<p>CALMOM: </p>
<p>“janesmith, I doubt that that Macalester will give enough need-based aid for this family - and a WL student would not be a candidate for an offer of merit aid.”</p>
<p>You’re right of course. I was thinking of it “if was my kid,” and we were always FP, so my mistake. (When are we getting the quote function back?)</p>
<p>One issue that was very important for my daughter was MF gender ratios. Maybe it doesn’t matter for OP’s d; she was happy with Barnard after all. But Goucher is about 66/33 FM whereas Rhodes is 59/41. </p>
<p>In another post, CALMOM, you were asking about the chances of advancement with a bachelor’s degree only. That’s all my son has, and it hasn’t been a hindrance at all. Maybe it matters in the Political cone, which is not where he is. </p>
<p>For initial hiring, you are ranked on the Register by three things, and three things only:</p>
<p>–Oral exam</p>
<p>–Veteran status, if any</p>
<p>–Critical needs language points, if any</p>
<p>Pickering Fellows also get some kind of priority.</p>
<p>Once you’re in training with your A100 class the only additional testing that’s done is for foreign language. This is where you can test for languages other than the one you’ve used as your CNL (if any). You get a double grade, e.g., 2/1, where the first number is for speaking and the second for reading. (The scale goes up to 5, where 5 is native fluency.) The other language test is for foreign language learning aptitude: it’s in a made up language, so no one can have an advantage. </p>
<p>When it comes to the bidding process for your first assignment, the listings are pretty basic:</p>
<p>–City</p>
<p>–Cone (In a small post the job may involve two cones, i.e., Pol/Econ. In a big place a job might be specialized, e.g. Public Diplomacy job might be something like AIO—asst information officer—or ACAO—asst cultural affairs officer). </p>
<p>–Languages required, with level. Some jobs will not require any foreign language—English-language speaking countries of course, but also some jobs in India, Iraq, etc. Some jobs will require one language. Some require two, perhaps at different levels of fluency. So for Georgia, you might have “Russian 3/2, Georgian 2/1.” </p>
<p>–Hardship and danger allowance. Posts may have an allowance for hardship, danger, or both. </p>
<p>–Date job begins. The Foreign Service builds in time for language training, so for a super difficult/obscure language the job may begin one year or more later. </p>
<p>So this is where it gets tricky: you can’t just pick a couple of jobs you’d like. Your career development officer will have you rank the entire bid list—about a third of the jobs you’re supposed to bid “high,” a third medium, and a third you really really don’t want. My son ended up bidding Mumbai “high” as a result; though the job required Gujarati there was enough time for him to learn it at FSI before the job started. (He ended up somewhere else, however.)</p>
<p>There are a couple of rules that they try to enforce. If you got bonus points for a CNL you are supposed to go to a post that mandates that language in either your first or second tour. Similarly, you are supposed to go a post in your cone in either your first or second tour (since so many newly minted FSOs end up starting in Consular and don’t do their proper cone until the second tour). </p>
<p>Sorry for the annoying detail, but I wanted to show how your ug college, GPA, grad school, etc. are not officially considered. Much more important are your foreign language skills and your aptitude and willingness to learn new ones. And the personal qualities tested in the oral exam, of course. </p>