A Guide to U.S. Master's Degree Programs for International Students
General Exams
TOEFL - the Paper and Pencil Exam
The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is a test of your ability
to understand north American English. The test assesses the proficiency of
people who speak English as a non-native language.
There are three sections on the TOEFL. Listening Comprehension is the section of the test that measures your ability to understand English as it is spoken in north America. The Structure and Written Expressions section measures your ability to recognize correct grammar in standard written English. The Reading Comprehension section measures your ability to read and understand short passages. You will also have to take a Test of Written English (TWE) which is a section that measures how well you can write an essay in English on an assigned topic.
More information can be found by contacting:
TOEFL
CN 6152
Princeton, NJ 08541-6152
USA
http://www.toefl.org
SAT & ACT
Standardized Tests designed to allow all college bound students to be judged
by the same common measuring techniques. These are the two major college entrance
examinations that are administered in the United States.School admissions
officers use these test scores to evaluate each individual student on their
own merrits and to predict their performance in the first year of college.
The SAT is broken into two parts; Mathematics and Verbal skills while the
ACT is broken into four parts; English, Math, Reading, and Science.
GRE
The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) measures an individual’s ability
to handle graduate level academics through verbal, quantitative, and analytical
reasoning questions. This examination is developed and administered by the
Educational Testing Service (ETS). Graduate school admissions officers use
the scores to gauge a student’s abilities and compare them to other
applicants.
The GRE is now a computer adaptive test (CAT). This means that you will take the test on a computer, no more pencils, ovals, and erasers. You only view one test question at a time and must answer it before you can view the next question. The questions increase in difficulty based on your ability to answer the question before it correctly. The computer selects the appropriate questions based on your answers and the test will continue this way until you have achieved the required mix of concepts and question types.
Each of the three sections that you are tested on, verbal, quantitative, and comprehension, are scored within a range of 200 to 800. You can score no higer that 800 nor lower that 200 on anyone section.
More information can be found by contacting:
Educational Testing Service
GRE Testing Program
CN 6000
Princeton, NJ 08541-6000
USA
http://www.gre.org
GMAT
The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) is used to measure academic
ability. It measures general verbal, mathmatical, and analytical writing,
and does not test business compentence or specific subject knowledge. GMAT
is also administered by the Educational Testing Services (ETS) and is readily
used by admissions offices. It is a standardized test and allows for predictability
when admissions committees are comparing the credentials of candidates from
vastly different backgrounds. GMAT can also be taken as a (CAT), Computer
Adaptive Test. GMAT test scores are valid for five years.
More information can be found by contacting:
GMAT
CN 6103
Princeton, NJ 08541-6103
USA
http://www.gmat.org
LSAT
This test was created by the Law School Admissions Council (LSAC or Law Services)
to determine and measure the critical reading and analytical thinking skills
needed for success in your first year of law school.
The LSAT consists of two parts; 175 minutes of multiple-choice testing questions and a thirty-minute writing sample. You will receive an overall score ranging from 120 to 180 for the two sections combined.
MCAT
To apply to a medical school in the United States you will be required to
take the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT). The MCAT is not a knowledge
based test but rather a test of your critical thought processes. It consists
of four and three-quarter hours of multiple-choice testing, plus one hour
devoted strictly to a writing sample. It is divided into four timed sections
always appearing in the same order: Verbal Reasoning, Physical Sciences, Writing
Sample, and Biological Sciences. Each section measures the higher order thinking
skills necessary to succeed in medical school, including analytical reasoning,
abstract thinking, and problem solving.
TSE
The Test of Spoken English (TSE) measures a non-native English speakers ability
to communicate orally in English. Various situations are described by a speaker
on an audiotape and the speaker also asks the questions for the non-native
English speaker to answer.
More information can be found by contacting:
c/o TOEFL
CN 6152
Princeton, NJ 08541-6152
USA
http://www.toefl.org
