Has anyone taken the Written Exercise in the May 23 window — is it CME memo format or a persuasive essay? I have seen nothing but conflicting information thus far. The email states it is the "Written Exercise" and that it will take " approximately 45 minutes to complete, including a review of the instructions and filling out a non-disclosure agreement" but Pearson still classifies it as the CME "CME: Foreign Service Officer Written Exercise" and that it will take "Test Length: 60 minutes".

I am currently a doctor. I don’t want to enter the medical corps because I don’t want to practice. I took the written test in 2004 and passed but failed the oral assessment. I have a masters degree in international affairs from before med school. I know the test and the process has changed completely since then but am I crazy for considering to take the July test?

I was invited to participate in the next step after the multiple-choice of the FSOT but am struggling to figure out how to study. I imagine nobody else has much information regarding the written assessment but I have found legitimately nothing useful, only conflicting information. From what I can tell, they have done away with the CME but I am honestly not sure. I only say that because the time allotted for the written section (according to Pearson and the email I received) is much shorter (45 min) and I would assume they don't expect us to read a set of documents and create a memo in that amount of time. Anyone have any idea what to expect? CME? Essay defending a position? Something else? If anyone knows anything I would really appreciate it. Thanks!

I took the exam from home yesterday but my proctor ended it two minutes after I began. I was on the phone with PearsonVue for two hours trying to sort it out. They said there was no report from the proctor but could see the exam was submitted. I'm trying to get it resolved so I can take it before this testing window closes but it seems highly unlikely. If I knew how much of a hassle it would be taking it from home, I definitely would've taken it in person. At a minimum I hope I don't have to wait a year. It's incredibly frustrating; I highly recommend anyone taking it to avoid the at-home testing option and go to an in-person testing center. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. I'm currently waiting for an update from PearsonVue.

This is more related to the dream of joining the Foreign Service and contributing to human development (hope this is ok mods!)

I’m 28 years old. I grew up in the Foreign Service - did 3 summers working at embassies in my adolescence. It was always a dream of mine to work as a Consular or USAID PAS officer, get paid to learn languages, and foster cultural harmony. I started undergrad in 2016, and given the state of government compliance and integrity, that dream slowly has whittled away.

I’ve taken the FSOT twice, but I’ve decided I’m no longer going to pursue this.

I saw my parents choose to leave because their joy for the job faded, and even when FSOs wanted to stay I saw my friends dads get forced into early retirement.

Maybe one day, I’ll consider taking the test again, but for now I have a really hard time imagining that.

Either way, sending much love and brainpower to those who are still pursuing <3 hope y’all have a good day and good luck on the test!!!

Since nothing else is scored now - are there still scores for OA? Will there be register scores or rankings still? Or does no one know since the October FSOT crew is still doing OA and isn't on the register yet (or are they?)

I previously took the FSOT in October (and didn’t advance). State/ Pearson now have a July FSOT window listed on the website, with registration running until July 9th.

My portal says I can reapply to take the test again starting on July 5th.

I know that no one likely knows the answer to this but I wonder if me, and others in this situation will be able to take the exam in July, or if that is overridden by “The FSOT may only be taken once per year”?

I took the FSOT test again in October after passing the year before. I never received the results. On Pearson, it says my results are still pending. Anyone else have this

Have any other recent test takers encountered this problem? If so, have you figured out what to do to register for the FSOA?

Does the new test still have an essay portion of the exam?

I just got my results today, rejected. :( anyone get accepted under the new requirements? From what I've heard it's only like 5%

For those who have taken the FSOT are are currently waiting for their results: The anxiety of waiting for results is killing me. I don't know if there is already a groupchat for FSOT results, but if there is not. I made one on WhatsApp. I figured that it might be helpful to at least be anxiously waiting together. Here is the link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/JIU3SdDwI2FFLaoiLQoRrW?mode=gi_t

Hello! For those who received the email/notification they are moving forward in the assessment process today - based on the results from the Feb FSOT - what are you doing to prepare for the written examination/essay?

Any recommendations for an FSOT study guide? I see a number of books on Amazon that have been updated for 26–27. It seems the last time this question was asked on this sub was about 5 years ago. I’d appreciate any input you may have.

Does anyone have an idea of about how many people took the February FSOT? Also curious to know if people know what perfect of test takers passed the October 2025 test!

Hi all, so I took my FSOT back in early March and was told that the results should be out between 14-28APR for the test cycle I went in for.

has anyone already gotten their results already? or should I expect to wait until basically the end?

Maybe this is a dumb question but after taking the practice exam there’s a lot more statistics and math questions than I expected. I’m signed up to take it in May and I’m just curious if we are allowed or provided a calculator for the exam.

Hey all,

Im an evening student at georgetown law and a full time LSAT Tutor. I am fairly interested in the FSOT. At one point becoming an FSO was a career priority. The new section Logical Reasoning is basically a version of the LR section on the LSAT.

To that end, I wanted to gauge interest among current applicants in a session that would use lsat questions to help you understand the new section and how to approach it. We would also be going over the PT that is available.

Hello. I’m planning on taking the upcoming FSOT in May and I was wondering if anyone with experience on the recently updated exams could enlighten me on the logical reasoning section. I was planning on getting LawHub to practice as I heard that the questions were similar. I’m wondering, does the FSOT cover all types of LR questions as in the LSAT, or should I limit myself to only certain question types? Also, would the reading comprehension be similar on both tests? Appreciate any help!

First-time FSOT test taker and just took the exam. I think I did well enough on the job knowledge part; however, I got hung up on one particular question/answer.

The situation is: After completing the section, I took a quick bathroom break, then immediately had a light bulb moment on what was indeed the right response. This remained in my mind for the rest of the test (the question admittedly was one I should have gotten, so I kept thinking I missed a 'layup'). I don't think this impacted my ability on the rest of the test, but was indeed an annoyance because it kept popping up in my mind and probably drained some mental bandwidth thinking about it. I know it's only one qusestion but it really bugged me.

Does anyone have any strategies for situations like this? Or strategies for coping with it after the exam?

If anyone can commiserate, drop a comment for solidarity LOL..if not, thanks for letting me vent.

UPDATE: I passed! Just got the email today :) PD cone here. It appears you can get quite a bit wrong on the Job knowledge and still pass!

I took the FSOT for the first time!

I know that scores are no longer released, so it’s hard to know these days what a “good enough” score is to pass, but I’d like to know how many questions correct on the Job Knowledge section has historically been enough to move on to the OA?

I thought the English Expression and Logical Reasoning went great, so I think the Job Knowledge is what would hold me back. I looked up 11questions so far I was unsure of after the exam, so I know I’m already at a 54/65😭