Student Carla Soares turned up at the front door of her local school on a Friday night, in Santarém, donning a pointed black witches’ hat. “I thought a lot about what would be the best costume to wear,” she said. Although it might look like it, this isn’t a kids Halloween party. Carla is there to study.
Across Brazil, thousands upon thousands of students have pulled all-nighters in preparation for the National University Entrance Exam, or Enem, which began this Sunday all over the country. The exam is so comprehensive and challenging that an entire...