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Joined: 08 Nov 2010
Posts: 204
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Q50 V41
GPA: 3.9
WE 1: Business Development
TOEFL Debrief - 115
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12 Aug 2011, 13:14
Hey all,
I just got my scores today - total of 115.
reading 30, Listening 29, Speaking 27, Writing 29
I was surprised to get 29 on the listening because during practices I had zero mistakes but anyway I am pleased with the score and I hope it will serve me well in the future.
Tips: TOEFL as it is right now is LOW TECH comparing to GMAT centers. The facilities - at least in the center I took the test in were below any normal standard. Old computer screens that makes your eyes work hard to read (no focus), noisy surrounding and more. It is important to be mentally ready for it. I expected something very quiet and relaxing and it really bothered me to find this very different surrounding (esp at the beginning of the test). Be prepared.
The exam was scheduled at 0800am but started only around 0900am due to technical problems. In short - very low service level of the test center.
What I used to study?
Princeton review book.
The official IBT.
Free tests that I found on the web. Studied for 3 days or so. Few hours at night. Mostly - worked on the speaking part because I felt this was my weak spot (as you can see on the scores).
I used the great tips from the sticky posts of Gmatclub. These videos are very useful. I used most of their tips and it worked like a charm during the test.
Reading - I know for a fact that I had few mistakes because on practices I never succeeded this summarize questions... but I still got 30. So I have no idea how they calculate the scores.
Listening - WAS VERY LONG. It pretty easy to complete. Most important is to keep high level of concentration during this whole section. It can be very tiring.
Speaking - As I said - sticky posts is a must.
Writing - 1st was very clear to understand and combining the reading and listening parts was pretty easy. I wrote about 350 words here. I wrote a short passage to start with, so I made sure I have all the info inside my essay and than - added as much info as I could. Was not a hard task.
2nd essay - I made a very basic structure -
1st para - Opening
2nd para - My opinion and what opponents might claim against it.
3rd para - An example and what opponents might say about it.
Conclusion.
For conclusion - If your english level is ok, you must make some effort on the speaking. It is important to be familiar with the sections and the way the IBT is asking the questions. the official IBT book is very good and I would recommend it over princetone's. In addition - the online question bank that the ETS supplies is also very good and important to use.
I would be happy to help if anyone need any help with this test (If I can help...)
Thank Gmatclub. Have a great weekend guys.