fpgeetaker

Hi spg2005, I am sorry to hear that. Good luck on your next exam. By the way, how long does the rescore process take since you got the confirmation? Thanks.

Hi Teacher Corey, You are right. In the writing session, my body paragraphs are well-developed. However, I always write three body paragraphs because I feel it is safer to get a high score. I have never tried to write two well-written body paragraphs. It is good to know that with two well-developed paragraphs we can still get good score. Thanks!.

Hi, I am very sorry for the agony that you have been undergone. If I were you, I would applying for regular rescoring. The reason is that there is a big fluctuation in scoring process of ETS. If you feel good about your scores, you should give it a try. The rescore process is taken by two experts; therefore, you would probably have a better chance. Since your complaint is not common in the ETS process and ETS is also not a thoughtful guy, it may take time and may go to nowhere. You are not alone in this hard battle. Good luck!

It appears in the instruction of the independent writing test, it should be 300 words long, not must be. I am sorry for the mistake. However, if you write 250-300 words, it is very difficult to get "Good" in this section. This is my personal experience because I used to get stuck at 20-21 by doing this. Since I changed the strategy after working with a tutor on this forum, I always get 25-29 consistently (provided that your integrated section is also good) and never feel worried about this section.

I don't agree with Tino. The independent essay must be at least 300 words according to the requirement. As my personal experience, to get 25 or more in this part, I always write 5 paragraphs : introduction, body 1, body 2, body 3, conclusion. In each body paragragh, you must be very specific. If you can do so, your essay will usually be about 380-400 words. I have never got less than 25 by doing this consistently. Hope this help.

I think Mr. Renshaw may have some problems with ETS, that is why he stopped running this business. On one of his TOEFL lectures, he said that he used to be ibt TOEFL rater and he did score more than 5,000 applications (incredible, right?). I assume that ETS has something to deal with him. That's is just my assumption. His lessons are really valuable and address to what real raters want because he was a real TOEFL rater. I feel very sorry that he is not around to continue his business and help test takers. For those who have registered his service, you can dispute the charge with your creditor and get your money back. For my case, I did not dispute to get my money back even though he has never scored my responses, just letting me access the online lectures and tips. Because of his valuable tips, I decided not to dispute the charge. Unfortunatley, newer registers are even unable sign up for his lectures now. fpgeetaker

Hi Mr. Renshaw, I am one of the people who signed up for your service. You have not scored any responses for three months. I submitted all responses sucessfully on your website. A lot of people submitted responses but have not received any score from you. I do not think you did not recognize this problem. If you have not received them by email, you still can log in your website to score.I did receive your email confirmation after registering the service asking password and user ID. You did let me use the password I chose, whic means that you received the email. After that, I could not contact with you. I sent you many emails after that but did not hear anything from you. I like your service but I feel a bit frustrated about your customer service. I just want to warn everybody that before sign up for the service, try to contact to Mr. Renshaw first. His service is great provided that he does what he commits on his website. fpgeetaker

ETS is doing faster than ever before (It may due to not many people are taking TOEFL or it may be economic recession????). You will get sooner result, rescore and refund. Do not fax document to ETS because their fax machine always gets stuck. Just mail your requests to them. It may take a couple of days but it is more convenient. quattro11, I also got rescore result in 3 -5 days. Check your result more often. Good luck!

If you want to stay here and wait until next year, you can maintain your F1 status by enrolling in other classes. I know some people enrolled simple courses in college so that they did not pay high tuition (their purpose is to stay in the U.S legally). If not, you have to return your country. Good luck to you!

Hi, You should bring your passport if you are a foreigner. If you are a U.S citizen, ID or driver license is fine. You do not need to bring scratch paper and pencil because ETS will give you those things. Good luck!

Why some people have their posts moderated? I left the forum for a while and did not know what happened. I don't read all what they posted, but some people did contribute to the forum at a certain stage.

Hi Khadija, You're welcome. I did follow that pattern and I usually get 25-28 in the writing part. I do not think this score is the best, but it is more than enough to us. Unfortunately, I could not make 26 in the speaking part so far. If I did, I would be willing to share my tips. Good luck!

