College degrees
Most (If not all) major airlines in the US require a college degree. It is in in place of the IQ test they used to be able to administer. It is a hurdle to clear in order to get the interview.
Pilots do not have much say anymore, so you need to impress the people in HR that most certainly will be impressed by a Masters degree or higher.
I wouldn't mind the IQ test, it would have saved lots of money and time. Besides that I have never used my extensive clay pot making abilities from the required arts class in the cockpit.