Hello,



I am from Ghana, which is an anglophone country. English is the official language and all academic instruction, from Kindergarten to University, is done in English. Thus, all my university education was conducted in English.



Does this exempt me from writing the TOEFL? Must I seek a TOEFL waiver? I am not sure whether automatic exemption is only granted to candidates from western countries who only have English as their language, such as the UK and Australia; or whether anglophones also qualify.



I will appreciate some advice in this regard, especially from people from anglophone countries who have gone through the process or have some information on it..



Thank you.

[Edited by Mel-D on Sep 28, 2020]

Hello Mel-D

The first thing I will advice is to check out the requirements of whatever school you want to apply to. Different schools have different requirements. For instance, some schools will waive the TOEFL for you if you can submit a document from your University showing that you were taught in English. Others may require you to apply for the waiver while some have listed countries that they make the exemption for. 

I am from Nigeria, another anglophone country, and I got admitted into several schools (US, Canada and Europe) with funding and without writing the TOEFL exam. In fact, I have a friend who got into an ivy league without writing the test of English language. This same friend also got into another school that kept asking her to submit her TOEFL score even after she told them that English is her first language. At the end of the day, they decided to schedule an interview with her and the test score requirement was eventually waived. 

So basically, it depends on the requirement of the school you have in mind. 

Hope this helps. 
All the best! 

[Edited by Miz_terious Attorney on Sep 29, 2020]

Thank you so very much, Mz_terious. I greatly appreciate your response.

In your applications, including when registering on LSAC, did you state that English was your native / first language?


Thank you.