So I still see ads in the papers for FSO Exam review courses, and frankly, I still don't get it. Like I said in the epic "LL vs. DD", the FSO exam - unlike the Bar - is not something you can cram for in a couple of months. It's just too damn huge. I don't think a couple of review classes are gonna save your ass. You have to have been constantly reading books, magazines, news sites, Sunday comics, graphic novels, Department of Health pamphlets, backs of cereal boxes - ANYTHING - since before you hit puberty to have a shot in hell at the exam questions.
(of course, all that reading possibly postponed many a future FSO's puberty, but that's for another posting, "LL vs DD: Where the Women At?")
(of course, all that reading possibly postponed many a future FSO's puberty, but that's for another posting, "LL vs DD: Where the Women At?")
What I'm saying is, you might be better served just devouring "Bababa ba?", the latest issue of Maxim...er...The Economist, or Dave Barry's blog at your own pace than raising the stakes and enrolling in some review class. Besides, the passing rate of the FSO exam is lower than "Idol" auditions, so no refresher course can guarantee a return on your investment.
My advice: relax, keep on reading, go with what you know. If you don't make it, there's always next year. It shouldn't be as Life-or-Death as the Bar.
And whenever the mood strikes you, help yourself to my absolutely free and patent-pending Ultimate Mock FSO Exam Reviewer.
Emphasis on the "mock".
1. English (20%)
2. Tagalog (5%)
3. Philippine Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Conditions (30%)
4. International Affairs (20%)
(ed. note: the above used to be an awesome "Family Guy" video of Peter explaining diplomatic immunity to the tune of "U Can't Touch This", until those copyright fascists forced it off YouTube. By the Hammer of MC, I swear I will personally draft and handcarry for signing the Presidential appointment papers of any examinee who works into his/her FSO exam the international law principles found in "The Republic of Petoria" episode)
5.World History (20%)
6. Foreign Language (5%)
1 comment:
Your blog posts are always amusing :) and of course right on target. I took the 2011 exam and made it to the written exam. You are so right about the preparation part. No amount of cramming will ever help if you're not a wide reader. I nearly made it to the cut-off missing it by 6 points. I will take the exam again this year hoping that last year's experience will help me to be more at ease and finally get that 6 points to make it to the next level :)
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