the word ‘tough’. For JEE,
around 10 lakh applicants registered in 2019
and only 13376 seats were available at the
IITs. Acceptance rates hover around a meagre
1%. Adding to all this, the gigantic syllabus and
outright unpredictability of the questions in JEE
gives you the perfect recipe for one of the
toughest exams in India as well as the world.
Candidates acing the exam can also get a hold
of the Siemens Scholarship that can fund
their bachelor’s degree in Engineering.

Also Read: JEE Advanced 2022

UPSC (Union Public Services

Commission)

The Indian Government conducts the UPSC

examination to fill the posts across varied
departments such as the Indian
Administrative Service, Indian Foreign
Service, Indian Revenue Service, etc. It
consists of three impassable levels. The first
level is called Prelims which comprises two
general-topic objective papers. Qualified
candidates appear for the latter extraordinarily
hard level of Mains examination which has a
total of seven subjective papers. Those who
have successfully cleared the second level
then move further to an interview round with a
panel that tests personality, awareness and
logic. For getting a perspective on UPSC
exams, you should know that around 5 lakh
candidates take the Prelims competing for less
than 1000 seats. UPSC also conducts the IES
exam for the recruitment of engineers in the
government departments.

Also Read: IFS Exam Pattern (IFos)

Mensa

Amongst the world’s oldest societies, Mensa is

a high intelligence IQ society whose members
have a higher IQ than the 98th percentile, i.e.
amongst the top 2% of the world. Mensa has a
renowned presence in almost every country
across the globe. The IQ test administered by
society is an extremely demanding test that
analyses one’s intelligence on parameters of
reasoning, problem-solving and logic.

GRE (Graduate Record Examination)

Majorly conducted to check the proficiency of

candidates applying to study abroad, the GRE
exam holds a lot of importance in the lives of
those aspiring to pursue an international
degree. It is mainly conducted for master’s
level and PhD programs at institutions abroad.
As the exam is widely accepted across various
US universities, thousands of students
prepare and sit for this particular test making it
a tough nut to crack.

CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) is said to be

the world’s most difficult and brutal exam in the
field of Finance. Every year, a whopping
1,00,000 candidates attempt to crack CFA in
over 100 countries. Consisting of three levels,
it is designed to test Finance professionals
about the necessary financial tools and
techniques. Each level involves a complicated
six-hour exam consisting of 240 questions.
After clearing all three levels, a candidate also
needs to gain 48 months of professional
experience in order to earn the CFA charter by
clearing CFA Level 1, CFA Level 2 and CFA
Level 3.

CCIE (Cisco Certified

Internetworking Expert)

Cisco Certified Internetworking Expert is

one of the top 10 toughest exams in the world
offered by the Cisco Systems to hire
networking experts. The exam is bifurcated
into 6 parts and is conducted in two phases.
Applicants clearing the first phase get to
appear for the second one. The second stage
exam is 8 hours long in duration and hardly 1%
of the total number of candidates are able to
clear it. CCIE certification is considered as the
most prestigious certificate in the entire
networking industry, but qualifying this exam is
not an easy task.

Credits – GIPHY.com

GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in

Engineering, India)

GATE is a national level online examination

conducted to test concepts of Engineering,
Mathematics, Science and General Aptitude
for admission into master’s degree courses in
India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Ethiopia
and the United Arab Emirates. Prestigious
Indian universities that accept GATE range
from the IITs and IISC to IIMs (for fellowship
programmes). Some universities in Germany
and Singapore also take the GATE scores into
consideration for scholarship
opportunities. This one single paper consists of
both MCQs and numerical questions.

Check Out Our Exclusive List of

Helpful GATE Preparation Tips!

All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam

Courtesy: Business Insider

The Oxford University’s All Souls Prize

Fellowship Exam is a historic examination that
has been conducted for decades. It is one of
the top contenders in our list of toughest
exams in the world. Only one or two out of
eighty candidates are selected every year for a
7-year fellowship at the institution. Each
candidate is asked to write four essays on two
general and two specific topics. Typically, the
maximum time allotted is 3 hours for each
essay wherein questions are generally asked
from various disciplines of Humanities.

Check Out: Top Fellowship Programs

Master Sommelier Diploma Exam

Climbing at the zenith of toughest exams in the

world, the Court of Master
Sommeliers (CMS) conducts the Master
Sommelier Diploma Exam to encourage
improved standards of beverage
service by sommeliers, particularly
in wine and food pairing. There are 3
components that are put to test, i.e. theory,
service and blind tasting. Wherein a normal
candidate would be able to clear this particular
exam in 5th or 6th attempt, an expert would at
least take 3 attempts to clear this wine tasting
exam. In the last step, applicants have to
ensure that they know the exact year, date and
region where the wine was made. This makes
it the most challenging wine examination in the
world.

Courtesy: Angie Somm

Besides, the toughest exams in the

world, there are a few programs that
are considered the hardest ones to
pursue. To know more, read our blog
on toughest courses in the world.

