The TOEFL is not cheap and neither is sending TOEFL scores to schools. Without a question, ETS (the company that makes the TOEFL) is in it for the money. However, many schools offer waivers for those people who have studied or worked in English.
Here’s my take: unfortunately, there are a lot of people who formally qualify for waivers but don’t deserve them in that they would likely not score well if they take the TOEFL. At least some admissions counselors will be (correctly) skeptical of the English skills of applicants who are using a waiver rather than provided a score. This is not to say that you will not be admitted (even to a top-ranked school) if you use a waiver, but all considered, it would be safer and thus I cannot recommend one for anyone who is coming from a country where English is not the majority native language (i.e., the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada).
If you are confident in your English skills, the TOEFL will confirm to admissions counselors that you are justified in your confidence. If you’re not-so-confident, then you should be thinking long and hard about whether spending tens of thousands of dollars on a U.S. degree is a good idea to begin with.
Leave a Reply