{"id":144,"date":"2013-11-29T09:31:33","date_gmt":"2013-11-29T17:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=144"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:47:36","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:47:36","slug":"things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you think about it, taking the TOEFL is really a relatively quick and painless way to prove your level of English. It allows schools to outsource the vetting of international candidates, which ultimately frees up the resources for them to consider more candidates; it\u2019s cheaper than an interview, and less time-consuming (for you and for the admissions office) than putting together a portfolio; it\u2019s more reliable and consistent than each institution creating its own placement test (imagine having to take not just one English proficiency exam, but five or ten or twenty)! That being said, it\u2019s not a perfect solution.\u00a0 Although Internet access has greatly improved matters, the test is still neither cheap nor convenient for you, the student. Here are some things to consider if you’re debating whether or not you should retake the TOEFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Don\u2019t get tunnel vision<\/h2>\n

When preparing applications, we\u2019ve all been tempted to obsess over a turn of phrase here, a point or two there. But with an investment of at least $150 and four hours (and that\u2019s if\u2014god forbid\u2014you don\u2019t study at all), you really don\u2019t want to take the test any more times than you have to. Below are a few things to consider before you decide whether it\u2019s worth taking the TOEFL a second (or third) time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Think practically<\/h2>\n

As tempting as it can be to get caught up in an endless quest for a perfect or near-perfect score, try to keep your eye on the prize: acceptance into your school you want to go to.\u00a0 How does your score compare to posted statistics? Are you above the minimum requirement? Are you scoring near the average score for accepted students? You can find the score requirements for many top universities (as well as how to find your particular requirements) in our TOEFL Scores<\/a> Infographic. If your scores don’t meet these requirements, a retake (and some targeted studying<\/a>) may be in your future. If, on the other hand, you can answer yes to these questions, then move on to #2; a retake\u2014and the few points it may win you\u2014 could be more trouble than it\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Look back.<\/h2>\n

Remember what test day was like. Was anything unusual going on? Were you sick? Had you slept very poorly before the exam? Did you arrive flustered and late, or were there other things going on in your life that distracted you during the exam? Of course, no one can take the test under perfect conditions. But if you think that unusual circumstances had a significant impact on your score, you may benefit from another try.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Look forward<\/h2>\n

Take a look at your calendar. You probably have a job. You may have classes.\u00a0 You have activities and hobbies and chores and friends who won\u2019t be happy if you drop off the face of the planet for three months to prepare for a test you already took. So before you go and register, stop and decide how much time you\u2019ll really<\/i> be able to commit to studying. If you can\u2019t be confident in at least a few hours of consistent study time each week, you may not get the boost you\u2019re looking for. If that\u2019s the case, then return to step #3. If you have a lot of room to improve, and you really need it to get into the school of your choice, then work out a study schedule, and plan on catching up with your friends and hobbies after test day. If retaking the test would just put a feather in your cap, then you can probably use your energy best elsewhere.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you think about it, taking the TOEFL is really a relatively quick and painless way to prove your level of English. It allows schools to outsource the vetting of international candidates, which ultimately frees up the resources for them to consider more candidates; it\u2019s cheaper than an interview, and less time-consuming (for you and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":47,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13597],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13632],"class_list":["post-144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retake"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThings to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If you think about it, taking the TOEFL is really a relatively quick and painless way to prove your level of English. It allows schools to outsource the vetting of international candidates, which ultimately frees up the resources for them to consider more candidates; it\u2019s cheaper than an interview, and less time-consuming (for you and […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-11-29T17:31:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:47:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Hardin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/\",\"name\":\"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-11-29T17:31:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318\",\"name\":\"Kate Hardin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Kate Hardin\"},\"description\":\"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake","og_description":"If you think about it, taking the TOEFL is really a relatively quick and painless way to prove your level of English. It allows schools to outsource the vetting of international candidates, which ultimately frees up the resources for them to consider more candidates; it\u2019s cheaper than an interview, and less time-consuming (for you and […]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL","article_published_time":"2013-11-29T17:31:33+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-10T21:47:36+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Kate Hardin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_site":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Hardin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/","name":"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2013-11-29T17:31:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/things-to-consider-before-a-toefl-retake\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Things to Consider Before a TOEFL Retake"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Online TOEFL Preparation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/83c4cb93b4b527f8404029efa19cf318","name":"Kate Hardin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/f695eb57ce131bb657ee5d3203ed66f9","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kate Hardin"},"description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow Kate on Google+!","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/kate\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13632,"user_id":47,"is_guest":0,"slug":"kate","display_name":"Kate Hardin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b8502df78e82e1b38fd3b3ef66174425ec804827b7270a78ea571396a998ee25?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Hardin","first_name":"Kate","description":"Kate has 6 years of experience in teaching foreign language. She graduated from Sewanee in 2012, where she studied and taught German, and recently returned from a year spent teaching English in a northern Russian university. Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/plus.google.com\/+KateHardin123?rel=author\">Kate on Google+<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/47"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}