Foreign Service Officer's Test and a liberal college education?

[swimmermom3]

In case you all are bored, I've thought of another weird question to demonstrate my lack of knowledge pertaining to certain aspects of higher education. :tongue_smilie:

 

My husband recently talked with an old friend whose dh is in the diplomatic corp (not sure if that is what you call it) and explained what it is we think Sailor Dude would like to do with his life.  She asked if he would be taking the Foreign Service Officer's Test. We had no clue about this, but passed on the information to ds. Yes, this is along the lines of what he is interested in. His planned major will have some combination of International Relations/Political Science/Economics depending on where he lands and what is offered.  We've talked about the fact that there are many unemployed young people with these majors and that he needs to consider having a niche. He has been hot to pick up a third language, most likely Arabic because that is where his interests lie.

 

Sailor Dude has applied to seven schools. Two of these are fairly liberal and the one that ds interviewed with was upfront in saying that ds would probably not experience a very wide range of political viewpoints. Ds was a bit disappointed as he said this interviewer was in a whole other league than the interviewers from three other schools that he has talked with. He feels that if he wants to be in government service, he needs to attend a school where there is an opportunity to explore the variety of political thought in this country in greater depth, not just one side.  Is this a valid argument and would it hurt his employment or internship chances?

 

There are certain aspects of far left college politics that really bug him so there is that to consider too - I think.

 

I admit that there are times I just want this child to go do something "normal," like be an accountant.

[swimmermom3]

Also, does anyone know anything about the Foreign Service Officer's Test and the U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program?

[8filltheheart]

I don't know about those programs, but if he is interested in a critical language (Arabic is one), then he might want to consider the opportunities obtained from studying one.  Boren scholarship assists with study abroad.  Students have to commit to working for the gov't for a certain period afterward.  Portland State is home to a Russian flagship.  If that is local, you might be able to talk to someone in person about the critical language flagships.  http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/

 

http://www.pdx.edu/fellowships/david-l-boren-scholarships

http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholars_service.html

[Ravin]

Arizona State has political diversity and a critical language institute. The CLI has summer programs worth looking into even if he doesn't attend there full time.

Edited February 3, 2016 by Ravin

[Luckymama]

Seriously Lisa, our kids have to meet.

 

Dd watches the State Dept internship offerings. She's been reading blogs about the foreign service exam. Apparently it has a very low first try passing rate.

[swimmermom3]

I don't know about those programs, but if he is interested in a critical language (Arabic is one), then he might want to consider the opportunities obtained from studying one.  Boren scholarship assists with study abroad.  Students have to commit to working for the gov't for a certain period afterward.  Portland State is home to a Russian flagship.  If that is local, you might be able to talk to someone in person about the critical language flagships.  http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/

 

http://www.pdx.edu/fellowships/david-l-boren-scholarships

http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholars_service.html

 

The Boren scholarships are very interesting. He's been interested in national security every since he had to write an essay for AP Lang on security sector reform. I will definitely share this with him.

 

PSU is his safety, albeit he is not particularly happy because it means he wouldn't be going away. However, the city of course offers everything that he loves and we can afford the school without any aid.  I really appreciate the links as it gives us an interesting alternative that we hadn't considered.

 

My preference would be if he could keep the undergraduate highly affordable because he thinks he will eventually want a doctorate. Most of the schools he is looking at range in the "ugly" price sphere.

 

ETA: Some of those scholarships are amazing. Oh the possibilities.

Edited February 3, 2016 by swimmermom3

[maize]

I don't think a liberal college would hurt his chances on the Foreign Service exam. With the entire internet at his fingers, he should have all the access he wants to a variety of political opinions. 

 

I worked with some FS interns back in the day, but I don't know much about the program; I've known some FS officers but don't know anyone well who has joined in recent years. I do know it is very, very competitive, but you can take the exam multiple times. Once past the exam there is an interview process that is also extremely competitive.

 

Arabic certainly couldn't hurt!

[swimmermom3]

I don't know about those programs, but if he is interested in a critical language (Arabic is one), then he might want to consider the opportunities obtained from studying one.  Boren scholarship assists with study abroad.  Students have to commit to working for the gov't for a certain period afterward.  Portland State is home to a Russian flagship.  If that is local, you might be able to talk to someone in person about the critical language flagships.  http://www.thelanguageflagship.org/

 

http://www.pdx.edu/fellowships/david-l-boren-scholarships

http://www.borenawards.org/boren_scholars_service.html

 

Wait!  When did grandbaby #3 arrive and how did I miss congratulating you? :party:

[prairiewindmomma]

Is he more interested in becoming a foreign service national or a consular agent? Those have very different educational/skill paths.  Also note the QEP process.

