From what I have been told by the officers that I know on the WPD, a list of candidates has been sent to them from Civil Service. From what I hear the list dipped into the 100's. However, those with Vet. status are before you, so there in lies your first challenge. The original 15 to 17 layed off PO's that were slated to have been hired; has deminished to 11 guys that will be put on the street. Most of the PO's that decided to change their mind at the end were mostly from Springfield, and decided to go back to Springfield. This leaves room for an Academy class of 39. Worcester is putting on 50 officers in total, the 11 layed off officers + the 39 recruits = 50. Although I don't know if it is true or not, but I thought I heard that there will be only 29 in this class coming up. If there is another class scheduled to send the other remaining 10, I don't know? Your guess is as good as mine.
The background checks have been started from what I have been told. If you scored high on the exam, you should be OK. Many people get eleminated in the background check process, some fail the PAT, and some decline to show because he or she found another job.
I'm in the same boat as you, waiting for my notice to take the PAT and hopefully get selected. There is hope, but as I said the big hurdle are the 40 people with Vet status that get first dibs. Keep on working out and stay in shape.
