Hi all! Most schools require the toefl score not lower than 100(ibt), but I only got 97. However, some admitted students actually haven't meet the min requirement either. What about the situations about this in the Top14 schools? Any cases you heard about?Thanks so much!

I got only 98 and I quite like to know some suggestions, too!

Michigan: 98
Cornell: 79 (but if you have less than 100 you will have to take a course)

Try to find the requirements of UVirginia

I guess it really depends...
I mean the UofMinnesota requires a 79-9o something but they explicitly state on their HP that the students with a score above 100 will have better chances to be admitted. I believe its not different in the top 20 schools. Especially as people applying there have mostly an pver 100 score it will be hard to people with a lower score to be considered for admission...as long as they're not outstanding in other areas relevant for admission as work experience, grades etc.
So I don't wanna discourage anyone from applying... but the admission will be I guess harder for those who do not meet the TOEFL requirement. But on the other hand, I guess it still really depends on the school and the students CV and some other factors. So I would still apply to all my dream schools with that score, you never know!

oh btw.... a friend of mine applied in the UK (!) to I think it was the LSE or something like that... and she got a 109 on the TOEFL score and their requirement was 110 as I remember right....well I just know that she missed the requirement by 1 point !! and they did not even read her application. She got an email that stated that she did not meet the TOEFL requirement and that her application won't be considered in the admission process. That sucked!

If this is LSE, I am in a pretty bad situation. They require absurd 115 points on TOEFL, and I only got 111. I applied, for I think UK schools make you conditional offers. I can achieve 115, since this 111 score was my very first attempt.

yes that was it. then she must have had a 114 score... it was one point missing to the required score! thats crazy! crazy brits! :D
I actually would not retake the test... I mean maybe if LSE was my dream school, ... I got a 110 on the test, and I was so exhausted after this test that I would never take it again if I did not have to...

oh and the funniest part about this is... I talked to some very nice people from the UPenn, UofMichigan and other schools admissions office and I told them how exhausting and crazy the toefl test is (at least here in germany...with a lot of people in one room, you cannot concentrate as you can hear everyone through your headphones etc.) ... they were surprised and even shocked to some extend...they actually don't know how the testing procedure looks like... X-D they just trust the scores and ETS...

Last year they required only 107. It could be Oxford which requires 109, or cambridge with 110.

oh and the funniest part about this is... I talked to some very nice people from the UPenn, UofMichigan and other schools admissions office and I told them how exhausting and crazy the toefl test is (at least here in germany...with a lot of people in one room, you cannot concentrate as you can hear everyone through your headphones etc.) ... they were surprised and even shocked to some extend...they actually don't know how the testing procedure looks like... X-D they just trust the scores and ETS...

In Brazil it is also pretty crazy. Same kind of shit going on, and the craziest texts you can imagine...

its definitly not the best way of testing your english skills...

about the schools: I really don't know. Not Oxbridge though, she didn't apply there. She applied mainly in London. (KC, LSE etc.)

Im pretty sure that the texts are exactely the same all around the globe for each test date :)

Anyway, I can only tell you that I took the paper-based test in 2003 and that it was much much easier back then. The Listening Comprhensions were a joke (30 second dialogues), the reading parts were sophisticated but not necessarily academic and less complex, the grammar section (doesn't exist anymore) was a joke that anybody who had some basic level of English could easily excell in.

I have no doubt that ETS is already working on a next-generation test in order to make us pay again if we wanna take it in the future. I'm thinking about some sort youtube examination with an Acting Section. Perhaps I shoudl make that suggestion.

Still on the paper based thing, do you follow my train of thought, that if they still accept pbt, speaking must be a lesser factor?

You know what really annoys me about this test. The speaking section. I think speaking is one of the best things I do in English. I am perfectly able to hold a conversation and good vocabulary. I did many English tests in my life and always got close to the maximum score at the speaking section.
However, talking to a recorder is a situation that makes me extremely disconfortable.

1. Your argument makes sense. This is further strengthened by the fact that many universities require the lowest minimum score the the speaking section, or have no minimum requirement at all as long as the total score meets a certain score (which is the case at NYU iirc?). On the other hand the schools HAVE to accept pb-toefl as I believe the IBT test has still not reached all parts of the word yet and in some countires only paper based is offered. Also, and it may sound harsh but I wouldn't exclude that, setting minimum scores for the total and each subsection is the best way to cut off a large amount of applications at an early stage. From their perspective, getting rid off as many applications as possible before reaching to the "core" of high-potential applications makes sense. Having a "legitimate" rule to take you out of the game might come handy...

2. Yes, the speaking section as a whole is not natural (talking on command on a given topic after a BEEP within 40 seconds, thats as far away from reality as one can imagine). Unfortunately that's what those guys have come up with thus far and seeing that they've got a de facto monopoly we gotta live with that..

You know what really annoys me about this test. The speaking section. I think speaking is one of the best things I do in English. I am perfectly able to hold a conversation and good vocabulary. I did many English tests in my life and always got close to the maximum score at the speaking section.
However, talking to a recorder is a situation that makes me extremely disconfortable.

The LSE position on TOEFL:


Dear Sir,

Yes, the new score is now 114 (with a minimum of 27 in each section).
Your application will still be considered, but you may be required to
submit a new test if you are given an offer.

Regards,

yeah right.... who scores an 114 anyway? .... some freaks who actually learn the test practice books by heart... whatever...