what toefl scores do you need for your dream university?

by

rita neumann

on

in

toefl student practicing the listening section

what is a good toefl score?

if you’re taking the toefl as part of your school applications, you’re probably asking yourself, “is my toefl score good enough to get me accepted to my dream program?”

if you don’t know what score to aim for, the test stress won’t stop — even after you’ve received your results. how do you know if your toefl score is good enough?

the answer? it depends on where you’re applying.

remember that the toefl is simply a step on your way to a program acceptance. good toefl results are the scores that meet or exceed the minimum requirements for the program you want to attend. each university has a different required or recommended toefl score range for each of their programs. it’s important to find out what your dream university considers a top toefl score. once you know what score to aim for, you can plan your toefl preparation around that goal.

getting into your dream school

your toefl results may place your dream school within your reach. while nothing can replace the research on schools you’ll do as part of the application process, we’re here to help make sense of toefl scores and requirements.

minimum score is the key!

find out the minimum score required by the schools you’re applying to. if the school says a 90 is good, you’d need a 110. some schools will require specific minimum scores for admission while other simply recommend scores based on their accepted students’ average. knowing the difference between a required minimum score and a recommended score is crucial in setting your score goals.

know your options!

certain programs require specific toefl scores for admission, but also provide alternative testing options. you might, for example, be able to take an ept (english placement test) in your first year to compensate for a low toefl score in your application.

in other cases, a program might require a specific minimum toefl score for admission but then require a different score for students who wish to apply to work as a ta or qualify for scholarships and other financial aid. contact the specific department to find out if there are any additional score requirements.

toefl scoring basics

the toefl ibt test is broken into four sections: reading, listening, speaking, and writing. each section is worth a maximum of 30 points, for a possible combined score of 120. some programs will only care about your combined score, but some will have particular requirements for section scores. this is another reason why it is important to do your research and know exactly what every school you are interested in requires.

like the sat, act, gmat, and gre, the toefl is a standardized exam. as such, ets uses a specific (and secret) calculation to generate your final score from your raw score. this process of equating scores compensates for the fact that some versions of the toefl exam are more difficult than others. equating means that schools can fairly evaluate applicants’ performances against each other, even though applicants take different versions of the exam.

toefl scores for undergraduate admissions

school minimum composite score subscores notes
boston university 90 at least 20 in all sections applicants who are most competitive will have a composite score of at least 90-100
california institute of technology 100 at least 25 in all sections n/a
carnegie mellon university 102 at least 25 in all sections n/a
duke university 100 n/a if you take the test more than once, duke will use your highest score.
emory university 100 n/a the highest total score of a single sitting will be used if the student has taken an exam more than once.
harvard university n/a n/a english language proficiency exams are optional
illinois institute of technology 80 at least 20 in all sections n/a
massachusetts institute of technology 90 n/a 100 composite recommended
new york university competitive applicants will have at least a 100 n/a n/a
northeastern university the middle 50% range for accepted applicants is 106-113 n/a n/a
northwestern university n/a n/a northwestern does not superscore english proficiency exams, and will not review toefl’s mybest scores.
princeton university n/a n/a no minimum score is required.
stanford university n/a n/a english language proficiency exams are optional
the new school 100 n/a n/a
university of california–los angeles 100 above 22 on each section n/a
university of california–san diego 83 n/a n/a
university of pennsylvania n/a n/a no minimum score is required.
university of rochester 100 n/a admissions are holistic and applicants below the minimum score range are encouraged to apply
university of tulsa 70 n/a n/a
yale university 100 n/a n/a

toefl scores for graduate admissions

school program composite score notes
boston university graduate school of arts and sciences 100 n/a
boston university college of engineering 90 students interested in teaching or research fellowships are encouraged to provide an overall score of 100 on the toefl.
carnegie mellon university electrical and computer engineering 86 n/a
duke university the graduate school 90 n/a
emory university computer science 85 n/a
emory university rollins school of public health 80 n/a
harvard university graduate school of arts and sciences 80 n/a
harvard university school of engineering and applied sciences 80 n/a
massachusetts institute of technology graduate education 90 some departments require higher scores
new york university graduate school of arts and sciences 100 n/a
new york university tandon school of engineering 90 n/a
northeastern university school of engineering 79 n/a
princeton university graduate school n/a no minimum score for the graduate school, but individual programs may set minimum score requirements
stanford university all phd and master’s programs besides engineering 100 n/a
stanford university school of engineering 89 n/a
university of california–los angeles university-wide 87 minimum scores for each section: writing: 25, speaking: 24, reading: 21, and listening: 17
university of california–san diego university-wide 85 departments may require a higher minimum score.
university of pennsylvania graduate engineering 100, recommended n/a
yale university graduate school of arts and sciences no minimum university-wide score, departments may set minimum requirements. accepted students with a speaking score of 25 or below must participate in a summer english language program at yale prior to classes beginning.

takeaways

as you can see from the tables above, different universities – and even different programs within universities – require different scores. this makes ranking toefl scores by degrees of “good” or “bad” difficult.

the important thing to remember is that a good toefl score is one that gets you into a university of your choosing. knowing what the preferred score ranges and minimum score requirements for your targeted schools will help you better prepare for the toefl.

ready to begin your toefl journey? sign up to take a free practice test today and find out what your baseline score is. consider a magoosh premium plan to access best in class toefl test prep and smash your score goals!

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