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I read that two people in the June A-100 received low-bid assignments on Flag Day. Oops. Is anyone at liberty to say where they will be posted? And how did they react when the flag for one of their "low" bids was brought out and their name was called? So how likely is it that you'll be assigned to one of your "low" assignments? Or is it most likely to happen if you list Berlin, Paris, Brussels, Rome and London as "high" while everything else is "low?" Congratulations, Mantis! You've gone from clearance limbo to A-100 to Ethiopia-bound in just three months! So exciting! 
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Aug 4, 2014 13:28
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Stolennosferatu posted:Direct supervisor? I thought it was subordinates. (I clearly didn't read the prompt very well...) I think what happened is that Pearson mistakenly wrote "supervisors" when they should have written "subordinates." That will be fixed for the next cohort (October). It would make no sense for your supervisor to not be able to vouch for you.
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Aug 5, 2014 03:38
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Ahhhhhhh, why isn't it October already?! Reading all of this stuff makes me super pissed that I bombed the case management portion of my OA! I wanna hurry up and take that stupid test again and get this show on the road!
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Aug 6, 2014 17:46
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CoatPulls posted:I'm currently waiting for QEP results, which also are supposed to drop in late October, so I'm right there with you on the frustration. There are some OA overview documents available for download on the Yahoo FSOA group page. There are even a few sample case management exercises there too. It seems that the case management exercise is the portion most likely to be failed, followed by the group exercise. The structured interview is probably the easiest part of the OA. All I can say without violating the NDA is that the case management binder at the OA is significantly thicker than the practice exercises available for download. Good luck with the QEP. That round tripped me up twice before I made it through on my third attempt. Attempt #4 begins this fall! Now that I know what to expect at the OA, I'll be much better prepared and much less nervous. I'm not worried about the FSOT; I'm just annoyed that I have to take it again after passing it three times in a row with higher scores each time.
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Aug 6, 2014 18:17
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Thanks for the protips Leif! If I can make it past the QEP, I will definitely take your words to heart. Oh, and it looks like poo poo is getting real again in Iraq. Obama cited threats to "US personnel" as a rationale for "targeted strikes." I hope no FSOs are in danger, though it's quite possible/probable that some are. Being a part of history is great. But that history is dangerous is not. Please stay safe. 
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Aug 8, 2014 03:06
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dalliance posted:Anyone know (or have a clue) when registration will open for the October FSOT? I could have sworn I was registered by this time last year for the test. I seem to remember being able to register much earlier than this as well in previous years. State hasn't said much about the October FSOT other than being able to register about "4-6 weeks" before the actual test. Another State rep said we can register in "September," but that seems awfully late.
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Aug 8, 2014 14:06
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Bruxism posted:Man, I get where "trailing" comes from, but it's such a poor choice of word. It's like they had a contest for the best word to make spouses feel marginalized. Why don't they use the word "accompanying spouse?" Also, I heard that the FSOT will be offered again from October 4-11, but I'm trying to find an official source on that.
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Aug 9, 2014 15:38
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zzonkmiles posted:Why don't they use the word "accompanying spouse?" Okay, the dates for the October FSOT are officially posted on State's FSOT page now. So October 4-11 it is. Registration and test site selection open on August 27. Git 'er done.
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Aug 14, 2014 13:12
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Captain Bravo posted:Finally got an email from Pearson Vue today, they finished my Essay rescore! For reference: Fuuuuuuuuck. Well, like they always say, there's always next year. In the meantime, I'd practice writing under pressure. Also, at least you took a chance. Gotta fight for the things that matter, right? I'm just sorry it didn't work out for you.
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Aug 16, 2014 16:41
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How difficult is it for a first-tour officer to be assigned to Japan (if you do speak Japanese), Korea (if you don't speak Korean), or the Philippines (if you don't speak Tagalog)?
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Aug 17, 2014 02:58
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http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/2014-election-mitch-mcconnells-barack-obama-confrontation-110154.html?hp=f2 The tl/dr version is "The (new) Republican Congress will send bills and budgets to the President that drastically scale back his initiatives by unfunding or underfunding them. If he vetoes them, then we will shut down the government and he will be blamed for it." This does not bode well for candidates on the Register hoping for a November A-100, candidates on the register in general, and candidates looking to escape the dreaded QEP stage alive. I just hope State doesn't consider offering the FSOT only once or twice a year as a result of this. Or maybe the QEP will be super tough to pass in the future.
