After passing the oral examination, candidates received more specific information on cones and had an opportunity to speak with practitioners in each functional specialty before making their final choice. Now, however, candidates cannot change the cone selection they make when they apply for the written exam. Many observers have questioned whether this material is adequate for making such a critical decision, and candidates themselves have told us they would have appreciated further guidance before they had to express their choice. The Oral Assessment Results of the November written examination become available in late January and oral assessments begin in March. The oral assessment is conducted at an Assessment Center in Washington and for limited periods in a few other cities.
Candidates pay their own way to sites of the day-long test.
In recent years, about 3,000 candidates passed the written examination of the 9,000 plus who took it. There was some drop-off between the written exam and the oral assessment. This percentage is much higher than others in recent years. It reflects additional hiring needs following a period of low intake as well as an anticipation that fewer successful candidates than before will remain interested in entering the Service. The Service enrolled 313 new junior officers in 1999 and will take 275 in 2000.