TOEFL ibt???????

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm quite fluent in English, as I've lived in United States for over 10 years, and yet, I'm horrible at all standardized tests, due to time limits. </p>

<p>I don't really need to practice, necessarily, but i do need to know what kind of response the TOEFL ibt wants. For example, on essays, do they want a persuasive essay, normal essay just like in school with one theme and thesis and 3 body paragraphs with conclusion, or some other way?
I had 0 grammatical error, and they said it's pretty decent, but they gave me a low score like 2.5-3, which they call it "fair". </p>

<p>I got a score of 86, and i need 96 to pass the test.
I had no preparation, nothing in my hand, i did 1 online practice test before the actual test date to see how the system works, and i took the test right away the next morning.</p>

<p>Any advice? Understanding the passages in reading, is quite easy, but the problem is, solving it.
I don't know exactly what they mean by "infer", of course i know what it means, but do they want me to guess what will happen, or... TOEFL company probably have some way of answering this type of question quickly, and easily, and i need to know these strategies.</p>

<p>Are there any good TOEFL strategy book, or... online tutoring?.. online course?
Anything effective? I don't really need any tutoring or anytihng like that. i'm not at that level, but I'm just horrible with standardized tests, and i need to know how to attack these questions.</p>

<p>I got very high with 29 on listening, and speaking, but extremely low for reading and writing, although i get A's in High School (California).</p>

<p>Thanks.</p>

2

<p>If you have been living in the US and attending schools here where the medium of instruction is English, very very few colleges and universities will require a TOEFL score. They will want to see an ACT or SAT score instead. What colleges are on your list? Re-check their admissions requirements and find out for certain whether or not you really do need this exam.</p>

<p>My friend who teaches TOEFL prep recommends the Cambridge TOEFL prep book. In general, Princeton Review has the best prep materials for exam strategies. If you work your way through the strategy review material for the SAT, that would be good enough for most of the TOEFL as well.</p>

<p>If you have always been bad at standardized tests, and you’ve been taking them every year (or almost every year) for the past ten years that you have been in the US school system, then you need to trot yourself down to the guidance office and get yourself screened for dyslexia and related processing issues. If you have a formal diagnosis, you can request appropriate accommodations for your standardized exams. You also will be able to work with your counselors and teachers this year to develop the compensation skills that you are going to need for surviving in college.</p>