Master's Degrees
This article is the guide for international students only.
I took both. And this is my comparison.
Where the IELTS lost me
- Most of the accents and writing style are British, Australian, or New Zealand. Those aren't accents I'm familiar with.
- A lot of trick questions.
- Back then, the IELTS was a paper-based test. For the writing section, you hold a pen and write nonstop for an hour. My hand got tired, and that pulled my focus away.
What worked on the TOEFL
- Most of the accents and style are American.
- The topics and conversations are about student life and lectures at American universities. I was comfortable with that style because my bachelor's program was heavy on theory and scientific research methods.
- There are no trick questions meant to catch you out.
- It leans toward understanding the material and picking the answer, which is my strength.
- It's a computer-based test, and I can type for an hour straight without a problem.
The TOEFL tests everything at once
The TOEFL is an integrated test, which means no skill is tested on its own.
In Listening, you read a passage, listen to a lecture, then answer questions about what you read and heard.
In Speaking, you read a passage, listen to a lecture, then summarize what you read and heard out loud.
In Writing, you read a passage, listen to a lecture, then write about what you heard and read.
That's why plenty of people call the TOEFL harder than the IELTS. You're using several skills at once, pulling information together, and analyzing it.
For me, that was the strength. I'd been practicing those skills since my undergraduate lectures.
My take
This integrated format got me used to studying in the U.S. In class, you're reading the material, listening to the lecture, and discussing it with the professor and your classmates, all at the same time.
Which one is easier, the IELTS or the TOEFL, comes down entirely to the person taking it.
I only recently found out that the TOEFL changed its format earlier this year. I'll write a separate breakdown of the new structure.
Preparing your application? Here's what a U.S. master's application includes.
