myUface Blog

Many international students wonder, what is the minimum TOEFL score required to gain entrance into a U.S. university?

This is a complicated question, because each university in the U.S. will have different requirements.  What’s more, each university may have two different requirements:  one for students who will enter directly into the university; and another for students who will enter through a pre-academic ESL program.  Finally, this question is complicated by the fact that there are three different kind of TOEFL scores – for the Computer Based TOEFL (CBT), the Internet Based TOEFL (IBT), and the paper-based TOEFL.

Confused yet?  A number of sites (such as this one) give a good but brief overview of the required scores for entry into a U.S. university.  ETS (the owner of TOEFL) gives the best summary of minimum scores here.

As you can see from the ETS site, the minimum requirements vary widely from university to university.  One thing is for certain, though:  you will almost certainly need to take the TOEFL and do reasonably well in order to get into a good U.S. university.  So get studying!

I know that many of our readers wonder if it’s absolutely necessary to have standardized test scores before applying to a U.S. university.

Well, unfortunately, these are something that almost every university in the U.S. will require. If you are thinking about an undergraduate degree you will need two tests in particular – the SAT and the TOEFL. Graduate degrees require different tests based on the degree (but almost all will require a TOEFL).

If you’re not sure if you want to go to all the trouble of taking tests just yet, you can start by filling out the rest of the application here on myUface.  There may be a university who would look at the rest of you information and say, “Wow, this looks like a great candidate, but they needs test scores.”

In that case, you’d have good reason to prepare for those tests.

I wanted to share this utterly unique, very interesting article on preparing for standardized tests in general, and the SAT in particular.  I’m not sure I agree with everything the author says, but some of her points ring true.  It’s written for parents, but I bet it’d be useful for students as well.

Here’s a no-nonsense piece of advice that everyone should listen to:

If there’s a consensus on anything, it’s that your child doesn’t want to spend valuable time reading the instructions for the first time on the day of the test. Before you pay for sample tests in a room at a prep center, or proctored by a tutor, consider a few free sample tests at home. If a student’s reading comprehension isn’t strong enough to make sense of the instructions, test-prep is probably not going to turn him into a star.

In other words, before you even think about preparing for tests with books or classes, go ahead and take a few practice exams, and see how you do.  Knowing how the test works is incredibly important, and the more you practice, the better you’ll do.  What’s more, you can usually find a number of practice tests for free.

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/karen-stabiner/the-college-insider-admis_b_301352.html

Hello, most loyal blog readers.  I am back from a trip to the Pacific Northwest (a very, very cool place to live or study) and am re-energized.    I’m ready to fire out a long string of daily blog posts here, so I hope you’re ready for some advice.

A few quick notes:

• You may notice the new, sleek look of the blog.  This is the first part of a general redesign of the website, which will culminate in the official opening of the myUface application this Thursday at 09:00 A.M. Eastern Time.  We are really, really sorry it took so long, but we wanted to make sure we have all the technical capacities in place before we opened it up.  Actually, it’s open right now at www.myuface.com, but there are some kinks that are still being ironed out, so if you use it expect some rough patches.  Official opening this Thursday.
• Over the next three months, this blog will concentrate on the following five topics:  first, questions about how to use the myUface application. Second, advice for writing essays to universities. Third, advice about preparing your application – not only on myUface, but to universities.  Fourth, continued information on US states. And finally, advice about preparing for and taking standardized tests.
• It is that time of year – time to get serious about applying to universities.  We are going to be ready with our online application, and also with TONS of advice.  Our advice will NOT be only about myUface.  It will also be about preparing your applications for individual universities.  Why?  Because our main goal is to get students into U.S. universities. myUface is one powerful tool for students, but we want to help all students, regardless of whether or not they end up using myUface.  So please, visit us often.  Start taking the application process seriously.  Don’t put off for tomorrow what you could do today.  AND ASK US QUESTIONS.

Alright?  It’s time to get working, people! Ready, Set, GO!

So what happens if you score lower than 213? Is it time to forget about going to a U.S. university and prepare yourself for a life of dirt farming? Absolutely not! And here’s why:

1. The TOEFL test is only one part of your application. U.S. universities look at your entire application when deciding if you would be a good fit for their school. Other test scores, your secondary school grades, extra-curricular activities and many other things are weighed along with TOEFL.
2. If your TOEFL score is low, but the rest of your application is strong, many universities will admit you to their program with the requirement that you take English classes either before starting your academic program, or in addition to your other classes. We have known numerous students who were admitted with this requirement and who have gone on to graduate.
3. You can retake the TOEFL. If at first you don’t succeed…..start studying, preparing for the test and take English lessons. When your English is better, take the test again! You can do these things either in your country or you can indicate in your myUface profile that you are interested in taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes here in the U.S.A. That’s right! As with our usual placement services, we can help you gain admittance to ESL programs here in the U.S. Our placement service is free to students. Alas, the tuition and living expenses are not!

In all seriousness, the TOEFL test is an important step to getting into the university of your choice. The better prepared you are, the better score you will have. With a higher score, your chances of getting into your first choice university increases. However, do not despair if your score is not exactly where you want it to be. There are always options and myUface is here to help.

If you are thinking about taking the TOEFL test in the near future (and you should be if you are planning on applying to a US university soon), then we encourage you to familiarize yourself with TOEFL online at www.toefl.org . ETS, who developed and owns the TOEFL test, has quite a bit of information on their site.

