At the risk of asking what may be an elementary question, what are the minimum TOEFL scores that you one attain for CLS, NYU, Northwestern and Harvard? And how big a plus, in the greater scheme of things, is it to attain a score much higher than the minimum?

Depending on the school, the threshold is either 100 or 105 points out of 120 (TOEFL iBT). Some schools require moreover a certain score from each part of the test (CLS requires for example 26 points on Reading and Listening, 24 on the Writing, and 22 on the Speaking section).

Personally, I do not think that TOEFL matters at all. This is just a formal requirement - nothing more but evidence that you can speak English at a decent level. I believe other elements of the application are decisive.

I whish to register for a LLM in the states but before to do so, I have a question. I have taken the TOEFL (IBT) and have had a total total score of 98 ( while most of the universities require100) with 28 in reading (Universities generally require 26) 27 in listening (universities generally require 26) 24 in writing (universities require 22) and unfortunatly 19 in speaking (universities require 22). I am only missing 3 in speaking and 2 overall.I am wondering if I have a chance or not to be admitted with these scores? I think my application is good because I am an attorney at the Paris-Bar with two year work experience as a trainnee and 1 year as an associate. I am working for an international law firm.

If I were you, I'd take it again. With 98 you are close to the minimum requirement, and in the next you could well be over 100. Why take the risk of having your application rejected and the application fee lost for nothing?

A similar question was asked in the NYU chat a few days back, and if I recall correctly, the person was advised by the admission office to take it again.