Happy Schools Blog » TOEFL

Pearson’s Test of English Academic (PTEA) Test Centers in India

HSB — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:55:31 +0000

We discussed about TOEFL vs IELTS vs PTEA few days back. There were some questions about PTE Academic website and test registration. PTEA is delivered through Pearson’s global network of secure testing centers.

During the launch period, PTE Academic will be available in a minimum of 20 territories with the number of centers offering the test continuing to grow over the next year. PTE Academic costs $160 USD in India.

PTEA Test Centers in India

Bangalore
Chennai
Hyderabad
Mumbai
New Delhi

You can read more details from PTEA Test Takers Handbook. PTEA Score forwarding is free to Universities. You can send scores to any number of Universities free of charge.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

Pearson’s Test of English Academic (PTEA) Test Centers in India

TOEFL vs IELTS vs PTEA

HSB — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:36:01 +0000

Comparison of TOEFL, IELTS and PTEA exams. 15 Factors have been used to compare Exams taken by Non Native English speaking students applying for admission to Colleges Universities.

	TOEFL	IELTS	PTEA
What is	Test of English as Foreign Language	International English Language Testing System	Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic
How Much?	Internet Based Test – $170 USA; $165 – India	USA – $185 from Dec 3, 2009; RS 7200 – India	$170 – USA; $160 – India
Test Content	Reading, Listening, Speaking, Writing
Reading	60 to 100 Minutes	60 Minutes	32 to 41 minutes
Listening	60 to 90 Minutes	30 Minutes	45 to 57 minutes
Speaking	20 Minutes	11 to 14 Minutes	77 to 93 minutes
Writing	50 Minutes	60 Minutes	77 to 93 minutes
Total Score	0 to 120	Overall Band Score, on a scale from 1 to 9	10 to 90
Score Reports	Printed score reports. Mailed approximately 2 weeks after your test . Online Results Available too.	Results just 13 days after the test. Reports Mailed. Some centers send SMS alerts or Online Results.	Online Score report ONLY. Scores available 5 Business Days after test.
Score Forwarding	4 Universities for free	5 Universities free of charge.	Scores can be reported online.
Additional Reports	$17 per University	Cannot find info in website	Free to any number of Universities.
Accepted at?	7,000+ colleges, universities and licensing agencies in more than 130 countries	2,000 US universities;	About 50 US Universities ( We manually counted), More Universities are added.
Scores Reporting Time	Online orders mailed 4-7 business days after request. Mail or fax orders, mailed 2 weeks after request.	Cannot find Score forwarding infor from website.	Test Reports will be available in 24 hours after reporting the scores online.
Website Usability	Very Easy to find the required Info	Can be improved. Some of the required information for test takers are hard to find.	Website much better then IELTS, but having sections like ETS site will make job easier for test takers.
Comments	Widely Accepted; Online Score Reporting; Takes longer to get scores.	Recently US Universities are accepting IELTS. Might take longer time for students to consider taking IELTS for US atleast in India, unless they make it real cheap.	Free Score forwarding. Faster Scores availability, Online score reporting. It will take time to reach ti students. TOEFL and IELTS sounds easier to pronounce than PTEA Less expensive compared to TOEFL and IELTS.

Information in above table was taken from respective test websites. Refer to actual exam website for more detailed information. If any info is incorrect, leave a comment.
So, which exam would you take when applying for US Universities?

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TOEFL vs IELTS vs PTEA

TOEFL iBT Maximum Score ( or TOEFL Highest Score)

HSB — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:47:31 +0000

Question -

What is the maximum score in TOEFL iBT?

TOEFL iBT Maximum Score

TOEFL Exam consists of following 4 sections

Reading
Listening
Speaking and
Writing

Each section is scored to a max of 30 points.

