I beat the TOEFL 120/120

You just Beat The TOEFL/IELTS/Cambridge/PTE!
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I beat the TOEFL 120/120

by zinc-750 » Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:50 pm
Hi everyone. So even though I got a lower GMAT score of 680 with a 35 in verbal due to some issues going on in the test center during my verbal section, I happy that I nailed the TOEFL at least with a score of 120.

My test center for TOEFL was good, the staff friendly and the systems working properly. I had an early breakfast then reached the test center well ahead of time, which proved to be useful as there was a long queue for verification etc.

I guess the trickiest part of the test is the speaking section. Because all the test-takers are speaking simultaneously, it gets really noisy and annoying, is what I heard from a fellow test taker who had taken the TOEFL before me. To overcome this problem, I devised a strategy. Finish off the listening section as fast as you can and go for break earlier than everyone else. By then time my break ended and I came back, other people had started to go for their break and I attempted my speaking section with absolute silence in the room. Phew! Mission Achieved.

As for preparation, if you have put in good efforts for your GMAT/GRE, then TOEFL preparation really comes down to getting familiar with the pattern. I can say I have devised a way to score above 115 at least. (120/120 needs luck as well).

But after all the efforts in GMAT and TOEFL, I am having to quit my application process due to a few reasons. So I thought, well I can at least help others who are taking these exams and I started a blog www.acethetoefl.com

Please feel free to discuss TOEFL strategies here, or my blog or on email. I would be glad to help in any way I can. I could even help you assess your essays and speeches since most self prep materials can not do that.

All the best!

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by essaysnark » Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:38 am
zinc-750, congrats on this great result! Obviously an excellent outcome, this definitely proves your language abilities to the adcoms.
zinc-750 wrote:As for preparation, if you have put in good efforts for your GMAT/GRE, then TOEFL preparation really comes down to getting familiar with the pattern.
This is really true - doing the GMAT first and all the verbal practice is great TOEFL prep, and then there's just a matter of figuring out how the TOEFL actually works so you can be ready for that. Good advice.

The other good news is that many schools have loosened their TOEFL requirements in recent years - Yale has dropped it entirely, MIT never had it, and even Columbia has changed their policies. Haas is the main holdout that requires a TOEFL when others often don't. Having a TOEFL score in hand is always helpful so even if a school doesn't require it, many will let you submit it - and with a 120 score then that would be a nice thing to include!

Good luck on your apps - now comes the fun part - THE ESSAYS!!

(You thought the GMAT was a bear...! :-D )

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by zinc-750 » Fri Jul 12, 2013 7:40 am
Thank You EssaySnark. I wrote my essays for a lot of schools and had applied to LBS for their MIM course. I did not get selected even for the interview (My GMAT is 680). As for MBA in top schools I realized that it won't happen with a work experience of just 1 year. So I have stopped my applications and have resumed working.

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by tailvbk » Tue May 23, 2017 11:16 pm
Hi zinc-750,

Thank you for your sharing and congratulation your achievement!

I'm new comet. Now i'm making plan for TOEFL test so all your sharing is really valuable to me.

Btw, could please you give the exact names of the books/documents you used during your preparation?
It would be absolutely useful to me for my preparation.

Thank you very much!

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by souvik54 » Wed Jan 10, 2018 7:51 pm
Is your blog still up? Could not access it.