1. Credit Cards: You are more likely to be turned down for a credit card than you are to fail a background check to purchase a gun. Seven times more likely, in fact.
2. Marriage: If you ask for a woman's hand in marriage, chances are you'll be rejected about 25 percent of the time – at least on the first try – according to a survey of American women.
3. Citizenship: In 2012, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied 65,874 naturalization petitions.
4. Military service: United States military enlistment recruiters reject nearly 80 percent of all applicants for the service.
5. A desk at Harvard: Ninety-four percent of the more than 35,000 applicants to Harvard for the Class of 2017 were told they didn't get in.
6. A promotion: In a recent Gallup poll, 15 percent of American women said that they have been denied a promotion at work because of their gender. Thirteen percent reported having been denied a raise for the same reason.
7. Parole in Texas: Sixty-three percent of eligible inmates in Texas prisons were denied parole in 2012.
About the Author