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So I managed to make it to the OA. Any tips for the memo section or any good ways to practice it? Are there any benefits for taking it in July or October? I have more questions but I'm on vacation and typing this in a kindle is a pain. Thanks!
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May 23, 2013 17:32
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Also, what would be a score on the OA that would likely make it to an A-100 class? I'm in the consular cone, which I've heard has a large number of candidates on the list. I'm assume that if I get a 5.25 then I should probably take it again next February... This will be a stressful 3 months. Edited- fair enough cramerthegr8 fucked around with this message at 05:24 on Jun 17, 2013 |
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Jun 17, 2013 03:01
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So are there any good tips or strategies that helped yinz make it through the OA? I think the writing section will be the hardest section for me. Diplomaticus posted:Although 5.25 is technically the cutoff for passing, your baseline score on the OA (not including any bonus points or adjustments) is in .1 increments, so 5.3 is the minimum passing score. That's actually really good to know. Thanks!
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Jun 17, 2013 05:27
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So yesterday I passed the oral assessment with a 5.4. How likely is that to get me off the list. I'm in the consular cone and have no languages.
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Oct 24, 2019 00:46
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zzonkmiles posted:Congratulations! If you're in the DC area, let your registrar know you are available on short notice. Sometimes there are last-minute cancellations and they need to fill the spot quickly. I have no idea what the Consular register is like nowadays, but it sounds like you may need a backup candidacy. Not totally hopeless, but probably not high enough to get excited about packing your bags either. Thanks for the suggestion! I'm not sure if Pittsburgh is considered DC adjacent, but I could probably leave here quick enough. Yeah, that's what kind of sucks about the score. Kind of hard to feel happy about it. I'm planning on taking the test again next Feb to try to improve it.
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Oct 24, 2019 15:00
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So I recently accepted A-100 training (July) and I'm looking through the healthcare plans. I'm currently deciding between Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Foreign Service Benefits Plan. Any advice on which to choose? I'm leaning right now towards FSBP.
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Jun 4, 2021 17:36
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Business of Ferrets posted:One upside to BCBS overseas is that all services are considered in-network. I say this not in comparison to FSBP, which has great overseas coverage, but just because it is not intuitive and mentioned like just once in the plan literature. Thanks for this. I was a bit confused about whether BCBS had international coverage (it looks like 13,000 providers). FSBP has direct billing with 200 overseas providers. A friend of mine has FSBP and said their system is a bit clunky and communication is a pain when you have to call from halfway around the world. The prescription plans seem kind of similar, though BCBS has cheaper generics but higher % for other tiers. People generally don't have issues getting medications to post, do they? That's a big worry for me since my fiancé has a lot of prescriptions. I'm going to have to look into this more. The price difference between the two is pretty crazy ( $387 for FSBP and $608 for BCBS).
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Jun 5, 2021 16:00
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Blooregard posted:I went with FSBP, works pretty well. Plus, I think we’re up to 42 free massages per year! They're free (also, it's up to 50 now)? I read up to $60 a session, but I guess free is less than. I was confused by this. Are these normal massages, or like physical therapy massages? I saw it also included acupuncture, which is something I never thought I'd consider.
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Jun 8, 2021 04:36
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