Hi Googles123, I agree with you. You are not the only one who complains ETS. There are lots of victims of ETS including me. I do not want to make a comment on the quality of the test. What I am upset is that their raters. They are unqualified, unstandardized and irresponsible although ETS claims that there are 4 raters who rate our responses at the time. Sometimes, I did not do well but they give me the higher score than I had expected. Sometimes I did very good but they turn me down by a very low score. They make me question about myself. I lose trust in myself. Finally, I draw a bitter lesson that dealing with ETS is more risky than going to Las Vegas. It is painful to let our destiny on other people's hands. Because of my career, I still keep going. ETS is making big money from people like me. I have no choice because this is the only organnization who can certify my English ability. I am like a poor sitting duck. Please be reminded that I am not a lazy one. I got very good scores in other parts of the test except the Speaking part. I do not just complain and do nothing. I keep practicing English every single day. People around me see my improvement except ETS.

Hi, It is one of the steps that you have passed through. You also have to wait for NABP reply because NABP will review other relevant documents such as license, registration,....

If I were you, I would find a sponsor to work under H1B visa at the time your girlfriend come to the U.S. You do not need to get married to her until she gets the citizenship in 2013. This way you do not need to file F1 visa but still can earn money. If your relationship went wrong before wedding (just supposedly), you could still stay in the U.S for 6 years. This is the good time to ask your employer to process green card.

Your attorney will let you know what paperwork you need to submit. The attorney will know when is the best time to apply for H1B. They will urge you finish the paperwork before April 1 or ASAP if they are hired to process your case.

Hi PTS, I do not have experience of finding a H1B job in pharmacy field. However, I had a friend who sought for a H1B job agency. This agency is not specific in any field of job. As a result, he lost money for nothing. The agency just submitted his resume to any company that seems fit to his qualifications. This kind of thing (find companies and submit resume) we can do ourselves, I think. Please take a good care in choosing a prestigious consultant or agency. Good luck!

Hi Orwa, In theory, you can apply H1B visa from April 1 to Oct 1 every year. However, the visa ran out quickly recent years. Over the past two years (2007-2008), the cap reached right on the first day (April 1). All applicants who applied during April 1-5 had to get through the lottery. The later applicants had to wait until next April. We do not know for sure about this year, especially in this economic crisis. Anyway, it is best if you could find the sponsor and finish all paperwork before April 1 or ASAP. Good luck to you!

Hi Malik, It is fine to write more than 300 words. The more you write, the higher score you will get provided that you do not digress from the main topic. It is hard to gain a high score when writing a 300 -word essay because you may not give enough specific details and examples to support your idea. Please remember that the main core to get a high score is to write as specific as possible.

Hi Vanilla, Thanks for your information. Hope we all get good news from NABP.

Hi Champs, There is still little hope in theory. If the quota of 65,000 does not reach very soon, you may apply for H1B. This did not happen over the past two years (2007-2008) because the cap reached right on April 1. I heard that in previous years, the cap reached a couple of months later. Who knows what may happen in this economic crisis. Good luck to you!

Hi, The old test will not be canceled even if you take the other one. Each test has its own score report and is filed separatedly. It is best if you do not ask ETS to send your score to NABP until you pass TOEFL. At that time, you can request ETS to send any of your scores provided that the score is within two years. Good luck to you!

Lara, Check the newsletter of Nov-December 2008, page 188. NABP mentions "IN SPRING" not "END OF SPRING".

Hi Orwar, In general, we can apply H1B visa from April 1 every year. The visa will be valid since October of that year if it is approved by USCIS. Therefore, I think that you should find the sponsor and finish all paperwork before April 1. This is because the quota for H1B runs out very soon. Over the past two years (2007-2008), the cap of 65,000 reached right on the first day. The extra applicants who applied from April 1-5 had to go through the lottery.

ETS usually releases TOEFL result before 15 working days. You guys may receive the result before this Friday. However, ETS sometimes releases the result after 15 business days. Good luck to you!