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Harder Than Harvard

THE SEATTLE FIRE DEPARTMENT 1.1%
Post-9/11 firefighter adulation is still surging in Seattle, Wash., where last December the city’s fire department fielded roughly 2,800 applicants for 31 openings. But getting in is only the beginning—beginner boot camp has been known to weed out a sizable chunk of the freshman class.
Stuyvesant High School 3%
Within its 10-story building in lower Manhattan, the public Stuyvesant High School has physical facilities and course offerings that would be the envy of many colleges. And while "Stuy" was once overwhelmingly dominated by math and science, its English and social studies departments have recently caught up, making the 800 seats offered to the nearly 27,000 applicants every year feverishly contested golden tickets.
Manhattan Preschools Varies
Getting into a prestigious New York grade school is tricky, but the preschool rat-race is even worse. The number of children under age five in Manhattan increased by 26 percent between 2000 and 2004, making competition for the city’s roughly 200 preschools exceptionally fierce—despite prices approaching $30,000 a year. Preschool consultants advise parents to apply not just to places like the 92nd Street Y (known as "the Harvard of nursery schools") but also to "safety schools."
The Juilliard School 7%

One of the world’s leading cultural institutions, Juilliard can afford to be choosy. No specific GPAs or class ranks are required, but prospective Juilliardians are required to demonstrate their musical virtuosity for members of the faculty—no simple task when the professors are more accustomed to receiving ovations than giving them.
Rhodes Scholarship 2.1%
Despite the fact that its founder, Cecil Rhodes, was a racist businessman who made his fortune mining bling, the Rhodes Scholarship requires applicants to have a combination of "high academic achievement, integrity of character, a spirit of unselfishness, respect for others, potential for leadership, and physical vigor." Every year about 1,500 American students think they fit the bill; of the 896 who garnered their university’s endorsement last year, Oxford rejected 864.
Infosys Global Education Center (Mysore India) 1%
"Win in the flat world" is the tagline for Infosys, the second largest software services firm in India. Every year 1.3 million people apply for full-time positions at the company’s sprawling campus in Mysore; 1,287,000 lose in the flat world.
American Idol 0.01%
The Fox reality show offers something no university can—the opportunity to become a pop star. The show's producers weed through an initial field of more than 100,000 applicants to choose the 12 who will appear on the primetime show. But let's face it: The winner doesn’t need to get into Harvard.