Reading (0 -30)
- Low (0-14)
- Intermediate (15-21)
- High (22-30)
Listening 0-30
- Low (0-14)
- Intermediate (15-21)
- High (22-30)
Speaking 0-4 points converted to 0-30 score scale
- Weak (0-9)
- Limited (10-17)
- Fair (18-25)
- Good (26-30)
Writing 0-5 points converted to 0-30 score scale
- Limited (1-16)
- Fair (17-23)
- Good (24-30)

Total Score of 4 sections - 0-120

So, the TOEFL iBT Maximum Score is 120. Universities will have minimum required TOEFL Score to be considered for admission. If you don’t have the minimum TOEFL Score, you may get conditional admission.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

TOEFL iBT Maximum Score ( or TOEFL Highest Score)

[Video] How to Attack TOEFL iBT Writing Section

HSB — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 03:47:02 +0000

TOEFL iBT Exam consists of following sections

Reading
Listening
Speaking
Writing

All the sections scores are evaluated to 120 in total. Here is a short video that gives very good tips on how to attack TOEFL iBT Writing Section

TOEFL iBT Writing

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

[Video] How to Attack TOEFL iBT Writing Section

TOEFL iBT Score 95 – Is it Enough for PhD?

HSB — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 04:50:10 +0000

Supriyo @ Minimum TOEFL iBT Score

I appeared in TOEFL iBT on 25th of July, and the exam was quite difficult than the practice materials available. I did really bad in the listening section. in the writing section i was expecting a good score, but i ended up getting only 24. my overall score is 95. i want to pursue PhD from USA/Canada. Any advice for me…should i retake the test?

TOEFL iBT Score

TOEFL iBT Score of 95 is definitely good enough to get admission in USA for PhD. Most of the Universities will have minimum required TOEFL score around 60 to 80. So score of 95 in TOEFL is enough to get apply for PhD admission.

There are many comments like

I scored 85 in TOEFL, can you give me list of Universities that accept the score and give admission with aid?
Can I apply for Graduate School in USA only with TOEFL iBT Score of 78?

After minimum TOEFL iBT score requirements are meet, other factors like GRE Score, Academic percentage, research experience will be take into account. Also, applying for PhD is not same as applying for admission to Masters program. So, it’s not required to retake the test. If you had score less than 60, then you can considered retaking TOEFL iBT exam, but not with score of 95.

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TOEFL iBT Score 95 – Is it Enough for PhD?

US Universities Accepting Only TOEFL Score?

HSB — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:59:26 +0000

Lately many students are asking for list of US Universities to get admission only with TOEFL Score.

Tharun @ Top 10 Universities in US

If tofel score is only sufficient for admiting in to the universities of U.S

Admission Only with TOEFL Score

There are many US Universities that accept students only with TOEFL Score for Graduate School admission for Masters degree. But, there are few things you have to consider

Is it worth studying in universities that give admission based on TOEFL Score only?
Will the quality of the education comparable to universities that give admission with GRE and TOEFL Score?
Tuition fees will be approximately the same for university that gives admission only with TOEFL Score, is it worth spending same amount of money?
Can I get F1 visa only with TOEFL Score?

You will have to first find answers to above questions. Each and every student’s motive is different. Certainly, universities that accept students with TOEFL Scores will have lesser standards than universities that requires GRE Score to be mandatory.

It’s very hard to answer all the above questions. But, there are many universities sin US that accept international students in Graduate School only with TOEFL Score. Make sure you find answers to all the above 4 questions before considering applying to such universities.

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US Universities Accepting Only TOEFL Score?

5 Best TOEFL iBT Books

HSB — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:36:39 +0000

If you are serious about improving your TOEFL iBT score, you better start preparing for TOEFL Exam. It will be hard to improve your TOEFL Exam score overnight, but with good preparation, you can improve your score. You can consider using the following books for TOEFL iBT preparation

Top TOEFL iBT Books

If you decide to study in US 2 to 3 years before actual semester you plan to apply, start watching English Movies, read novels and magazines. It will improve your Vocabular over period of time. It will also help with Reading Comprehension in GRE. Buying GRE and TOEFL books alone will not improve your score. Spend few hours of dedicated time to prepareffor the exams.

