Hi guys
I am 18yr old green card holder and English is not my first language.
I am planning to apply college for fall 2018.
I heard toefl is recommended but not mandatory.
Yes, I went to high school in US. (Since we do live here)
Do I need to hand in the score? I don’t want to get rejected because I don’t have toefl scores.
If you attended and will graduate from a HS in the US, it is highly unlikely that TOEFL would be required. But you should double check with your target colleges for all of their testing requirements.
What are your SAT/PSAT/ACT results like?
I believe TOEFL scores are only for international students. Citizens and permanent residents (such as green-card holders) do not need to take it.
Each college sets its own requirements, look them up. it is usually based on the language of instruction in high school if other than English.
Incorrect; there is no standard. Each college sets its own rules, so a general statement like that cannot be made. A person can be a US citizen by birth and not be proficient in English if, for example, he was born and raised in Ulan Bator. So again, the OP needs to check the requirements of his/her target colleges.
Did you take ESL classes while in high school? If so, TOEFL scores can be used to your advantage, to show you took classes in your second language (English) and did well.
If not, it’s typically not required but check with eaxh college.
You need to check each and every college and university that you apply to about this. If you cannot find the information on their website, contact admissions and ask. Each place sets their own policy. It can be surprising to find out what a given institution requires! For example, the community college where I teach requires that anyone who studied for fewer than 10 years in schools in the US must take the ESL placement exam.