I passed the June 2016 Foreign Service Test!
…Finally!
For those who have read this blog from the beginning, you will know this was my third attempt at taking it, and finally, third time is the charm. The previous two times I barely missed passing, with the first missing by 0.91 and the second missing by 0.07. That second one was a hard pill to swallow.
This time, I am over the minimum by nearly 13 points. It’s not the biggest of margins, but I will take it!
The breakdown follows:
| Biographic Questionnaire: | 54.83 |
| English Expression: | 55.73 |
| Job Knowledge: | 56.35 |
| Multiple Choice Total: | 166.91 |
| Essay Score: | 6 |
As you can see, I hit the minimum passing essay score at 6. I honestly thought my essay was well written and argued, and would have a higher score, but I will take it!
Without a doubt, my simulator helped! Practicing to write an essay with a maximum of 2800 characters served the purpose of understanding length. I knew how much room I had to write and how important each character was.
If you are about to take the test, I highly suggest using it, as it is the only FSOT essay simulator out there!
So I passed the test, and now I am a Foreign Service Officer right?
WRONG
The next step is to write six essays, called the Personal Narratives, in three weeks. Each essay can only be 1300 characters in length; that’s not a lot! For those who prefer a word count, that’s about 230 words.
And that my friends, is what I have been doing for the last three weeks- working on my Personal Narratives. I’ll write another post on the process I took.
But I want to leave you with this note.
If you want to become a diplomat, and you have not been able to pass the test yet. Please don’t give up! Keep at it!
Good luck to you!
