You just wiggled your finger. That's wonderful. - Fezzik

On March 3rd, I got an email from ACT informing me that my FSOT results were available for download. In sharp contrast to last year, I clicked on the link right away. I was greeted by the word "congratulations", and then a bunch more words that I didn't read until after the wave of relief washed over me.

This was the second time I have taken the FSOT. I knew from last year, that the results letter only tells me whether or not I've passed, giving no indication to my score. They require an official request, signed and faxed, before they will release your scores. I sent the request in about a week later, and I now have my scores. 154.0 is a passing score for the multiple-choice sections. 6.0 is a passing score on the essay.

2009 scores -
62.35 - Job Knowledge
53.24 - Biographic Info
57.59 - English Expression
173.18 - Multiple-Choice Total
8 - Essay Score

2008 scores -
59.36 - Job Knowledge
36.97 - Biographic Info
58.88 - English Expression
155.21 - Multiple-Choice Total
6 - Essay Score

In comparison to last year, I passed comfortably. It didn't really feel that way on the day of the test. I thought I'd done well, but the essay section is a pass/fail section, and I had a hard time with the second essay. I was worried that the structure I chose to approach the issue would not be seen as valid. It turns out that I didn't need to worry.

The other major difference between the attempts is my improvement in the biographic section. In theory, I'm the same person, and I should get the same score, but I had a big jump this year.

In December, I met with the Diplomat-in-Residence at Tufts to ask her about the biographic section. I consider myself pretty well suited for the Foreign Service, so I was a bit shocked by my low score in 2008. We worked through some of the sample questions in the official test guide. It was a very helpful exercise. I was being very, very literal with the questions and my answers. I'll make up an example. If the question asked how many co-workers would trust me to watch their cat over the weekend, I was answering "zero" because I don't have any co-workers with cats. The question is really asking if I'm trusted by my co-workers, which I am, but because I was answering the exact question that was asked, I was coming across as untrustworthy.


The next step in the process was to submit five essays by March 24th for the State Dept.'s Bureau of Examiners (BEX) to read over while looking at my application (school, work, and volunteer details). I passed this section last year, and decided to use the same essays. I tweaked them slightly, but they are basically the same.

I'm hoping that this year's version of the BEX agrees with last year's group. If they do, I will be invited to the oral assessment in D.C. in the fall.

I'll find out in June.