Some are more equal than others

A couple of lads had managed to talk their way into my room seeking an interview with me. They had pretty sound school certificates and thought these might be good enough to get them accepted on one of our professional courses leading to membership of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators or the Association of Certified Accountants. In fact, I believe they would have been capable of this aim; but we had over 1,000 applicants for only 60 places each year, so the standard of entry had to be very high.