Can a good TOEFL score help me get into a good university?

[kizitokishaboy]

can a good TOEFL score enhance my chances of joining a top university? If so, how?

[desemejante]

Afaik, a good TOEFL score can outweigh a bad GRE verbal score if english isn't your native language. Otherwise, I cannot see how a good TOEFL should increase chance of admission.

[kizitokishaboy]

Thanks, desemejante. So I got my TOEFL scores recently. My total was 107: Speaking 24; Listening 26; Reading 28 and Writing 29. So what kind of university should be looking at?

[desemejante]

I don't think your TOEFL score should influence your university choice a lot. 107 is a very decent score! As long as your english is reasonably good and the admission committee can be sure you'll be able to follow an program taught in english, it doesn't matter all that much. That is to say, if you're TOEFL is good, the decision of which schools to apply to should be based on your academic record.

(circumstantial evidence: I'm currently at Oxford and was also admitted to LSE for straight Economics and my TOEFL was 111)

[desemejante]

I don't think your TOEFL score should influence your university choice a lot. 107 is a very decent score! As long as your english is reasonably good and the admission committee can be sure you'll be able to follow an program taught in english, it doesn't matter all that much. That is to say, if you're TOEFL is good, the decision of which schools to apply to should be based on your academic record.

(circumstantial evidence: I'm currently at Oxford and was also admitted to LSE for straight Economics and my TOEFL was 111)

[kizitokishaboy]

Thanks, a lot for your comments regarding my TOEFL scores and whether they are important for admission to grad school. But I still wonder why they are a requirement since I am applying for my PhD in the States and I already have a Masters (graduate) degree from the City University of New York.

[shemz]

If you have studied in any of the English speaking country, TOEFL is generally waived off, however it might be required for TA consideration. Since you have your masters from City, I think your TOEFL should just be a minor requirement (if at all), and it should not matter with the admission or assistance decision.