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Toefl speaking 22, too low for top programs?

Posted: Tue Aug 27, 2013 9:12 pm
by hermitw
Hi guys, I heard that some univ set a toefl speaking line, usually 23 or 24. However, it seems that tops programs such as Harvard and MIT did not have a clear speaking cut off line. Some of them just mention that total should be more than 100.

I unfortunately took toefl for three times, and got 22 in all of them. I have spent one year in master program in Canada and I think that my speaking should be good enough. I just took a toefl in Canada and got 105 but 22 for the third time (without preparing it). I am really really tired of it. Do you think I shall practice and try once more? However will a 22 hurt the applications for top programs? Thank you for any opinions!

Re: Toefl speaking 22, too low for top programs?

Posted: Wed Aug 28, 2013 2:54 pm
by ayushya
hermitw wrote:Hi guys, I heard that some univ set a toefl speaking line, usually 23 or 24. However, it seems that tops programs such as Harvard and MIT did not have a clear speaking cut off line. Some of them just mention that total should be more than 100.

I unfortunately took toefl for three times, and got 22 in all of them. I have spent one year in master program in Canada and I think that my speaking should be good enough. I just took a toefl in Canada and got 105 but 22 for the third time (without preparing it). I am really really tired of it. Do you think I shall practice and try once more? However will a 22 hurt the applications for top programs? Thank you for any opinions!
Most schools require a speaking score of 23 in the TOEFL test. But given that you have spent a year in Canada and your total score is above 100, you should be fine. In my opinion, this score should suffice for most of the programs. You could go to each university's FAQ webpage to see if there is any harsh restriction.