JEE Advanced, UPSC, CFA, GATE, GRE, CCIE, All Souls Prize Fellowship, Master Sommelier Diploma Exam, Gaoko, and Mensa are rated as the top 10 toughest exam in the world 2023. Candidates require proper skills to crack these exams.
The top 10 toughest exam in the world 2024 includes Gaoko, JEE Advanced, UPSC, Mensa, CFA, All Souls Prize Fellowship, Master Sommelier Diploma Exam, GATE, GRE, and CCIE.
Not all exams are built with the same wavelength of difficulty; some are more difficult than others. The main purpose of these exam are to test the candidates' in-depth understanding of the stream.
Top 10 Toughest Exams in the World 2024
Here is the list of the 10 toughest exams in the world based on an overall analysis. To know about a particular exam, click its respective link and be directed to it.
- Gaokao
- JEE Advanced
- UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
- Mensa
- GRE (Graduate Record Examinations)
- CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
- CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert)
- GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering)
- All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam
- Master Sommelier Diploma Exam
1. Gaokao Exam
Gaokao is China's national entrance test, akin to GATE for India. If one wishes to attain higher education in China, they need to clear the Gaokao exam because it is a primary condition for higher education.
Further, Gaokao has built itself a reputation so infamous that it has documentaries made on it; it's ranked one of the toughest exams in the world. Here are three important features that make it world's toughest exam:
- The exams are conducted for about 9 hours over two days.
- The test include both Chinese and Mathematics in all the tests.
- The overall marks received by the student are usually the average sum of their subject marks. This, in turn, decides whether the candidate has passed or failed their exam.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) commonly known as Gaokao |
Frequency | Once a Year |
Medium of Exam | English |
Exam Duration | 9 Hours (over a period of two or three days) |
2. Joint Entrance Examination – Advanced (JEE-Advanced)
JEE Advanced is an engineering entrance examination conducted in India. JEE exams must be cleared by candidates wishing to get admission to IITs and some of the NITs, the best engineering institutes in the country.
Here are some pointers to prove why it is among the top 10 toughest exam in world:
- Students prepare for years starting from 10th to 12th class to score the cutoff of the exam.
- Out of every 5 lakh students appearing for the exam, only a scaring 10,000 get selected every year.
- The exam is divided into two papers of 3-hour, objective-type papers.
- For every incorrect answer, candidates looses 0.25 marks.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Joint Entrance Examination Advanced |
Conducting Authority | IIT Guwahati |
Frequency | Once a Year |
Mode of Exam | Online |
Medium of Exam | English & Hindi |
Exam Duration | 3 Hours |
Type of Questions |
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) |
Numerical Type Questions |
Read More: JoSAA Exam
3. UPSC - Union Public Service Commission
The central agency in India conducts the UPSC exam to recruit all the top-notch government officials in the country. The UPSC exam is conducted in 3 phases, making it toughest exam in the world. Phase 1 includes answering objective-type questions, phase 2 is subjective-type questions, and phase 3 is an interview.
- The primary motive of the exam is to funnel candidates who can take on responsibilities involved in a government job that serves the nation's benefits.
- The responsibilities involved are naturally crucial and difficult; the exam process means to reflect that, making it tricky to clear.
- As a result, only 1000 candidates out of approximately 3 lakh candidates are chosen every year.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Union Public Service Commission Civil Service Examination |
Conducting Authority | Union Public Service Commission, Government of India |
Frequency | Once a Year |
Mode of Exam | Offline |
Medium of Exam | English & Hindi |
Exam Duration | Preliminary: 2 Hours |
Mains: 3 Hours | |
Type of Questions | Prelims- Objective type Mains- Descriptive type |
Also Check: UPSC Jobs List with Salary
4. Mensa
Mensa was founded in 1946 by the Australian barrister Roland Berrill and the British scientist and lawyer Dr.Lancelot Ware at the Lincoln College in Oxford, England. They intended to create a non-profit society for anyone who scored above the 98th percentile on regulated and supervised IQ tests.
Gaining a Mensa membership would mean one needs to have achieved more than the percentile stated there. Thus, making is one of the world's toughest exam.
- Mensa is a multinational NPO, so some aspects may differ.
- Their evaluation system considers the quality of one's talents.
- There is no age restriction to join it.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Mensa |
Frequency | Once a Year |
Mode of Exam | Offline |
5. GRE (Graduate Record Examinations)
The GRE is one of the most widely taken tests globally; it's also rather difficult to crack. It is used as an entrance exam for most universities in the United States. It is because of its complicated nature it is coined as toughest exam in world.
- The GRE test is divided into sections: Analytical Writing, Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Issues and Arguments, and Research.
- These sections may or may not include lower-level mathematics, which is difficult for many.
- In addition, most of the questions are phrased to confuse and trick the candidate.
- Other questions involving English include challenging vocabulary and complex passages of text that require elaboration.
