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Last Updated: February 22, 2021

Minimum requirement of TOEFL scores

US schools are always keen to specify the minimum scores they demand to accept applications of students. This is especially true when it comes to International applicants who require TOEFL scores to even apply for admission. Since TOEFL doesn’t specifically have a fail grade, it is important to understand what minimum score you should receive to get admission to the college of your choosing.

It is also important that you realize that this measurement is relative and depends completely on the university/ college. The “good” score varies from college to college and sometimes even students with extremely low TOEFL scores are conditionally admitted if they agree to take extra English courses during the semester. You should also keep in mind that there are universities and colleges that prefer an IELTS score instead of the TOEFL score. And there are even institutions that do not require any of these and only demand a great college application. So do not feel disheartened if you are not able to reach the minimum requirements of places.

What is a Good TOEFL Score?

Good scores for proficiency tests are scores that can help you receive admission to the college of your choosing. A safe TOEFL score to aim for would be a 100 or above since it can secure admission in more than half the colleges in the US. But generally, a score above 85 is considered to be a decent score to achieve on TOEFL. As it can be assumed, the better colleges in the country would demand a better TOEFL score.

Required and Recommended TOEFL Score

Colleges and universities will often include information regarding the required score and the recommended score. When you see a number that is easily achievable, it is most probably going to be a required score which is the bare minimum you require to be considered for admission. On the other hand, a recommended score is given for depicting how they would prefer students with this score to those with the bare minimum.

Aim for the recommended score over the required score since the student who receives a score close to the recommended score is sure to be considered sooner for admission than the hundreds of others with the required score. Aim higher, score higher and get admitted to the course and college of your choice.

List of Minimum TOEFL Scores for US Colleges

Since it is hard to visit every site to find the minimum TOEFL score they need, and since it would be better if you could utilize the same time for practice, we have accumulated the scores on this page. We have provided a shortlist of universities and their recommended TOEFL Scores. Some departments/colleges might be flexible and don't use them as hard cut-off scores (if your overall profile is exquisite). Universities might still accept your application.

MIT

MIT - iBT 90; 577 PBT
MIT Graduate Mechanical Engineering - 100 IBT
MIT Graduate EECS- iBT 100
MIT Graduate Economics " iBT 100

Stanford

Stanford Graduate Economics - iBT 100, CBT 250; PBT 600
Stanford Business School - TOEFL iBT 100; PBT 600.
As per EE department: if your TOEFL is lower than min. The requirement you can still apply if you are admitted you might have to take English courses.

UCLA

Graduate school - iBT 87; PBT 560
Undergraduate school - iBT 100
EE - Graduate program - iBT 87

UT - Austin

School of Information- iBT 79
Graduate School- iBT 79
School of Journalism " iBT 79,
Mechanical Engineering (graduate program)- iBT 79.

Columbia University

Undergraduate admissions - iBT 100.
School of Arts -iBT 100
Graduate (CS) " iBT 101
Graduate (law school- iBT 105

University of Florida

Warrington School of Business- iBT 80
Department of Computer & Information Science & Engineering " iBT 80

NCSU

Undergraduate-iBT 85
Graduate- iBT 80
Graduate ECE -iBT 90

Rutgers

Graduate School- iBT 79
College of Nursing/Pharmacy " iBT 100

ASU

Graduate school " iBT 80
Carey School of Business " iBT 80
School of Molecular Sciences -iBT 100
Engineering(graduate) -iBT 80

Iowa State University

Undergraduate " iBT 71
Graduate - iBT 81
Graduate - Mechanical Engineering - iBT 79

Finding your Required Score

The method of searching for the required TOEFL score varies according to whether the program you want to enroll in is Undergraduate or Graduate. Due to the limitation we face in listing the hundreds of colleges on this page, we have listed down the procedure you can follow in order to find your required minimum score.

Undergraduate Program
For undergraduate programs, a college/ university will generally have an overall score rather than scores pertaining to each course. The score will then be general for all the courses the institution offers. To search for this score, all you have to do is type in the name of the institution and Google search it along with the keyword “TOEFL required to score”. If this does not yield immediate results, you can always sift through their official site for this information. It will be available in the sections dedicated to International students or FAQs.

Postgraduate Program For postgraduate programs, the process of finding the required score is more complex considering how a university will have differing TOEFL required scores according to the course. This can be both above or below the required score of the university as we have demonstrated above in the list. To find this, you will have to comb through the official site of your program or department. If the information is not readily available, you may have to view pages dedicated to international students.

What next if I don’t have the Minimum Score?

If you have a very good profile and if your TOEFL score is lower than the minimum requirement, there is still a chance. You might get conditional admission (you might have to take English classes etc.). Since all courses are taught in English, a good understanding of English is crucial. If you are planning to study in the USA, it's highly recommended to schedule your TOEFL exam in advance and prepare well for TOEFL (make sure you get a good score in ETS prep software before appearing for the actual Test).

TOEFL is required for non-native English speakers. If you are a non-native speaker but you have completed your last degree in countries like UK, Canada, the US, Australia, New Zealand your TOEFL requirement might be waived.


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