Can You Ace This FBI Entrance Exam?

A college degree is virtually a requirement. However, law enforcement work is not. Bear in mind, though, that an applicant should be in good physical shape, as police officers are required to be.

The FBI values agents who are fluent in foreign languages. Any of these languages would look good on a resume.

Obviously, the FBI is looking for the "three-mile run" person. Exercise would be considered the healthiest way to deal with stress. Sleep is healthy, but "go straight to bed" looks a little too passive.

There are several exceptions to the need for a search warrant. One of them is that evidence is in "plain view." So what's to keep an agent from entering a building warrantless, finding drugs or guns, and later claiming those things were in plain view when they weren't? We'll have to trust to the integrity of the FBI on that one!

The Patriot Act lowered standards for the acquisition of search or surveillance warrants, and made it easier for federal agents to obtain government, medical, legal and even library records on citizens under investigation. Sometimes controversial in civil-rights terms, the Patriot Act is a tool that has been useful to FBI agents in their work.

The FBI is a part of the Justice Department. So are other federal law-enforcement agencies, like Customs and and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

This is a common misconception that some people have about the FBI. However, the FBI has a different focus than a police force, and in fact, rarely arrests people -- which is one of the most common duties of a police officer.

Protection of high-ranking officials and their families is usually the work of the Secret Service. Of the other three crimes, only the child-abduction case is a crime in which a local jurisdiction would call for federal help.

This answer is just common sense. Many applicants with otherwise solid educational backgrounds and valuable experience -- like finance, law, or foreign-language fluency -- have never fired a gun before. The Bureau commonly teaches gun use and safety to agents.

You knew this, right? While the FBI looks for diversity of experience in its corps of agents, a theater background is unlikely to impress a recruiter.

The Yellow Brick Road is a grueling endurance course on which trainees prepare to pass their physical-fitness tests. Of course, in the days of "tough mudding," it doesn't seem as daunting to us civilians!

The FBI is looking for people who work well in a team environment, not teacher's pets. The best response here is to indicate that you'd try to resolve the situation before going to the boss. However, "neither agree nor disagree" probably wouldn't hurt much -- it allows for some wiggle room in how you'd handle the situation. The only "red flag" answer here would be "disagree."

No form of evidence is completely reliable. An agent always has to consider the possibility of human error or corruption in the way material is handled and examined.

This logic question is a classic, and people usually only guess one of two answers -- ten cents, which is wrong, or five cents, which is correct. Five cents plus one dollar more than that -- $1.05 -- is $1.10. The "intuitive" answer here is actually wrong!

This probably doesn't seem very far, at least, if you're in good shape. Bear in mind, you'll have time to increase your physical endurance while at the Academy. You just need a baseline level before entering Quantico.

Miranda rights are the ones read at time of arrest, famously beginning, "You have the right to remain silent." Bear in mind, though, that FBI agents don't usually arrest suspects, except under urgent circumstances. That duty usually falls to local police officers.

The answer is in how the challenge is worded. It's not the "second son to arrive," it's the son with the "slowest horse." They should switch horses and race as fast as they can to the destination.

This is another misperception about the Bureau. A small jurisdiction may call on the FBI for investigative aid whenever a crime is serious - a bank robbery, a homicide -- and the local agencies just don't have the resources they need.

The second option is almost certainly the best way to deal with a situation that is, no matter what, difficult. Calling 911 might cost you some time, but your boss should understand that these were extraordinary circumstances, and not to stop at all would be heartless.

If you think being an agent is all about car chases and guns, think again! Understanding the Fourth Amendment is crucial to investigative work -- it's the basis for whether evidence will be found admissible in court or thrown out.

A coin from before the time of Christ would not have the letters "B.C." on it. Nobody knew yet that Jesus Christ was going to be born.

A polygraph and the results it provides will be part of your job as an agent. However, you will not be administering polygraph examinations unless you are also a licensed examiner; there are professional standards upheld by the American Polygraph Association.

A polygraph is part of the background check. It's important for the Bureau to know that they are hiring someone with a clean criminal background, no drug habit, and no connection to terrorist organizations.

As with many of the exam's judgment questions, this one has no perfect solution. A team discussion might get uncomfortable. But it's the one that best balances a team ethic with responsibility to the Bureau.

The FBI is not allowed to discriminate based on religious affiliation. The Bureau is likely to learn your religious background as part of the application process -- but they won't ask a loaded question like this on your personality assessment.

The FBI's "legal attaches," or "legats" for short, provide aid and training for foreign law-enforcement agencies and combat terrorism. They work closely with the American embassies in those nations.

While some of us might be tempted by option #2, the Bureau has a strict policy on drugs. They'll want to see that you take this potential issue directly to a supervisor for follow-up.

The courts have set no limit on interrogation time. To avoid long hours in an interview room, a wise suspect will simply claim his or her right not to talk to the police. Sticking to this principle will bring the interview to an early end.

Most people, when lying, will hedge in case they get caught; it's a good tipoff to the agents questioning them. Bear in mind, though, that experienced liars know not to do this, and pathological liars usually won't because they believe, on some level, in the rightness of what they're saying.

Financial crimes are called "white collar" crimes. Untangling these money trails is a useful skill for an agent, which is why a background in finance looks good on an application.

The term "white collar crime" underscores a bit of imbalance in society -- that is, a lot more media attention and police investigation is focused on crimes like armed robbery, carjacking, drug-dealing, etc., which are more likely to be crimes of the poor. As an FBI agent, you are expected to remember that crime is crime, no matter who's committing it, what neighborhood they live in, and what class ring they wear.

The full name is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. It was passed in the early 1970s, mostly to deal with the Mafia. Of course, organized crime is a much wider ethnic and cultural phenomenon than just Italian-American organizations on the East Coast.

"Hogan's Alley" is a realistic "town" where agents practice responding to emergent situations. Live actors play criminals and bystanders, and agent trainees use paintball guns, so that no one gets hurt.

The term comes from the military idea of "engaging" with the enemy. But in civilian law enforcement, an "enemy" is often a US citizen with more civil rights than an enemy combatant, so the decision on whether to use potentially lethal force is considerably more complicated. That's why formal "rules of engagement" are important.

The FBI cuts off admission to the Academy at 37 years old. This isn't because it considers people older than that to be unfit. It's because the FBI has a mandatory retirement age of 57, and considers less than 20 years of service to be less than a full career. In other words, training agents is a research-intensive process, and the Bureau doesn't want to do it for short-timers.