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Aug 20, 2014 15:01
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problematique posted:After google reader went belly up, I started using Feedly, which works great. I will vouch for Feedly. Interestingly, this is the rare service whose smartphone app works better than its webpage service. Another blog I like is called Foreignservicetest.com. It doesn't talk a lot about the day-to-day experiences of an FSO, but it does have a lot of good information for people who are considering joining the FS. For the person considering joining who is 34 with a BA, go for it! Your timing is actually quite good because the next test is in October and you can register for it now. Leif is right in that having a degree will matter more than your GPA. There aren't any particular degree requirements to join the FS, but the academic training you received during your studies will help you immensely during the application process.
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Aug 22, 2014 13:31
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So the next A-100 starts tomorrow. Any goons here in the upcoming class? How do you feel? Congratulations and good luck to all of you!
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Aug 24, 2014 19:26
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GoodsMarch posted:Indeed, congratulations. I'm jealous of you all--I made it on the register a week or two too late to make it into the August class. I am now eagerly awaiting news of whether there will be a November class. I'm hoping that once the registrars have finished all of the HR processing for the new class, they'll have some time in a week or two to figure out whether there'll be a Novembe class and let us all know! (Although I know my hopes for news soon may not be realistic--I know a November class depends more on when Congress appropriates money for FY15 (and on how much they appropriate).) Don't congratulate me, at least not yet! I am back to Step 1 after getting stopped at the OA! I'll be taking the FSOT again this fall. I was just expressing well wishes to the lucky few who made it into August's class. I don't think there's been a November class for the past two or three years, but I'm not sure. I think that's gotta suck for people with 5.3s and 5.4s who were slowly moving up the register, so I'll be rooting for Congress to get its act together!
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Aug 25, 2014 02:45
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Zzonkmiles attempts to enter the Foreign Service, Take 4! Filming starts October 7! 2011: Pass FSOT. Fail QEP. 2012: Pass FSOT. Fail QEP. 2013: Pass FSOT. Pass QEP. Fail OA. 2014: ??? PROFIT! (We hope!)
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Aug 27, 2014 20:10
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CronoGamer posted:For the love of god specify which section of the embassy you want to work in and why (and have a good reason for it, I guess). I just finished my internship last month, the two interns who didn't specify where they wanted to go ended up in Consular, where they took fingerprints for 4 hours a day most of the summer and pretty much hated it. The others had more direction in their applications and we all got to have an amazing experience. Seems like Consular gets a bad rap even among prospective FSOs. Why is that? Sounds like Consular is the redheaded left-handed stepchild of the Foreign Service or something. This is actually the cone that I'm most interested in and probably best suited for. But it seems like I might be missing something here. What gives?
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Sep 2, 2014 13:38
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Handsome Ralph posted:So due to some unfortunate circumstances, I won't be able to take the FSOT in October. The next one should be in February, right? The FSOT is offered in February, June and October. Sorry you can't take it this time around, but that gives you more time to study!
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Sep 2, 2014 20:59
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Strudelmeyer posted:In addition a consular tour is required for FSO tenure. I think non consular coned FSO's see this tour as a road block holding them back from doing what they signed on to do. Hmmmmm, I suspect this is a big part of the bad reputation, along with what Giodo mentioned about political and public diplomacy being perceived as the two superstar tracks/cones of the Foreign Service. Incidentally, I have heard about the required consular tour. But if you're a consular-track FSO, do you have to complete a tour in some other track in order to receive tenure? I seem to remember reading somewhere that consular officers had to complete a tour as a management officer or something like that once. You guys are great. I know I ask a lot of questions, but I am confident that I am going to make it in for sure this time. I know where I went wrong last time, so now nothing will stand in my way. It's Consular or bust! Looking forward to meeting you all and sharing my stories from the inside!
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Sep 3, 2014 19:58
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So I've got a job interview with the State Department tomorrow. The position requires a Top Secret clearance and a move to DC. That TS clearance could help expedite the Foreign Service application/clearance process should I make it back to the OA and pass this time around. I am intrigued.
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Sep 7, 2014 17:20
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Just had my interview with State. I honestly don't know how well it went. It reminded me of the structured interview part of the OA where the assessors did not let on how well you were performing. The interviewers seemed particularly desperate/hopeful to bring someone on board quickly, but because of the required TS clearance, it would likely take longer than they would have liked to bring someone on board. I had been precleared for a TS clearance when I completed an SSBI investigation for a position with the Department of Homeland Security last year, but I never actually received the clearance because I had to retract my acceptance of the job offer. But because the initial interviews and documentation had already been completed, perhaps a TS clearance would be easier to get? Hopefully that would be a feather in my cap. Seems like they are bringing on two new workers. The position itself is not in my comfort area, but it's close enough and good practice regardless. Of course, getting this job would be the first step on an alternate master plan of making it into the May or June 2015 A-100. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Heh.
