Hi,
I am an international student and my TOEFL Score is 96. I know Yale requires a minimum of 100 but I wanted to know if they are strict about the 100 requirement. Bad day huh? Only 4 points.
I don’t have time to retake the test so did I lose my chance this year?
Will they read my application?
Thank you.
In some Yale courses students are expected to read 200 to 300 pages of dense written English per week and submit a 10-page reflection, again in English, on the material they read. Admissions doesn’t want to admit an international student and set them up for failure because they didn’t have the English proficiency needed to succeed. For example: can you easily tackle the English on this handout from Yale’s Writing Center?: http://ctl.yale.edu/sites/default/files/basic-page-supplementary-materials-files/introduction_analysis2.pdf
Admissions is very strict about the minimum of 100 on the TOEFL – in fact, the minimum is noted on Yale’s website. If you submit your application with a 96, your file WILL NOT be read. My guess is that admitted international students probably score 110+ on the TOEFL, So you while you are only 4 points short of the minimum, you have a ways to go to be a competitive international student in terms of your English proficiency.
It’s important to note that the TOEFL is not required, but recommended for some applicants. If you submit it with a 96, there is a zero chance of getting in, however if you don’t send it, they may question your English proficiency but there may be some nonzero chance of getting in.
Yale and Columbia REQUIRE TOEFL for international students. My SAT CR and W scores are pretty low so if I send they will reject because it’s under 100, if I don’t send they will reject because I didn’t send TOEFL and SAT is low. Either way there is a rejection.
This actually is a sad story because my Yale interview was awesome. It’s OK, I heard interviews don’t matter a lot anyway.
@isitan, it’s not a sad story, unless you waste time and energy on a situation that is never going to happen. Find a situation that’s a better fit. There’s a reason they have a hard cutoff on the TOEFL.
Side note: when I was applying to graduate school, I was an international student. Although I had 700+ on the GREs and 90+ on the Miller’s, some schools wanted me to take the TOEFL.
@isitan
Let me emphasize
Yale does not require TOEFL scores from any applicant
WOW! Just wow. I feel great because I had the Yale interview, and thinking that I’m not applying anyway, I was so relaxed that I killed the interview, like a Boss.
Do you think if I should report my 96 or not?
I probably stand a very low chance anyway, my first SAT was CR:390 M:660 W:390 Essay:8
Now I have taken the SAT again, I assume it will be like CR:Between 500-600 M:Over 690 W:Have no idea
Since my Critical reading and Writing Scores are low, do you think if a 96 of TOEFL would push me up or affect the application in a bad way?
Thank you, I owe you one 
Your CR and W scores of 390 each are enough to kill your application to every college I can think of – even a community college. Your TOEFL score of 96 just reinforces your bad CR and W scores. IMHO, you are wasting your time and money applying to any US college at this time with those scores.
FWIW: A score of 500 on the CR and W would be good enough for a community college. A score of 600 might be good enough for a school such as Boston University or New York University. For Yale your CR and W scores need to be 700+.
@isitan You should NOT report your TOEFL. You did not meet the minimum score required and will therefore be rejected based on that alone. However, as @gibby pointed out (validly), you don’t stand much of a chance anyways
As seen on page 9 of the 2014-15 CDS, no matriculated student scored below 500 on any section of the SAT.