English Language Tests

Well, I gave my second attempt on Sept 11th and got my scores today. Firstly, Hearty Congratulations to Vivek!!
I just read his post now and I'm happy to see him knock off the TOEFL completely. Unknowingly, we both wrote in the same test center and time.

On the day of the test, things did not begin favourably for me. Arrived at the test center at 9.30 AM with the test time at 10 AM. By then, I was shocked to hear that power went off in the center. I collected the form which needs to be filled up, borrowed a pen from a fellow test-taker and started filling the form in a dark room. Then I waited patiently for the power to turn up. Alas, the power came only at 10.15 AM but the test did not begin soon. They really took some time to setup the computers and finally, they began to usher the test-takers at 11.30 AM. However, I went only at 11.50 AM and started my test only at 12 PM. By then, I started to feel damn hungry. I had a very light breakfast at 9 AM thinking that I could start by 9.30 and finish by 1 PM. I carried with me some water and a nutri-bar. So, I started the test impatiently feeling damn hungry. I was kicking myself that I should have had a heavy breakfast. I finished the 1st passage quite well with forceful concetration. By the 2nd passage, my concentration really started to deteriorate. I didn't really know what I was answering the questions. Again, in the 3rd passage, I forced myself to concentrate hard and somewhat managed doing well. Listening went on normally.. Felt really impatient again during the 3rd lecture. Did not listen at all. Somehow managed to finish the section.

Rushed over to my bag during the break and gulped down the nutri-bar and some water. This made me feel much much better. I felt as if I successfully found a small water pond in a barren desert. Washed my face and went back to my place. Speaking and Writing sections went really well. I was able to concentrate quite easily after the break. I was then done with the exam with a little fear of bombing Reading and Listening sections. As a saving grace, Atleast I did not experience any system-related issues throughout my exam.

Today morning, I got an email from ETS saying that test scores are available. To my surprise, I have miserably failed in the speaking section.

100 - (Reading-25; Listening-24; Speaking-22; Writing-29)

My previous score was a 90 with the highest score of 26 in Speaking. I felt that I did much better in Speaking this time than how I did last time. I'm completely puzzled with the speaking score. I was expecting atleast a 26 if not more than 26.

Although I reached my target score of 100, I'm little worried about the split. I did not pass the minimum score of 25 in each section. Some universities impose this requirement for shortlisting applications.

Hey congrats for hitting 100, papgust! I'm pretty sure you won't have any issues with that split!

100 is not a bad score at all, but depends what the university you are applying to wants.
As far as I know Speaking test marks in TOEFL have been a rude shock for many.

If your universities accept IELTS, why dont you give a try?
Its much easier to speak to a person rather than in a microphone.

ayankm wrote:100 is not a bad score at all, but depends what the university you are applying to wants.
As far as I know Speaking test marks in TOEFL have been a rude shock for many.

If your universities accept IELTS, why dont you give a try?
Its much easier to speak to a person rather than in a microphone.

Thanks ayankm! So far this score is sufficient enough to apply for the schools I'm trying. So, I guess there is no need of taking up TOEFL again or IELTS.

I agree that IELTS is much better in terms of speaking. Speaking to a person is much comfortable than screaming over a microphone.

Congrats on hitting 100. I dont think you should worry too much about the split, most schools just look for the 3 digit score. I think you're set to go ahead with apps.

Hey, quick question, I am not sure whether I should select my schools before the test or after the test. I am scoring 80%+ in reading and listening but not sure of speaking and writing. I took GMAT twice and got 5.5 and 5 in AWA.

The reason is if I do not do well and send the scores to the school then the bad score would be in the schools file, even if I try to take the test again.

Any thoughts or pearl of wisdom, I just have 24 hours to decide.

Thanks,

Vineet

vineetbatra wrote:Hey, quick question, I am not sure whether I should select my schools before the test or after the test. I am scoring 80%+ in reading and listening but not sure of speaking and writing. I took GMAT twice and got 5.5 and 5 in AWA.

The reason is if I do not do well and send the scores to the school then the bad score would be in the schools file, even if I try to take the test again.

Any thoughts or pearl of wisdom, I just have 24 hours to decide.

Thanks,

Vineet

Hey Vineet,

You should select your schools during registration. i.e. When you register online for your TOEFL test, you will be asked to select schools in the registration page to send the score reports for Free. You are allowed to select upto 4 schools. Additional score reports cost you around 17$.

Let me know if you need any other info. Good luck!

Select your schools BEFORE you get to the test center. You can't do it there and it will cost you money to send score after this.

I understand that, but my question is what if I score low and then the schools will have my low score on the file. If I score high then I can always send the scores later paying 17 bucks. Basically does it matter to the school that there is a low score in TOEFL and also does TOEFL reports all your scores (if I decide to take it a second time).

Thanks,

Vineet

Yes, the TOEFL score report will include all your scores from the past 2 years.