1. Interior
   Investigation
2. Interrogation
   Internment

We feel that knowing the full name of the agency you're applying to puts a solid foundation under your application!

1. true
2. false

There are stringent criteria for becoming an agent. However, having served as a law-enforcement officer isn't one of them. Many people are surprised to learn this!

1. true
2. false

The Bureau sends a warning letter to agents who are reaching an unhealthy weight. Agents have given this warning the candid nickname of a "Fat Boy" or "Fat Girl" letter.

1. the House of Pain
   Hogan's Alley
2. Sandhurst
   the Yellow Brick Road

The Yellow Brick Road is an obstacle course. You can see Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) running it in the opening-credits scene of "The Silence of the Lambs."

1. consent of the resident
   an emergency situation
2. evidence of a crime is in plain view
   all of these

There are several exceptions to the search-warrant requirement. These include when evidence of a crime (e.g. drugs) are in plain view ( like from a window), there is an "emergency situation" (the building is on fire), or the resident simply agrees to let the agent come in and search.

1. a high-profile kidnapping case
   a string of bank robberies
2. protection of a candidate on the campaign trail
   surveillance of a suspicious foreign visa holder

Protection of candidates traditionally falls to the Secret Service. That said, there's a lot of cooperation between federal agencies. It wouldn't be unheard of for the FBI to help the Secret Service in investigating if a political candidate faced serious, credible threats of assassination.

1. Arabic
   Chinese
   Gaelic
2. both #1 and #2
   all of them

Foreign-language fluency is always in demand at the Bureau. However, with all due respect to the resurgent language of Ireland, Gaelic is not a high-demand language. Arabic and Chinese are, because of the number of speakers globally and the importance of the Middle East and China in world affairs.

1. 50 gift cards to a gourmet-coffee chain
   50 Xbox games
2. 50 pounds of salt
   50 no-contract cellphones

No-contract, pay-as-you-go phones are often called "burner phones" because they can be used anonymously just once, or a few times, and then discarded. Bulk purchases of such phones is sometimes a sign of terrorist activity.

1. true
2. false

The FBI has different and broader duties than a local police force, including the work it does overseas. The idea that it's a national police force is just too simplistic.

1. I am too detail-oriented to delegate work to others.
   I am not intimidated by asking strangers personal questions.
2. I have difficulty leaving a task unfinished.
   Most people would describe me as reliable.

It's great to be detail-oriented. But the FBI is a team culture, and is looking for people it might promote eventually to supervisory positions. A lone-wolf perfectionist is only cool in movies about the FBI, not the Bureau itself.

1. entomologist
   etymologist
2. myrmidologist
   arachnophobe

If you found "arachnophobe" misleading, sorry, but you're wrong on two counts! Arachnids are spiders, which are not technically insects. And a "-phobe" is afraid of something, not a specialist in it.

1. the 1950s
   the 1960s
2. the 1970s
   the 1980s

DNA analysis became common after a breakthrough made by Kary Mullis, who developed the procedure called "short tandem repeat" analysis. Not-so-fun fact: After winning the Nobel Prize, Mullis went off the rails, supporting AIDS denialism and astrology and claiming to have seen a glowing green raccoon in 1985. Good times!

1. true
2. false

It's true that DNA evidence is incredibly important. However, you can't rule out human error by a forensic scientist, nor corruption -- that is, deliberate tampering with samples.

1. Acknowledge to your boss that you have been late, then ask your co-worker to come to you first with such complaints.
   Acknowledge that you have been late, but point out a worse failing on your co-worker's part.
2. Acknowledge that you have been late, and then strive to work so hard that you never give your co-worker any such ammunition again.
   Ask to be reassigned, as clearly you can't work with this person.

A surprising number of questions on the FBI exam (at least, the practice ones you can find online) are about office issues and what's known as "collegiality." Usually, one choice will stand out to you as the most mature and civilized option.

1. true
2. false

What we're getting at here is that because the FBI and the CIA are the two big agencies that most Americans (and many screenwriters) know, they are often portrayed as hostile to each other. But the work of these two organizations is rather different, and the idea of a "crosstown rivalry" is largely a fiction.

1. 11
   18
2. 20
   0

When someone digs a hole, there's only air in it when they're done! This is a logic question disguised as a math problem. It's also the closest we could get to the FBI's "spatial reasoning" questions, which, on the actual exam, are accompanied by diagrams.

1. how to handle a gun
   how to drive a car
2. how to write a clear sentence
   how to diplomatically deal with and question people

If you're lacking in the other three areas, you're highly unlikely to make it through the screening process. But the FBI is used to taking on gifted applicants who need to learn how to fire a gun and handle it safely. It's a "will train" skill.

