Most of the famous universities abroad have a strict guideline of having a certain TOEFL score and students have to abide by that without any second thought. As it is already known, TOEFL is an English proficiency testing exam of the non-native English speaking candidates interested in pursuing their career in the US, UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. It is an acceptable score for work and migration purposes as well. Conducted by the US-based – Educational Testing Service, the exam has quite a high acceptance worldwide with more than 150 countries and 11,000 universities and innumerable TOEFL exam centres.
A very favourable factor about the TOEFL exam is its internet-based test format or TOEFL iBT which is found in most of the places throughout the world. But there are still some places which do not have proper access to internet availability and for them, TOEFL PBT or paper-based test is the remedy.
As already been spoken about, the TOEFL score is a mandatory addition to the universities’ eligibility page as well as for certain well-known corporates. It is crucial for the candidates to fathom the score needs and what exactly is termed as a good TOEFL score. Let us get going with that.
TOEFL Scores Demonstrated according to ETS
The TOEFL exam is tested on the basis of the
- TOEFL listening skills
- TOEFL Reading skills
- TOEFL Writing skills and
- TOEFL Speaking skills
These four are examined on a TOEFL score range of 0 – 30 each with the total TOEFL score amounting to 0 – 120. Therefore, whatever the person scores out of 120 is their total TOEFL score. Though it must be noted on a vital note, there are universities which ask for individual section scores to be according to the guideline they have uploaded on the website. For instance, a university might want each individual score to be 22 with the speaking score being 24. In these cases, acing up the scores of the individual sections become necessary.
In this ETS test, the numbers will be provided on a 0 – 4 raw score basis which will then be converted to a scaled score of 0 -30.
| Skill | Level |
|---|---|
| Reading | Advanced (24–30) High-Intermediate (18–23) Low-Intermediate (4–17) Below Low-Intermediate (0–3) |
| Listening | Advanced (22–30) High-Intermediate (17–21) Low-Intermediate (9–16) Below Low-Intermediate (0–8) |
| Speaking | Advanced (25–30) High-Intermediate (20–24) Low-Intermediate (16–19) Basic (10–15) Below Basic (0–9) |
| Writing | Advanced (24–30) High-Intermediate (17–23) Low-Intermediate (13–16) Basic (7–12) Below Basic (0–6) |
What is a good TOEFL score according to the minimum score required in universities?
There are universities and schools demanding a certain minimum score required as eligibility for students seeking admission. Sometimes, these minimum scores are itself the good TOEFL scores required. To simplify it, if a university requires a TOEFL score of 90 then that is considered a good score in itself. Now, each university has its own set of scores required like for instance, few schools ask for as low a score as 70 while some demands a 100 which is pretty high. It might happen that the candidate was unwell on the day of the exam and that resulted in an 80 while they expected it to state a 100 but luckily the university they wanted to study in asked for 80 too – therefore, they do not need to retake the exam.
Figuring out good TOEFL scores required for professionals
TOEFL score is undoubtedly mandatory for universities and in the same way for professionals. Let us get hold of a quick table presenting the TOEFL scores.
TOEFL scores required for medical professionals
| Healthcare Profession | TOEFL reading score | TOEFL listening score | TOEFL writing score | TOEFL speaking score | TOEFL total score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Physician | - | - | - | - | Depends on the state |
| Pharmacy | 22 | 21 | 26 | 24 | 93 |
| Physical therapy | - | - | - | 26 | 89 |
| Nursing | - | - | - | - | Depends on the state |
TOEFL scores required for law schools
| Law schools | TOEFL reading score | TOEFL listening score | TOEFL writing score | TOEFL speaking score | TOEFL total score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Chicago (law) | - | - | - | - | 104 |
| NYU Law | 26 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 100 |
| Harvard law school | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 100 |
| Yale Law | - | - | - | - | 100 |
| Stanford law school | - | - | - | - | 100 |
| Columbia law school | 26 | 26 | 24 | 24 | 105 |
As observed, the law schools need quite a high TOEFL score as that is a very demanding course of study out there.
TOEFL scores required for business schools
The American MBA is quite popular for its developed course structure and aftermath in a career which is blooming and studying there is undoubtedly a dream for many. But one prominent feature about these schools is, they majorly go for the TOEFL overall score and not individual ones.
| Name of business school | TOEFL minimum overall score |
|---|---|
| Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) | 110 |
| Northwestern (Kellog) | 100 |
| Chicago Booth (Chicago University) | 104 |
| Harvard Business School | 109 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | 100 |
Lastly, what exactly is a good TOEFL score?
After evaluating the details mentioned above, we can conclude a generalized idea about the TOEFL good scores. It must be noted that the TOEFL scores revolve around certain vital factors: countries, language, and genders. The underneath details have been made accordingly.
- Less than 80 scores: This is not a good score. Anything below 80 is generally unacceptable by universities, especially the top-ranking ones. Though one might get into it by going through the conditional acceptance. There are certain small public universities though, which might give admission.
- 80 – 90 score: This is a notch higher than the previous one and in this TOEFL score range, there are quite some universities taking admissions. Graduate schools especially welcome this TOEFL score range.
- 90 – 100 score: This is a perfect TOEFL score range and most of the universities demand this particular score range. As already mentioned there are some universities preferring the ones scoring higher than the minimum score required.
- 100-110 scores: This is another notch higher and is probably one of the highest scores. A candidate scoring this high, stay calm – you can make your way through one of those Ivy Leagues for sure.
- 110 – 120 score: This is the best without any further say. These candidates can effortlessly get into any university in the whole world – through the sectional score requirements must be taken care of.
*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.
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