- The test can be taken online and offline; Paper-Based tests are made available only in areas whereas conducting the online test is impossible.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Graduate Record Examinations |
Conducting Authority | Education Test Services (ETS) |
Frequency | Throughout the year |
Mode of Exam | Online and Offline |
Medium of Exam | English |
Exam Duration |
2 hours and 50 minutes (Subject Test) |
3 hours 50 minutes (General Test) | |
Type of Questions | MCQ |
Also Check: How to Crack GRE?
6. CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst)
The CFA is not precisely an examination; it is more professional for finance and investment professionals. The Wall Street Journal has recognized it as the world's toughest exam.
Below are the points that prove CFA is among the top 10 toughest exam in world.
- After many repeated attempts, only 1/5th of the applicants clear the test each year.
- The test includes 3 papers, covering 2 objective types and 1 essay type.
- Only 9% of the applicants have passed all 3 levels in the past decade.
- The CFA Institute imposes one of the two criteria on test-takers: They must either have 4 years of relevant work experience or an appropriate combination of work experience and education.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Chartered Financial Analyst |
Conducting Authority | CFA Institue |
Frequency | Bi-annually |
Mode of Exam | Online |
Medium of Exam | English |
Exam Duration | 90 Minutes |
Read More: How Hard Is the CFA Exam?
7. CCIE
The CCIE Certification was introduced to support the industry in identifying the top-ranking internetwork experts globally and evaluating them on infrastructure and network design. Given CCIE's reputation among networking certificates, the certification is accepted globally.
Their authorities also update their testing tools and methodologies regularly. Here are a few reasons why it is categorised as the world's toughest exam.
- CCIE exam is divided into 2 phases.
- In particular, the second phase consists of an 8-hour practical exam.
- Unfortunately, according to some of the findings by Cisco, only 3% of the candidates are selected and certified in CCIE.
- Further, due to the tediousness and difficulty involved in the second phase, only a 1% success rate is reflected.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert |
Exam Duration | 2 Hours |
Type of Questions | MCQ |
8. GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering)
GATE is a national entrance test in India for students pursuing engineering. Achieving high scores in this exam will allow students to take postgraduate courses in some prestigious universities in India.
What makes GATE so difficult and places it among the top 10 toughest exam in world are as follows:
- IITs conduct GATE exam.
- Around 10 lakh students appear yearly for GATE, and approximately 15% make it through.
- It is more challenging because IITs only accept candidates with higher than the 98th percentile, which means more candidates from that 15% are eliminated.
Particulars | Details |
Full-Form | Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering |
Conducting Body | IIT's (Rotational) |
Exam Mode | Online (CBT) |
Language | English |
Duration | 3 Hours |
Also Check: GATE Information Brochure 2024
9. All Souls Prize Fellowship Exam
The All Souls Prize fellowship exam conducted by Oxford University's All Souls College is one of the toughest exams in the world. Additionally, analyzing the fellowship's selection process is another good indication to show how difficult the exam is; an average of 2 out of 80 candidates are selected to become members annually.
The Fellowships last seven years and cannot be renewed. Here are some of the added features that make this exam challenging:
- The exam includes four papers, each of which lasts for a total of 3 hours.
- Candidates must write an extended essay based on a single word they received.
- One needs to have a comprehensive knowledge of the subjects they are writing and adaptive brainstorming skills to answer the questions.
Particulars | Details |
Name of Exam | Examination Fellows, formerly known as Prize Fellows |
Conducting Body | Oxford University |
Language | English |
Duration | 3 Hours |
10. Master Sommelier Diploma Exam
Master Sommelier Diploma Exam has a four-level education and examination program, beginning with the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination.
The Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination offered in-person and online, introduces students to the Court of Master Sommeliers, the Court of Master Sommeliers Tasting Method, the Court of Master Sommeliers Service Standards, and is taught exclusively by Master Sommeliers.
The reasons why Master Sommelier Diploma Exam is considered among the the toughest exam in the world are discussed below:
- Success in the in-person Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination depends on a student's degree of training and job experience.
- The students should have examined and studied the introductory workbook's topics before class, as this is expected of them.
- The Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination take place from 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM over two days. The exam takes place at approx 4:00 PM on day two, followed by results and sparkling wine reception.
- The course is intense and fast-paced - covering a lot of information.
- The examination consists of 70 multiple-choice questions reflecting the course content and workbook and must be completed within 45 minutes.
- A minimum score of 60% is required to earn the Introductory Sommelier Course and Examination certificate and lapel pin.
- After passing the Introductory Sommelier Course Examination, students can sit the Certified Sommelier Examination (Theory, Tasting, and Service).
Particulars | Details |
Name of Exam | Master Sommelier Diploma Exam |
Conducting Body | The Court of Master Sommeliers |
Language | English |
Also Read: Toughest Exams in India
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