Courtesy: TEDx Talks

Top 10 Toughest Exams in India

Here are the top 10 toughest exams in India:

1. UPSC Civil Services Exam

2. IIT- JEE
3. Chartered Accountant (CA)
4. NEET UG
5. AIIMS UG
6. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
(GATE)
7. National Defence Academy (NDA)
8. Common-Law Admission Test (CLAT)
9. UGC NET
10. National Institute of Design Entrance
Exam

More Hardest Exams in the World to

Crack

Apart from the aforementioned hardest exams

in the world, here are some more worthy
competitors you must check out:

LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test)

Initially conducted by the University of

Oxford, Law National Aptitude Test is an
entrance test for students willing to study Law
at the institution. But it has now become one of
the leading law tests in the UK. The exam is
now referred by various UK-based colleges
and is conducted in more than 100 centres
across the world. The examination helps you
understand if the law is the right career for you
and universities check whether you have what
it takes to succeed in this field.

UMSLE (The United States Medical

Licensing Examination)

Students planning to practise Medicine in the

United States have to undergo a tough exam,
popularly known as the USMLE which is
sponsored by the National Board of Medical
Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of
State Medical Boards (FSMB). This 3-step
examination assesses a physician’s skills to
apply concept and knowledge in order to
deliver safe and effective patient care. On
clearing the exam, candidates get an approved
license to participate in various medical and
healthcare practices.

CA (Chartered Accountant)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

(ICAI) conducts the CA exam which is divided
into three levels – CA Foundation, Intermediate
(IPCC) and Final. Most of the students often
start applying for CA after graduation to get a
headstart in the preparation process. The initial
levels may seem bearable to the applicants but
the last section i.e CA Final is the most difficult
step to crack. Being one of the toughest
exams, students fail in clearing the last paper
in a single go! You can also read our blog on
how to become a Chartered Accountant.

California Bar Exam

The State of California conducts the

prestigious California Bar Exam to select
graduates who can be inducted into the Bar
Society. With LSAT being its essential
prerequisite, the exam is conducted twice each
year in February and July. The passing score
of 144 is the second-highest in all the states of
America. In 2018, almost 60% of the test
takers failed to clear the exam. Further, the
State of California is aiming to lower this three-
day exam’s difficulty by coming up with better
metrics for lowering the cut-off score.

LNAT (Law National Aptitude Test)

Initially conducted by the University of

Oxford, Law National Aptitude Test is an
entrance test for students willing to study Law
at the institution. But it has now become one of
the leading law tests in the UK. The exam is
now referred by various UK-based colleges
and is conducted in more than 100 centres
across the world. The examination helps you
understand if the law is the right career for you
and universities check whether you have what
it takes to succeed in this field.

UMSLE (The United States Medical

Licensing Examination)

Students planning to practise Medicine in the

United States have to undergo a tough exam,
popularly known as the USMLE which is
sponsored by the National Board of Medical
Examiners (NBME) and the Federation of
State Medical Boards (FSMB). This 3-step
examination assesses a physician’s skills to
apply concept and knowledge in order to
deliver safe and effective patient care. On
clearing the exam, candidates get an approved
license to participate in various medical and
healthcare practices.

CA (Chartered Accountant)

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

(ICAI) conducts the CA exam which is divided
into three levels – CA Foundation, Intermediate
(IPCC) and Final. Most of the students often
start applying for CA after graduation to get a
headstart in the preparation process. The initial
levels may seem bearable to the applicants but
the last section i.e CA Final is the most difficult
step to crack. Being one of the toughest
exams, students fail in clearing the last paper
in a single go! You can also read our blog on
how to become a Chartered Accountant.

California Bar Exam

The State of California conducts the

prestigious California Bar Exam to select
graduates who can be inducted into the Bar
Society. With LSAT being its essential
prerequisite, the exam is conducted twice each
year in February and July. The passing score
of 144 is the second-highest in all the states of
America. In 2018, almost 60% of the test
takers failed to clear the exam. Further, the
State of California is aiming to lower this three-
day exam’s difficulty by coming up with better
metrics for lowering the cut-off score.

IES (Indian Engineering Services)

Indian Engineering Services is one of the

leading UPSC exam conducted to recruit
Engineers in various government departments
of the country. IES exam is popular among
Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and
Electronics Engineering and Civil
Engineering students in India. The rigorous
pattern of evaluating candidates to check if
they can do the job rightly makes IES a
deserving candidate in the list of toughest
exams in the world.

A huge majority of applicants experience

genuine difficulties for preparing for any of the
above examinations. Without question, these
are some of the top 10 toughest exams in the
world as they are intricately designed with a
higher difficulty level. Are you preparing for
any of these world’s most difficult exams?
Let our Leverage Edu mentors guide you with
all the essential knowledge, tips and tricks
required to successfully nail your exam with
higher scores.

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