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Sep 8, 2014 21:52
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Hey Captain Bravo, good to see you post here again. Keep checking in, keep studying, and keep getting practice writing those essays! One year goes by faster than you think. EDIT: And good luck to you too, Leroy! We'll be testing on the same day! See you at FSI someday, dammit! zzonkmiles fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Sep 17, 2014 |
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Sep 17, 2014 12:21
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Just heard on the news that the Senate passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through December 11. Does that mean a bunch of candidates on the Register are about to get some good news about a November A-100? I sure hope so!
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Sep 19, 2014 01:37
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I took a look at the Yahoo board and it looks like the QEP this year for all cones was an absolute bloodbath. Of course, one can never know for sure because many people who passed might not have posted on the board. But it seems that the rejections outnumber the successes 5 to 1 or something. I think this has something to do with State wanting to trim its registers and reduce the number of candidates who time off of the register without a job offer. I mean, what do you say to a candidate with a 5.5 who can't get an offer? That's tough. Now I just hope State overcorrects or that the bloodletting is finished in four months when the October cohort receives their QEP results! Condolences to those who didn't make it this time. Just try again. If you want the job, that's all you can do.
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Sep 19, 2014 21:13
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The Mantis posted:Jesus Christ. Condolences all around. I remember a "green check" on the State page saying that over the past 7 years, anywhere from "5% to 100%" of candidates within all five cones have passed the QEP. My guess is that this cohort's selection rate was closer to the 5% than the 100%. But maybe that's a good thing because of all the unhappy people timing off the register with decent scores (5.5+). Of course, now the October cohort has to hope that State overcorrected and will loosen things up again when QEP results come out again in January. And for Captain Bravo, you can only test once in an 11-month period. So if you took the FSOT in June 2014, you can take it again in June 2015 or October 2015, but not February 2015. Condolences all around indeed. :ralp:
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Sep 21, 2014 06:00
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I don't get it. Did State hire too many officers earlier and now doesn't have anywhere to place new officers? Was funding cut so severely that State simply couldn't hire the number of officers it wanted? Are more people becoming interested in FSOs, thus resulting in a higher number of applications and a correspondingly smaller pass rate? Are there too many candidates on the hiring register, thus making State want to stem the flow of new people joining the register until those currently on it receive offers or expire? Does anybody know what is going on? I first found out about the Foreign Service in 2006. I regret wating five years to actually apply for the first time.
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Sep 22, 2014 15:35
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I see an FSS vacancy announcement was posted for an OMS. What do you think? If you want to be an FSO, should you stay away from this FSS posting? Or do many people use FSS jobs to get the inside track into becoming an FSO? One part of me says I shouldn't bother with this, but another part of me says "why not?"
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Sep 25, 2014 14:15
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Thanks TCD and Nutrementia. I will stay away from that posting like I will stay away from the North Korean border! If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it the right way. (drat, I wish I could skip that stupid test. I'm so sick of taking that thing!)
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Sep 25, 2014 19:43
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caberham posted:Ok folks, who here can use a squatting toilet? I can use a squat toilet. I've actually found them to be better than Western toilets when it comes to, uhhhhhh...unloading everything.
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Sep 27, 2014 16:35
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Just took the practice FSOT. It estimated that I have a 97% chance of passing the real deal based on my Job Knowledge score, a greater than 99% chance of passing based on my English Expression score, and a 96% chance of passing altogether. I just wish all the stages were this predictable and simple. Five days left.
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Oct 2, 2014 20:22
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Okay, so I take the FSOT tomorrow. I feel like I should be more anxious. Good luck to the October 2014 FSOT cohort!
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Oct 6, 2014 18:33
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Leroy Diplowski posted:2hours till go time. Stay safe FSOT ghost. Thanks man. Well, the big test is over. Obviously, it's too soon to celebrate, but I would be very, very surprised if I didn't pass that test. There were a handful of questions in the Job Knowledge section where I had to narrow the choices down to two and guess as smartly as I could, and for the three questions I remember, I chose the correct answer each time. The essay turned out to be one of the less daunting parts of the test. I actually think the English Expression part was the most annoying one for me to deal with this time. So I'm feeling pretty good. How'd it go for you Leroy Diplowski?
