TOEFL

Well today i will be writing about my TOEFL iBT experience. First things first, registering for the test was a difficult task. Each time i tried to register the site would take my credit card details and start making the transaction and then just hang up. A message saying that I should not press the refresh button was also displayed stating that doing so would result in two transactions !! Poor me , as if getting peanuts as salary wasnt enough....

The site finally worked well and I was able to register for the test after trying for 3-4 days. I would suggest all test takers to register for the test as soon as possible. In my case i gave GRE in May and went in my procrastinating mode and didnt take up TOEFL until mid-September !! This delayed my application process further and caused a lot of unwanted problems which I will write about in my further posts.

The iBT exam is a relatively easy exam compared to GRE. I didnt prepare that much for this exam. Didnt even buy a book to study. Just got the Toefl Ibt barrons mock tests and solved them. Believe me this is all it takes to give TOEFL ibt. As most of the international students even I was worried about the speaking section. But when I happened to hear the sample responses provided by ETS I was relieved. It wasnt going to be that difficult after all. The principle of dont think what is going to happen to you but think what is going to happen to people who are taking the exam alonngwith you (namely people from countries which were not known to have English as their third language) saw me through. This was the section for which I practiced the most. For those who are not confident about their communication skills I would suggest that they practice a lot. This helps in increasing self confidence and surely helps while giving the test.

I got 113 in the actual test (reading, listening -30 writing- 29 speaking- 24 :(). In hindsight i would like people to prepare more for the speaking section and score good marks in it as well. All in all if you prepared well for your GRE you will sail through TOEFL. (only exception being the speaking section for which you need to prepare.)

In my next post i will jump to the actual application process :) the best part in the whole procedure to get admission in a US university.