1. true
2. false

Don't believe what you see in the movies and on TV. FBI work is investigative, heavy on surveillance, oral interviewing and evidence analysis -- not on shooting at suspected criminals.

1. Say no. You're an FBI agent; you do enough for society as a whole!
   Say yes. It's what any upright, good person would do.
2. Explain that you're beat from a long day, but ask if there's anything from your own kitchen you can offer to tide him over.
   Give him your car keys. Maybe he's not supposed to be driving, but just this once will be okay.

This isn't an easy situation to deal with. However, number three is the option with the best balance of common sense and compassion.

1. an attorney turned FBI agent
   an office on foreign soil
2. an office on domestic soil
   a union representative for agents under disciplinary review

The name is short for "legal attache," and means an FBI office on foreign soil. These offices work on antiterrorism initiatives and provide aid and training to foreign law-enforcement agencies.

1. yes
2. no

Part of being accepted to the FBI is a rigorous background check. This includes interviewing people around you who can shed light on your character and behavior.

1. the First
   the Second
2. the Third
   the Fourth

Not all FBI agents have a background in law, but all must understand the Fourth Amendment and how it affects their work. In part, the amendment reads, "The right of the people to be secure in their persons ... against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." This vital rule comes into play in court cases to this day.

1. the CIA
   Customs
2. the Navy
   the Marines

In fact, it's more likely that Customs would call on you. They're the first to investigate crimes of international smuggling, and because of the United States's high taxes on cigarettes, smuggling of them is an ongoing problem.

1. the Dodd-Frank Act
   the Graham Act
2. the Patriot Act
   Megan's Law

The Patriot Act was inspired by the Sept. 11 attacks, and signed into law just six weeks after them. It's one of the tools that has helped FBI agents do counterterrorism work, although some of its provisions have "sunsetted," or lapsed.

1. yes
2. no

This is a classic logic question. You can resolve it one of two ways: throw the ball against the ground, or throw it directly up into the air.

1. Baltimore, Maryland
   New York City
2. Washington, D.C.
   Quantico, Virginia

The devil is in the details with this question. Though the FBI Academy is at Quantico, its overall headquarters are in D.C. -- close to other important offices of the federal government.

1. True
2. False

There's no legal limit on how long an agent can have a suspect in the interrogation room, asking questions. That said, the length and circumstances of an interview can lead to a defense attorney's challenge on information gathered in that interrogation.

1. He's clearly telling the truth.
   He couldn't have reached shore in just two days.
2. He's not the real ship's captain.

No true sailor, much less a captain, would refer to a ship as "it." A ship is always "she." This is why you'd strongly suspect the man is an impostor. Again, this is a logic puzzle of the sort the written entrance exam uses.

1. fidget
   look up and to the left when answering
2. Preface answers to questions with "I think..." or "I seem to remember ..."
   any of these

Dishonesty is signaled by a number of small tics. Especially notable are hedging statements like "I think ...". This is part of a natural impulse to leave oneself an out in case of being caught in a lie.

1. 1,000
   2,000
2. 4,000
   more than ten thousand

The FBI employs more than 35,000 persons overall. More than 10,000 of these are agents. Despite that, recruitment is still a fairly selective process!

1. 4 weeks
   8 weeks
2. 12 weeks
   20 weeks

In earlier decades, the training process was about 16 weeks. This has been lengthened, reflecting complex new duties in counterterrorism and cybercrime.

1. a climbing structure, part of PT
   a "body farm" where forensics is studied
2. a marksmanship range
   a realistic "town," where tactical maneuvers are practiced

In Hogan's Alley, agents run through scenarios like bank robberies, hostage situations and more. They use paintball guns or blank ammunition to avoid painful accidents, since live actors are sometimes part of the practice.

1. FBI bylaws
   ethics manual
2. rules of engagement
   Omega Code

The term "rules of engagement" had a heyday in the early 1990s, after the fatal Ruby Ridge standoff and the Waco tragedy. There was a great deal of discussion about whether federal agents had followed the rules in these two situations.

1. 21
   23
2. 24
   26

This probably sounds old to a high-school student who is planning to join someday. But it sounds pretty young to the rest of us. Consider: You can join the FBI before you can rent a car in some states!

1. yes
2. no

The cutoff age is 37. Anything more than that, and the FBI doesn't believe you'll be working for the Bureau long enough to make it worth the time and resources they'll put into training you.