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I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?

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grisselle27

Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 135
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Sun Apr 29, 2007 03:59 PM
Hi, my name is Grisselle. I'm panamenian. I'm 23 years old. I'm interested in getting a Master in Maritime Law and I want to apply for the academic year 2008-2009, and all of the schools that I want to apply require TOEFL or IELTS. The thing is that for the TOEFL I need 625(pbt) or 106(ibt) and for the IELTS 7.0. I want to know how hard is to get those scores and which one is better or easier. Share your experience.
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Taty

Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Fri May 04, 2007 11:45 AM
My overall results were 8.0 for the IELTS and I haven't practised at all. I've gallopped through the IELTS textbook though... So, I'd say that you should go for the IELTS!

The TOEFL iBT shall be crappy - the computer system breaks down quite often which leads to annoying delays.






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C.Miller


Joined: 02 Feb 2005
Posts: 278
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Fri May 04, 2007 12:54 PM
In my involvement for admissions for The University of Edinburgh, School of Law I have seen more applicants, by quite a sizeable margin, with IELTS certificates than with TOEFL certificates. This could mean many things, so I'm not offering any interpretation of the statistics.

I'm not sure that you should worry overly about which one is easiest, as the Universities have set different levels for each test, so the hope is that your standard of English will be comparable regardless of the test you take.

Also, don't forget the responsibility that falls on you once you are enrolled in a programme. There's no point finding ways to cut corners when you will be talking, reading and writing in English every day for your LL.M. Do the test preparation work thoroughly now, and you'll get off to a much better start when you're on-campus (or perhaps on-line if you choose distance learning).

good luck to you where ever you end up!

[Edited by C.Miller on 04 May 2007]
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Taty

Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Fri May 04, 2007 03:35 PM
I think that neither the IELTS nor the TOEFL results say anything about ones capability of speaking, listening or writing academic English. I've heard about students who have scored impressively high (due to an intense preparation for the specific test format (TOEFL)) without being able to say three conversational sentences in a row at the end of the day...
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grisselle27

Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 135
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Wed May 09, 2007 04:45 PM
Thank you Taty and C.Miller. Everything you said is true. Do you think that I can apply before taking the test?
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Taty

Joined: 15 Jun 2006
Posts: 11
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Fri May 11, 2007 09:00 AM
Yep, in my experience, you don't have to attach your results to you application. You will then receive a conditional offer and are required to submit the results before date X. It might vary from law school to law school though.
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grisselle27

Joined: 27 Apr 2007
Posts: 135
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Sun May 27, 2007 01:51 AM
Thank you Taty, I wil take it in consideration.
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invictus88

Joined: 22 Apr 2008
Posts: 43
I need help-TOEFL or IELTS?
Mon Aug 11, 2008 04:34 AM
Hi, my name is Grisselle. I'm panamenian. I'm 23 years old. I'm interested in getting a Master in Maritime Law and I want to apply for the academic year 2008-2009, and all of the schools that I want to apply require TOEFL or IELTS. The thing is that for the TOEFL I need 625(pbt) or 106(ibt) and for the IELTS 7.0. I want to know how hard is to get those scores and which one is better or easier. Share your experience.


I took the TOEFL iBT but not the IELTS. I think the TOEFL entails less hassle than the IELTS, as from what I've heard, the IELTS entails a computer-based or pen-and-paper exam portion and another segment where you converse with an actual IELTS officer (these segments may take place on separate days). The iBT only requires you to sit through a 4-hour exam, with some portions requiring you to speak through a headset. The iBT is also cheaper than the IELTS. US universities generally require the TOEFL, while UK universities generally require the IELTS. I think, however, that either test score will be accepted. In my experience, UK universities accepted my TOEFL score even if their web sites indicated that they required the IELTS.

[Edited by invictus88 on 11 Aug 2008]
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