Hi, does anyone know whether the TOEFL requirement (100 points) for undergraduate admmissions is a cutoff score? Will my application be turned down if I apply with a score 6 points below that requirement?
Thanks in advance.
Per their [website](https://collegeadmissions.uchicago.edu/apply/applicants/international/#english-proficiency):
So while the 100 is not set in stone, it is unlikely that they would admit a 94. After all, the language of instruction is English, and all students are expected to be able to understand the material. UChicago is not going to admit anyone that they think will be unable to handle the work.
While 100 is not an absolute requirement, most international applicants will have scores much higher than that. I was accepted with a 116, and this was many years ago.
Remember, too, that there is a substantial humanities and social sciences core curriculum at Chicago, most of which should be completed during the first two academic years there. They involve a LOT of reading difficult materials and writing about them. Someone who had only scored 94 on the TOEFL (or, for than matter, 100) would be at a huge disadvantage in those classes. It’s not like many other universities, where a student can come in and take almost all STEM courses plus a rudimentary freshman composition course.
Trust me, a 94 is no where near being enough. UChicago is an extremely rigorous school, and a 94 just won’t cut it. Sure, you have a slim chance of being accepted, but you will sure struggle a ton, I mean a TON at this school. I scored 112 my freshman year going into an extremely difficult prep school, and I struggled a crap load in humanities. I was getting Cs, making stupid grammatical errors, writing awkward sentences, etc… Trust me, it did not feel good, and that was only high school. Now, take a minute to contemplate what a 94 would do to you at a school like UChicago. I’m sorry to sound harsh, but that’s the sad truth and I don’t want to give you false hopes.
English normally is the major obstacle for a successful international student ANYwhere in the US. I remember I had to read 35 books in an advanced english class and the final was a 50 pages typed book report in a State School, that was about 1 book every three days. I think the bar is much higher in a school like Uchicago.
Echoing above, I was averaging 400 pages of fairly dense reading a week my first two quarters. The TOEFL cutoff isn’t just UChicago admissions being unnecessarily mean, you are unlikely to even pass hum, civ, and sosc without a strong grasp of English.