I look forward to any questions or comments you might have regarding the TOEFL test or any of the issues brought up in this blog.

In my ten years of working with international students, I have lost count of the number of times I have been asked this question. The TOEFL test is for many the first major obstacle confronted when preparing to apply to a U.S. university. For almost all international students the TOEFL is mandatory and will play a large and important role in which university you go to.

Given the importance of this test, myUface thought you might be interested in learning a little more about it and dispel some of the myths surrounding the TOEFL.

What is the TOEFL test? In short, the Test of English as a Foreign Language is a test that is used by most U.S. universities to gauge your (international students’) knowledge of English. A university will look at your score and decide whether or not your English is good enough to understand class work. One important note – TOEFL is a test of your knowledge of English in an academic setting. You might speak English well, but the TOEFL is meant to measure your ability to understand and communicate academic concepts.

If you are not planning on going to a U.S. university, then the TOEFL test may not be the best measurement of your skills. There are other tests out there that are designed to tell how well you can speak in non-academic environments. For instance, the TOEIC test (the Test of English for International Communication – www.toeic.org ) is meant to determine how well a person use and understand business English.

Regardless, back to our TOEFL! If you want to study in the U.S., then you will almost certainly have to take this wonderful test. You will no doubt have heard that you need to do very well in order to “get into a good university”. This is true….with exceptions (members of myUface will get tired of hearing about all the “exceptions” involved with the US higher education system!). Students that want a rule of thumb, though, can rely roughly on the following (based on our experience):

1. If you are interested in getting into an undergraduate program, you should aim for at least a 213 (or 550 paper-based).
2. If you are interested in getting into a masters program, you should aim for at least a 250 (or 600 paper-based).

This “rule of thumb” is an easy way to gauge where you are when you get your test scores. Of course, the best universities will want higher scores, Other universities may accept lower ones.

The podcast for today is about giving yourself enough time to complete you application.

As always, if you would like us to answer your questions in the podcast, send us your questions at podcast@myuface.com.

Other Podcasts

1. Podcast: Asking Questions - 18 Jul
2. Podcast: Give Yourself Time To Complete Your Application (This post)
3. Podcast: What to Do if your Application is not Accepted - 06 Jun
4. Podcast - The View from Albania - 23 May
5. Podcast: University Rankings - 16 May
6. Podcast: Timeline for Applying to a U.S. University - 09 May
7. The Inaugural myUface Podcast - 02 May

The podcast for this week goes into more detail about using university rankings when you’re looking for a U.S. university.

Questions?  As always, you can e-mail them to podcast@myuface.com or blog@myuface.com.

Other Podcasts

1. Podcast: Asking Questions - 18 Jul
2. Podcast: Give Yourself Time To Complete Your Application - 13 Jun
3. Podcast: What to Do if your Application is not Accepted - 06 Jun
4. Podcast - The View from Albania - 23 May
5. Podcast: University Rankings (This post)
6. Podcast: Timeline for Applying to a U.S. University - 09 May
7. The Inaugural myUface Podcast - 02 May

Today the podcast covers the issue of timelines for international students interested in applying to U.S. universities.

Hope you enjoy it!

As always, comments or questions about the podcast should be directed to podcast@myuface.com.

Other Podcasts

1. Podcast: Asking Questions - 18 Jul
2. Podcast: Give Yourself Time To Complete Your Application - 13 Jun
3. Podcast: What to Do if your Application is not Accepted - 06 Jun
4. Podcast - The View from Albania - 23 May
5. Podcast: University Rankings - 16 May
6. Podcast: Timeline for Applying to a U.S. University (This post)
7. The Inaugural myUface Podcast - 02 May

A lot of international students applying to U.S. universities like to use timelines or calendars to give them a schedule of tasks they need to complete.  That’s a good thing.  Timelines are useful tools for international students.  We’ve offered Summer and Fall timelines on this very blog.  The internet is full of similar schedules – you can see two examples here and here.

These kinds of resources can really help you prepare your application for U.S. universities.  Timelines can keep you aware of upcoming deadlines and help you structure your time.  However, there is a limit to how useful these tools can be, and in my experience a lot of international students end up losing time because of them.

Here’s why:  often, international students download and study one of these timelines.  They resolve to follow it exactly. However, they are intimidated by all the work the schedule says they have to do.  As a result, they find reasons to procrastinate.  They fall behind the schedule.  Now they feel really terrible.  Not only do they have a lot of work to do, but they have a shorter amount of time to do it!  They feel even more intimidated, which makes them procrastinate more, which makes the further behind.  And so on and so forth until, at the last minute, they whip together an application.  Which is often not very good.

To avoid this situation, follow these simple guidelines:

1. Remember, timelines for international students are guides, not rules. If you work according to a different schedule – if you start later on some tasks and earlier on others – that’s OK.
2. If you fall behind the schedule, try to remember that it is very possible to catch up.  Applying to a U.S. university is a lot of work, but it’s not an impossible amount of work.  You can do it!!!
3. Try to develop strategies that keep you from procrastinating.  Here are some internet resources to help you do just that.
4. Finally, and most importantly, RELAX. Remember that you are a smart, dedicated, effective person.  Remember that you want to complete your applications.  Remember that you want to spend the time to make those applications good.  Remember that you want to finish them ahead of schedule, to reduce your stress.  Focusing on the fact that you want to do all these things will reduce any feelings you have that you “have” to follow the schedule.

In short, use schedules and timelines as a tool.  But remember that you are the one controlling the tool – the tool shouldn’t control you.