600 is nothing

[Outdateboy]

I know many highschool students in China(mainland) got above 630 in TOEFL. And many people even got 15xx in SAT. 7xx verbal and 800 math.
Some highschool students even take GRE general test to apply for freshman admission. They usually get 2000-22xx in GRE. Not for requirement, but demonstrating their academic ability.

People who aims at 600 should talk to those Chinese students. 600 is considered an unacceptable score to them. They have lots of real tests like the ETS kit.

Also, I believe China has the best test preparation material for tests such as TOEFL, GRE, GMAT with an exception of SAT. China doesn't have SAT available. There are many experts in China who focus on studying the ETS.

[Erin]

I know many highschool students in China (mainland) got above 630 in TOEFL. And many people even got 15xx in SAT. 7xx verbal and 800 math.
Some highschool students even take GRE general test to apply for freshman admission. They usually get 2000-22xx in GRE. Not for requirement, but demonstrating their academic ability.

People who aims at 600 should talk to those Chinese students. 600 is considered an unacceptable score to them. They have lots of real tests like the ETS kit.

Also, I believe China has the best test preparation material for tests such as TOEFL, GRE, GMAT with an exception of SAT. China doesn't have SAT available. There are many experts in China who focus on studying the ETS.

Dear Outdateboy,

I'm sure you had only good intentions with your post, but I want to let you know that the particular wording that you have chosen could be somewhat offputting to some visitors of this group.

With this discussion group, I am trying to create a very friendly, warm, and open community for all of us to share and help one another, so I am very careful about the types of posts I allow and the tone and attitude people have.

You might not realize it, but I know from my experience with thousands of students from all continents of the world (except Antarctica; penguins don't seem very interested in TOEFL or GMAT for some odd reason!! ), that some people will feel dejected if they read your post saying that "600 is nothing."

I know many, many students who would be elated with a score of 600, 550, 500, or even 475. I have students right now whose only wish is to get a 475 so that they can go to City College here in San Francisco.

AND, I have to say in all honesty, the sense of joy, pride, happiness, and achievement that I feel when somebody struggles to get 475 is no different from that which I feel when someone gets 650 or so. In fact, these feelings are much more related to the goals of each person than they are to the somewhat artificial number that is the score.

For example, I once had a student who tried for two years to get 475. She was in her late thirties and wanted to go to college in the US because she could not in her country. She struggled every day for two years, failing to reach her score each time she took the test. She started with something like 380, and went up only a few points every month, sometimes actually dropping. Her visa and I-20 were running out, and she had only a few more chances to take the TOEFL to get her score. With only three months left on her visa and before the City College deadline, she failed. Two months, left, she got 473, still two points shy of what she needed. On her last chance, she got 493 (a nice jump, kind of strange, but still a welcome improvement!). I can't tell you how happy I was!!!

I just wanted to let you know. Again, I trust you had the best of intentions when you posted, and I'd like to encourage you to continue to post in a positive way. Also, I might change the wording of your title in the future, but I want to think for a while.

Thanks in advance for your cooperation and understanding, and keep working hard and trying your best!!

Erin

TestMagic help you before your test?

Please remember to post after your test.

Please? Please?

[Erin]

All thoughtful replies welcome, especially those of the senior members, Raghuveer, arti, lee shi, etc. and budding TestMagicians!!

Erin

TestMagic help you before your test?

Please remember to post after your test.

Please? Please?

[raghuveer_v]

Agree Erin,

and I am sure that the post was made with a positive intention that all others will find a good example to follow and gain optimism that they can aim for more.

However, while it is good to look at others achievements and learn from them, it's ultimately the "you" that matters. What's a good score for you depends on what your background, goals and the circumstances are.

Each and everyone of us is different and unique in our own way, having our own set of abilities, strong points and weaknesses. and we should not feel depressed just because we are not able to achieve someting that someother person has achieved.