[SeaConquest]

My ex-DH's parents were diplomats, and I have several friends who went on to become FSOs. It is very competitive, but I wouldn't worry about the political leanings of the ugrad. The best preparation for the exam is a broad liberal arts education. I agree with 8 that learning a critical foreign language would be an advantage. Study abroad in the language, IR-related internships, and military service are also a plus.

 

If he is a policy wonk, he might also look at the Rand Graduate School. I used to dream of getting a PhD there: https://www.prgs.edu/

 

ETA: And, of course, Georgetown's Foreign Service School: https://sfs.georgetown.edu/

 

SAIS is another good one: https://www.sais-jhu.edu/

 

Rankings: http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/02/03/top-twenty-five-schools-international-relations/

Edited February 3, 2016 by SeaConquest

[swimmermom3]

Is he more interested in becoming a foreign service national or a consular agent? Those have very different educational/skill paths.  Also note the QEP process.

 

I believe he is more interested in an being an economic officer, political officer or public diplomacy officer and not a consular or management officer.

 

Am I understanding your question correctly? We are still in the learning stages of trying to figure it all out.

 

The QEP is the Qualification Evaluation Panel and it seems as though there is some concern about how it is conducted?

 

Also, why am I not surprised that the FSOT is given by Pearson?

 

[Roadrunner]

It's been ages since my friends were taking those exams, but I knew several who passed the written part. It's tough, but doable. They all complained how difficult oral exams that follow the written part were. 

As far as schools are concerned, I wouldn't worry about liberal leanings. I was lucky enough to go to school with huge international student body, and that diversity was tremendously educational. Nothing like discussing and designing economic policy for asian economies during actual financial crisis in a classroom  full of students from all over the affected countries. The debates were heated in the best possible way. 

If I were advising my kid, I would be pointing to Williams for economics and Georgetown as reach schools.  

[JennW in SoCal]

Univ of San Diego .... just saying. Institute of Peace and Justice. A student population that is a combination of liberal and conservative.  Scuba Diving.  My other plug is of course Wooster.  My ds reports that while Wooster is liberal, it is no where near as left wing as other LACs.  He has a couple of friends whose political views are on the right hand side of the spectrum.  And, at Wooster, he could find all sorts of internships and opportunities to research exactly what interests him because he will have to write that large final research project. The school isn't exaggerating when it boasts of its strengths in mentored independent research.

 

In a previous lifetime I wanted to be a foreign service officer, and started studying Chinese just to have that unusual language (it was hugely unusual in the late 70s/early 80s) and wound up transferring after 3 years of university just so I could get a degree in East Asian Studies.

 

I started losing interest in the foreign service as I went thru college and grad school, but did take the written exam. It was like Trivial Pursuit on steroids!  I couldn't believe the range of questions -- everything from the Monroe doctrine to the current ballet scene in NYC.  I passed the trivial pursuit portion of the exam but failed the English portion because it was stupid, government bureaucratic speak. The test asked you to edit a sentence by substituting an underlined section with one of the multiple choice options.  The sentences were so bad that just fixing the underlined section wouldn't be an improvement, and I was stymied!!

 

An old friend kept passing the written portion but then would fail the in person interview portion where you had to role play and do activities with others. I kept hearing (again, back in the early 80s) that the process was skewed to favor East coast Ivy leaguers.  

 

No doubt much has changed and yet stayed the same in the last 30 years!  There are a myriad of non-profit think tanks in Washington DC that need bright, passionate young minds to research and write position papers on all sorts of issues.  And there are numerous jobs at the UN, too. All these are the the possibilities that motivated me in my early 20s. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Of my friends who have gone into foreign service, several were practicing within their field (urban planning, geography information systems, etc.) and then applied to join the foreign service.  They all got in. My friends who applied directly from grad school had more difficulty in getting in, in part because their qualifications were based solely on their education, language, and personality.  A few failed the personality interview a couple of times before they got in. Others required more detailed background checks for their security clearances because they had done extensive travel while in school and in internships.  Notably, *I* got called and had to meet with a FBI agent so that I could verify an address in Malta by bringing in a letter the applicant had mailed me.  Some of my friends have enjoyed schlepping around from country to country every couple of years. Some have not, and have moved on to work stateside with occasional travel.

 

 

[J-rap]

I think the undergraduate college is not so important.  As long as he gets good grades and experience, then hopefully he can get into a good graduate school program.  It's the graduate school that will be key.  My husband attended a more no-name private liberal arts college, but then really made sure to go to a good graduate school in his area of study, one that had a good reputation.  He attended Johns Hopkins' SAIS (School of Advanced International Studies) in Washington, DC.  That's the school that made a difference for him.  He got a masters degree in both Middle Eastern studies (which required a proficiency in Arabic) and International Economics.