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Oct 7, 2014 17:10
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Womacks-JP-23 posted:I chose the best option too. Looks like these bugs are a global problem. I wonder ihow Pearson is going to handle the grading on the busted questions. I assume they'll have to just write off the bugged ones. Man, I bet the people at State are mighty pissed at someone right now. I don't know who or which office is receiving their wrath, but I wouldn't want to be in their office fielding phone calls next week. My guess is that State has the following options: 1. Omit all the {stem} questions from grading. But there were a good number of questions that fell into this category. Of course, this would make all the other questions in that section even more valuable and give candidates less margin for error in that section. 2. Do nothing, score the test normally, and deal with candidates who can legitimately claim they did not know what the questions were asking for. Most candidates probably interpreted {stem} as "choose the correct answer" because of their experience with the practice test and the tutorial that preceded the actual exam. 3. Allow October 2014 FSOT testers the opportunity to test again in February 2015 if they wish, but under the condition that their October 2014 scores would be voided. FSOT failers would be happy with this option, but this would put low passers (157/6, for example) in an interesting bind because nobody knows how much weight FSOT scores have with the QEP. This transition from ACT to Pearson has been a very rocky one indeed, but problems like THIS are really discouraging and disappointing and should not be happening.
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Oct 11, 2014 14:50
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Another huge advantage aside from salary is the fact that you are a military vet with at least 3 years of service. That will give you a significant boost on the hiring register if you pass the Oral Assessment and Final Review Panel. I think you get .35 points for being a vet, which means that at the very worst, you would have a 5.65, which is pretty good. (It's not a guarantee of getting called to an A-100 class, but you have a better than even shot at it.) And yeah, I saw the {stem} questions too. I didn't think it was a big deal, but it seems that a lot of people are freaking out over it. I guess we'll see in 3 weeks.
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Oct 14, 2014 18:46
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Not that I've heard anything official, but I'm expecting the October 2014 FSOT results to be released within 10 days. This wait is not nearly as intense as sweating out the QEP results. But it would be nice to have official confirmation of being able to move on. Also, does Captain Bravo still post here? I think I found the rubric that the test administrators use for scoring the FSOT essays! State doesn't grade those; the testing contractor does.
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Oct 27, 2014 17:16
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Captain Bravo posted:I do! I've been kind of quiet until the next test rolls around. Speaking of the tests, has the last round of results come in yet? I'm wondering how Leroy did. (Please don't take the candy man away from us, Gub'ment!) Hey man. Send an email to my username at Google's free email service. I want to forward you a link. I suppose I could post it here, but I'd rather not do that until after I safely make it in! It's not a violation of any rules with State or anything, but you know. EDIT: I just checked the official State page. A green checkmark says that results for the October test will be released on October 30. Yeah, I can dig it.
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Oct 29, 2014 05:53
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And so I live to fight another day as well. Biographic Questionnaire: 70.81 English Expression: 59.45 Job Knowledge: 52.32 Multiple Choice Total: 182.58 Your Essay Score: 8 I am going to use the same PNs that got me to the OA last time around. Since my FSOT score this year is even better than last year's, I am hoping that means I'm in even better shape with the QEP. But of course, it would be just my luck if more of the people who passed in my cone this time around are rocket scientists. Also, Captain Bravo--check your email!
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Oct 30, 2014 13:44
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TCD posted:I'd probably pay for a regrade of the essay. What he said. If you got a 5, that means one rater passed you while the other rater didn't. Pay for the rescore! If you can get a 6, you can continue your candidacy in February with the QEP. If you get another 5 (or a 4), then you're only out a couple bucks and still have to take the test again next fall. Go for it! You never know!
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Oct 30, 2014 14:24
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Drewski posted:I feel like a lot of the questions could be answered by the same narrative. (Obviously I'm not going to do that...) Are the questions public/are we allowed to discuss them openly? The PNs are not covered under the non-disclosure agreement. But a lot of people are reluctant to share their PNs publicly because everyone is in direct competition with everyone else within the same career track. One common misconception about this stage is that you need a certain "score" in order to advance. That's not really correct. The truth is that all the candidates are RANKED, not scored. So if State only decides to take the top 15% of candidates in Career Track X and invite them to the OA, then only candidates ranked in the top 15% will receive good news. Unlike a regular score, no two candidates within the same track can have the same rank.
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Oct 30, 2014 19:03
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Mayor Dave posted:My essay came back with a score of 0. Is there any way that I can have someone look at it without paying for a regrade? Did you answer the question that was posed? Did the proctor cite you for a testing violation? Did you write your essay in a foreign language? (derp) Did you inadvertently select all the text and delete it somehow? Or, the most likely scenario, did you score at least a 154 on the multiple choice section? If you didn't, then your essay would not be graded at all--hence, a zero.
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Oct 31, 2014 05:14
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There are a few people who scored in the 180s on the MC section and failed the essay. That's gotta hurt.
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Nov 3, 2014 14:27
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