As for penguins, it is not that they have no interest in TOEFL and GMAT, but it is because that the ETS has no testing centers in Antarcitica. Erin, why don't you write an e-mail to ETS asking them why there is this bias against Antarciticans !

Well, that's just my two paise ...

Raghuveer

[arti]

Hi Erin

I agree with you completely.
I am sure the post was to motivate others to set higher goals. And the author of the post must not have met the kind of people you have mentioned.
When i read the post, i was myself taken aback a little. It is ceratinly disheartening to a lot of people. But i am sure the way you have explained will make all our friends feel much better

I believe that Life is much above numbers. Success is not about competing with others. Its about setting your own goals and achieving them. The other day i met a person who had 270 in TOEFL CBT, but plans to retake the exam as 270 is not his real potential.

So, we can't really compare a few Chinese or for that matter anybody else with the rest of the people. Everybody has different circumstances.





Arti Gupta

[a user]

Hi Erin and others,

I completely agree with Erin. He made a very good point in accessing why and how each and everyone of us working hard to get our own goals. It does not matter how high or how low your TOFEL score is, it matters only to the point whether you accomplish your goals.

Like Erin and others, I trust Outdateboy's intention was good. However, the post itself may cause totally different views based on how people look at this piece of information. I suggest we do not post messages may have negative impact on us and group students by group. However, I would like to interpret Outdateboy's message as following: Those high school kids can do it, you can do it too!









Lee Shi

[Erin]

You guys are simply... awesome!!!!!

I just want to let you know, Raghuveer, arti, and lee shi, that I enjoyed a genuine warm smile as I read each of your posts.

Thank you.

Erin

[arti]

You guys are simply... awesome!!!!!

Thanks a lot Erin!. But i would like to give the credit of my post to you as you have somewhere shaped my thoughts(I don't know about others). I am certainly a better person after i started communicating with you. My perspective is broader now. I really don't know if you are aware of the extent to which "TestMagic" (in a way you) has touched our lives.

Thanks for everything


Arti Gupta

[madhavi]

hi Erin and all others
I was really worried about the toefl as I am poor in english.I took
GRE before toefl as I feared taking TOEFL.I got only 480 in GRE while I got 790 ,670 in quant and anal.Even after I took GRE I was scared of TOEFL and postponed to apply for it for it for nearly 5 months.I feared even to open the barrens toefl practice book.I am happy that I found this site.and I am feeling confident that I may reach 600.
i was really worried on seeing the post that there are many who get very good score and I am poor in all sections.
It was happy to hear that there are people who are benifited by a score of 490.
Thank you Erin
madhavi

[paul]

Hi, I am a chinese from the China mainland, there's something I want to say about this topic.

First I don't think many chinese high school students can get above 630 in Toefl, as I know, only a few of them can achive it. There used to be a report on newspaper about a highschool student who got 640, so I think to get above 630 is not going to be easy for those students, otherwise it may not worth a report.

It's true that many chinese college students got very high score on Toefl and Gre, but it indeed doesn't mean these tests are just pieces of cake for them. For instance, two of my friends got very terrific score like 2350 and 2380 in GRE, but before that they spent around 3 months, 6 to 7 hours a day, 7 days a week, reciting vacabulary and doing sample tests. They told me they will never experience the horrible thing like this once more.

When it comes to materials, besides vacabulary books and each year's test pater, there're schools in China which provide specific training on Toefl and GRE. I used to take one on toefl, but there're just ordinary courses and nothing too special, only sometimes the teacher will tell us a few tips most of which are only helpful on listening comprehension section(the bottleneck for chinese students, compared to grammar). I don't have the plan to take GRE yet, so there's nothing I can say about the training on this test.

At present I'm preparing for Toefl and my goal is 600, a score quite "acceptable" to me since I want to go European countries, so as not to join the extremely fierce competion for US universities with others.





Edited by - paul on 2002 Jun 26 01:47:33