15 Things That Are Harder To Get Into Than Harvard

Harvard is one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts school accepted just 5.9% of roughly 34,000 applications for its class of 2018. As Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust recently said, “We could fill our class twice over with valedictorians.”

The school seeks out students who not only have high grades, but also have outstanding achievements under their belts — from overcoming homelessness to starting their own nonprofits. The students who manage to catch the attention of admissions officers overcome exceptional odds, but they should maintain some perspective.

Many things in life — like landing a job at some Wal-Mart locations — are harder to achieve than getting into that prestigious university.

A Job At Some Wal-Mart Locations

Met with both merriment and protest, Wal-Mart came to Washington, D.C. at the end of 2013. 

The store received more than 23,000 applications but only hired 600 associates, NBC Washington reported. That’s a 2.6% acceptance rate — almost half as selective as Harvard. 

While many Harvard graduates can expect a 6-figure income, Wal-Mart employees pocket an average of $ 11.83 an hour or nearly $ 25,000 annually,,according to the company.

The Top 50 Posts On A Friend’s Newsfeed

When Facebook compiles your Newsfeed, it chooses from roughly 1,500 different posts.

The company uses an algorithm based on the popularity and relevance of posts, along with other factors, to decide what goes where.

The chances of a certain post finding its way into the top 50 stories on someone’s Newsfeed is about 3.3%.

If you want to boost your chances, posts with photos do far better than links or text-based posts.

 

 

The American Dream

A recent report from researchers at Harvard and Berkeley Universities shows that in many major US cities, it’s very hard to achieve a rags-to-riches success story. 

The report analyzes the number of people who were born into the lowest income quintile but ended up in the highest income quintile. The results don’t bode well for upward socioeconomic mobility.

The chances were below 5% in Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; Jacksonville, Florida; Columbus, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and Indianapolis, Indiana.

Even at the top of the list, people in San Jose, California showed just a 12.9% chance of living the American dream.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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15 Things That Are Harder To Get Into Than Harvard