Five Hardest University Exam Questions
Exam season is on the way once again. As students suffer, social media brings to light the best and worst of question papers. From the GCSE #EdexelMaths howler to mistakes in A Level Physics, and “impossible" university finals, here’s our round up of the five hardest university exam questions.
Sheffield: Economics
Sheffield’s Economics department formerly made the news for a supposedly “impossible" final year exam. The paper included questions on topics that had never been taught. Answers also required an unnecessarily high level of maths. One student even tweeted that “Question three may as well have been in Chinese". The BBC reported that over 90% of those who sat the exam petitioned for the paper to be investigated by the University. The department maintains that all content was covered by the syllabus.
Sheffield: French
Also at the University of Sheffield, a French paper was voided due to multiple mistakes. An administrative error caused a mix-up of materials between two different second year papers. The effects were so problematic that the whole exam was turned into a coursework element instead.
Write your own question
Tyler Cowen, a former Harvard professor, infamously once set a paper with no questions. Supposedly he walked into room and explained: “Here is the exam. Write your own questions. Write your own answers. Harder questions and better answers get more points." An ideal exam scenario? Perhaps not. Psychologists have suggested that Tyler’s approach requires a large element of risk that students are unwilling to take.
Exeter Economics
An exam at Exeter University left students in shock with scores as low as 10%. Students complained that the content of the exam was totally inconsistent with course material. The average grade scored on the notoriously difficult Economics paper was only 53%, and a petition to investigate was signed by over 200 students.
Oxford: All Souls
All Souls College at the University of Oxford is infamous for setting the “world’s hardest exam" for its prestigious fellowship positions. Comprised of four 3 hour papers students must possess in-depth knowledge in numerous areas. Hardest of all was the fifth paper, which required an essay response to a single word! Although this element was removed in 2010, the exam maintains it reputation as the most challenging academic exam in the UK. On average only 2 graduates each year will pass the test.
