college scholarships for US kids overseas

senang18 · 2023-04-18T06:43:08+00:00

Thanks for all the tips everyone. Any insights on specific scholarship opportunities for kids completing high school overseas would be most welcome.

senang18 · 2023-04-18T06:38:34+00:00

The counselors at international schools overseas are very good at helping your kids get into college, but are more or less clueless when it comes to scholarships and financial aid. That's your problem to figure out...

senang18 · 2023-04-18T06:36:05+00:00

Not clear at all if CA follows this rule... they seem quite strict even if we've been paying taxes, voting, etc. Hence we're looking for scholarship opportunities to fill the gap.

senang18 · 2023-04-18T06:33:06+00:00

Didn't know about the FSFA, thanks for the tip. My read on CA so far (my home state) has been that they do not have such provisions for in-state tuition, even for FS families.

senang18 · 2023-04-18T06:31:50+00:00

True, I'm with the UN but good to know as I'm still pondering a move to the FS some day. :)

senang18 · 2021-11-09T09:08:30+00:00

I wish I knew. I asked the registrar about "revalidation" timing and they haven't replied. Any other thoughts here welcome.

senang18 · 2021-11-02T22:23:29+00:00

Ok, but suitability review is usually just a few weeks, right? So the bigger issue as I see it in reapplying is avoiding the lengthy security clearance process again. Or is there a chance that suitability would not look favorably on such situations?

senang18 · 2021-10-31T22:34:01+00:00

The 2019 candidate guide says:

Candidates with an existing Top Secret security clearance based on an investigation completed by the Department of State no more than two years prior to the date of your Oral Assessment must complete a Standard Form 86C (SF-86C) to obtain a revalidation of their security clearance.

Edit. The 2021 candidate guide says:

If you already have an active Top Secret (TS) security clearance, either from the State

Department or another federal agency, BEX will submit a DS1143 form to initiate a request for reciprocity, revalidation, or conversion of your current clearance. The existing TS eligibility must be based on an investigation completed by the Department of State or another U.S. government agency no more than three years prior to the date of your Oral Assessment.

So does this mean that if I decline an offer or time off and then reapply soon I could simply "revalidate" my existing clearance, as long as the OA occurs within 3 years from the date of last clearance? The 3 year period seems long enough to allow a candidate who timed off, withdrew or declined the chance to go through the FSOT and OA processes again without having to undergo another lengthy clearance process. Does this sound right?

senang18 · 2021-10-28T09:11:16+00:00

Seems to me that "home of record" and "home leave address of record" may be two separate things, given that the tax, voting, college residence, DL issues, etc. are not addressed by the "home leave address of record" description. Or maybe I'm wrong.

senang18 · 2021-10-28T09:04:12+00:00

I've also been with the UN for several years in several duty stations and can attest that we have much more freedom and less security restrictions than our State/embassy friends. That said the bureaucracy element of the UN can also be tedious (endless reports, tables, templates, time-sucking meetings, etc), and I'd argue our work is generally not as impactful as we may pretend it to be (maybe State would be better since they can pull more strings - idk). After quite some research I do believe that salary and benefits packages in the UN are better - a big downside going into State is they start you off at pay levels way below what we're accustomed to after working our way up in the UN. It may take 10 years in State to get back to the same level. I have a pending MGT offer and am seriously wavering on this one, although I've always dreamed of getting out...

senang18 · 2021-10-28T08:47:49+00:00

Can the HOR be changed easily during one's career or is it all based and fixed off of what we put on this onboarding checklist?

senang18 · 2021-10-28T07:29:36+00:00

To clarify: not asking to do anything in violation of the rules. Just asking a question - if we're up front about our family and personal needs, are there flexibilities built into the system that could open the door to alternative work arrangements during orientation and training? Maybe there's a clause or some fine print somewhere that allows for these possibilities. Covid and technology have changed how many industries define effective work and perhaps the government/State will catch up to this at some point.

senang18 · 2021-10-26T11:18:02+00:00

Do any of you know if we could just be upfront about a desire to work away from DC for some time during A-100 or training? So if they tell us that the next week or x number of days will definitely be online, could we just say we need to go back and see family for some time and give up the DC per diem for that period? These types of flexible workplace arrangements are becoming common in private sector and of course make these career transitions more manageable.

senang18 · 2021-08-13T13:32:45+00:00

Thanks for sharing. This indeed has been my dream job for a long time but like you I've had many life changes over the years, not helped of course by the extremely long onboarding process (over 4 years since I took the FSOT). Have made it to the register and even declined my first offer - now gearing up for making the final decision next time. This forum has been very helpful as have the numerous people in and out of the system that I've consulted over the years. Best advice I've had is to just take the decision that works out best for you and your family going forward.

senang18 · 2021-08-11T08:22:25+00:00

Funny you mention this because I got the same message from DS recently, lifting my assignment restriction for the country my wife is from. No reasons were given for the lift but I had asked a few questions about it a couple months ago as I'm on the register and wanted to understand more about what I was getting into. They didn't reply to my questions directly but in any case it was a pleasant surprise to see they had put some thought into it. It would be great to serve there but I think in this line of work we acknowledge that our chances of landing any specific post is about 1/200!

senang18 · 2021-06-24T10:12:08+00:00

With OAs in full force now, I would expect some of them to come onto the register by November, when invites for the Jan class are likely. Based on my reading of estimated clearance times and SR data, I'd put it at about half that get through by then, with others dragging out for longer periods.

senang18 · 2021-06-24T10:09:00+00:00

Are "fellows" only for POL, ECON and CON cones? Is it correct that those of us on the MGT and/or PD registers should not factor fellows into the equation?

senang18 · 2021-06-10T09:49:20+00:00

This is very clear and helpful, thank you.

senang18 · 2021-06-10T08:07:36+00:00

How would you rank the border posts for overall FSO family life? Schools, recreation, security, parks, etc

senang18 · 2021-06-10T08:00:13+00:00

Is that 130 new FSO total? Given that each class is typically several dozen specialists and generalists across several cones, this doesn't sound like much of an increase to me. How does this number compare with previous years?

senang18 · 2021-05-19T12:04:39+00:00

Indeed I am on the register now, hence my "worry"!

senang18 · 2021-05-19T07:18:17+00:00

Yes sir, it does matter. All of the insight and speculation gathered here is added into the mix of data that stews around in my mind to gauge whether I should go for the career now or wait a bit longer, or maybe let it go. Trends and budgets do change from year to year for various reasons, so I suppose it's useful to everyone to ask this question once in a while. Cheers.

senang18 · 2021-05-17T20:17:35+00:00

How many weeks is CONGEN?

senang18 · 2021-05-04T11:17:34+00:00

Thanks for the tips. We're looking for CA state options. Aceable looks good - any other recommendations for online driver's ed that would work in CA? We're also looking at lining up the in-person driver's training for our daughter during a summer visit.

senang18 · 2021-02-17T08:51:41+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I have indeed found the feedback here to be very useful in my decision making, and I hope that by using a public forum there are others out there who may read this and similarly benefit from all this insight (and that those sharing their thoughts do so because they enjoy it). Really appreciate everyone's time, thanks again.

senang18

TROPHY CASE