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

5 Best TOEFL iBT Books

TOFEL – TOFL – TOFLE – TEOFL – TOEFL – Which is Right?

HSB — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 02:18:45 +0000

International students applying to US Universities are required to appear for TOEFL Exam. But, some students don’t know right Acronym for TOEFL.

Different search terms used to search for TOEFL but which is the right one?

Right Answer – TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL, pronounced “toe-full”) evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting. It is an admission requirement for non-native English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities.

When you search for TOEFL next time, use the right term and don’t use incorrect Acronmys like TOFEL, TOFL, TOFLE, TEOFL, toefel, toefle, toeffl, tefl, toffel, tofle, toeffel.

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TOFEL – TOFL – TOFLE – TEOFL – TOEFL – Which is Right?

TOEFL Score 77, Can I Apply for Admission in US Universities?

HSB — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 13:02:41 +0000

International Students applying for college admission to US Universities are required to submit TOEFL Score. Most of the Universities will require minimum TOEFL Score of 79, but what if the score is slightly less than 79?

Minimum TOEFL Score

We have already discussed about Minimum TOEFL Score for Universities in one of the previous article, this will be continuation of that article. There are couple of things that an happen if the TOEFL Score is lower than the required minimum score

University admission committee will look at your credentials like Academic score, English fluency in Statement of Purpose, Score in English course and GRE Score. If they think you have sufficient proficiency in English, you will get unconditional admission
If they feel you don’t have required English speaking and writing skills, you will get conditional admission. Where you will either have to take one English course, or pass the English exam similar to TOEFL conducted by the school.

If you happen to get conditional admission, you can always re-take TOEFL Exam and improve your score and get conditional admission status waived.

Which is right acronym for TOEFL – TEFL, TOEFL, TOFEL, TEOFL?

Post from: Happy Schools Blog

TOEFL Score 77, Can I Apply for Admission in US Universities?

Minimum TOEFL Score – US Universities

HSB — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 16:38:16 +0000

If you are applying to to U.S. Schools, colleges as an International Student, where English language is not native language, then TOEFL Score is mandatory application requirement. All the schools require you have to minimum TOEFL scores to be considered for admission. Students post lots of questions like

What is the minimum TOEFL Score required for admission into U.S. Universities
My TOEFL Score is 79, can I get admission in MS
What is the Minimum TOEFL score required to get admission with scholarship
What is acceptable toefl scores required for admission
What is minimum toefl iBT score required for admission in US colleges

Though all the questions are different, it refer to same question.

Where to Find Minimum TOEFL Scores

If you look at International Student admission page in any college, university web page, they will list the minimum TOEFL scores required to be considered for admission.

For example, here list of scores required by few schools

Arizona State University
Total Score: 83

Auburn University
Total Score: 80, with the following minimum section requirements
Reading: 20, Listening: 20, Speaking: 20, Writing: 20

Case Western Reserve University – School of Graduate Studies
Total Score: 79, with the following minimum section requirements
Reading: 19, Listening: 15, Writing: 22, Speaking: 23

Some students will have taken TOEFL CBT (Computer Based Test) which will have scores to 300 points. In that case usually universities requires atleast 213. Alos, some in countries Paper Based test is also offered which scores ranging from 310 to 677 and 0-6 in writing.

TOEFL Minimum Section Requirements

As you can see some schools have one minimum score like ASU – 83, while others requires you to have minimum overall toefl score and minimum in each TOEFL sections. So, check the admission requirements page of the universities you plan to apply. [ Top 5 TOEFL iBT Books ]

What of Minimum TOEFL Score is not Specified?

If you look at college admission requirements page, for sure minimum required TOEFL scores will be specified, some schools will not specify what is the minimum GRE Score required for admission, but TOEFL will be definitely be there.

Next question you will naturally tend to have -

My TOEFL Score is 78, but I’m applying for Case Western Reserve University, which requires 79 as minimum score, can I still apply for admission?

Part 2 of this article explains the answer to above question – Minimum TOEFL Score Required for US Universities

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Minimum TOEFL Score – US Universities