Universities in the US require that their students demonstrate an ability to effectively communicate in the English language. To assess this ability, applicants are asked to submit English proficiency test scores as part of their application requirements. The main purpose of these tests is to measure your proficiency in understanding, speaking and writing English. First, let’s talk about TOEFL. 

TOEFL

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language and iBT stands for internet-based test. There are four sections on the TOEFL: 

• Reading 
• Listening 
• Speaking 
• Writing 

TOEFL is scored on a scale of 120, where each section is of 30 points. TOEFL requirements vary from university to university but usually a score of 100/120 is considered to be good. The total test takes about 3 hours to finish. To know more about TOEFL and its center locations, please visit the official TOEFL website.

Now, let’s talk about IELTS! 

IELTS

IELTS stands for International English Language Testing System. IELTS is offered in two versions: IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. IELTS Academic is for people who are applying for higher education, so we will be talking about the IELTS Academic version. 

IELTS also has four sections: 

• Listening 
• Reading 
• Writing 
• Speaking 

IELTS scores are reported as band scores on a scale of 1-9. 7.5 and above is considered to be a good IELTS score. As always, definitely check the minimum IELTS scores required by the universities you’re applying to!

Both TOEFL and IELTS are offered all year round. You might be wondering which one you should take? It’s very difficult to compare the two tests because they’re very similar. Our recommendation would be that you take diagnostic tests for each before making a choice. It would also help to find out which out of the two is preferred by the universities you’re applying to. If you did your undergraduate degree in the US, there’s a chance that you can waive off this requirement. In such instances, please reach out to the university admissions office to obtain more clarity. 

At UniRely, our university-specific mentors and counselors can guide you on which test you should take based on the university of your choice. To get more information about how to apply to universities abroad for your master’s degree, please visit our website – www.unirely.com.