I got taught sniper drill by a Royal Green Jackets sergeant, which is not quite as impressive. Although they do march slightly faster than everyone else, and were the first regiment to stop wearing those nasty clashy red jackets to war, and also have more VCs than any other regiment, as they are more than willing to tell you given five seconds in their company. They also claim to have the brightest squaddies, which is like having the sharpest butter.

Anyroad, an interesting comparison indeed. Not really the university type, but if I may compare to drama schools, perhaps selection effects are best demonstrated by LAMDA, who have access to some of the best candidates, and reputdely work up from their abilities, and treatent effects by East 15, who have a more thorough and feedback-oriented audition system, but are reputedly severely method, and will strip students down to nothing before completely restructuring their abilities into strong, adaptable, but often disturbed actors. Furthermore, if actor training fits Royal Marine-style selection, and it tends to, then the industry itself is very much Para-style.