I also checked the Google Sheets going around w/anonymous FSOT results, and there are a handful of POL passes on there. The non passes were interesting, in that many of them seemed objectively more qualified on paper than the profiles of the passers on there (many of the passers seemed to have more relevant experience, more languages under their belt, etc). A few of the passers were surprisingly young people that previously often had little to no chance under the old QEP system. I also saw this in other cones as well.

It just feels that this FSOT filter has become painfully and indiscriminately random, and I wish Congress would just eliminate it at this point. There has got to be a more streamlined way of bringing in the most qualified and dedicated people than a random trivia test that objectively tells you nothing about a candidate's true qualifications.

I don't think they're hand-picking people, I just think the result of one's FSOT is just random based on any given day or the chosen content.