While 120 is the highest score a TOEFL test-taker can earn on the iBT, individual schools decide what minimum score to accept. Elite institutions demand high scores, often setting the bar at 100. Some colleges and universities admit students with much lower scores.
Florida Institute of Technology, which had the third-largest percentage of international students among National Universities in 2019-2020, requires a minimum iBT score of 79 for regular admission, if a student is using the TOEFL to demonstrate English proficiency.
According to U.S. News data, international students comprised 24% of Florida Tech’s student body in 2019-2020. Stacey Reeder, Florida Tech’s associate director of international admission and liaison for international programs, credits the high proportion to thriving programs focused on STEM, the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.
The University of Oregon, in contrast, requires a minimum TOEFL score of 61 for entry into the school’s Academic English for International Students Global Bridge program, which offers a mix of language and regular academic courses. Students scoring lower may be offered conditional admission, beginning regular courses after completing UO’s Intensive English Program.
“The standard reflects our commitment to internationalization. We know that many students who are interested in studying in the U.S. need a little help with English,” says Dennis Galvan, dean and vice provost in the university’s Division of Global Engagement, noting that Oregon has first-year programs designed to acclimate international students to the English language as they begin their courses of study.
Conditional admission is a common feature at many universities, which accept international students scoring below published minimum TOEFL requirements on the condition they take English courses.
However, TOEFL scores give institutions a good sense of a student’s English competency, which is still important to admissions officers. “A student cannot be successful in the classroom without a certain level of (English) proficiency,” Reeder says.