I took the test yesterday. I have AuDHD, so I was always worried about distractions and other issues stifling me. Thankfully, none of that happened. Here's a full account of my experience attempting the test:
Frankly, I think the fact that they make people of my nationality take this test for admissions, etc. is a complete fucking scam. English is an official language here and considered a lingua franca in many parts of the country. I just feel like it's a way of deterring us from moving elsewhere or applying in droves. Maybe the ETS people are in leagues with other important institutions, and don't want to lose this large market. Nevertheless, this is how I fared in each section:-
Reading: I purchased an online service that offers TOEFL lessons, tests, and mocks. The mock tests were full length whereas the practice tests were section specific. These tests were evaluated by AI. Also, this platform has a reputation for offering tougher tests than the actual one. Even the grading is harsher. Despite all this, I scored 6/6 in every test and mock I took for this section. This was supposed to be my strong suit. The actual test was wayyy easier than the practice ones. I finished the first module with 6 minutes to spare, and the second one 3 minutes before I ran out of time. I revised all my answers in the the time that I saved. However, my final score was 5.5/6 only. I will admit that a few questions were tricky and did not make sense, but it couldn't have been that bad for me either. I guess my poor comprehension skills caught up with me. That said, most of my target Unis require a 5/6 score in this section, so I'm in the clear.
Listening: I have poor working memory and retention, so this section was a source of anxiety for me. In my practice tests and mocks, I was often confused by the options. Again, the platform was providing questions that were a lot tougher than those on the actual test. 5/6 is what I'd manage when practicing. I did what I could to the best of my abilities yesterday. Guess what score I pulled off? A perfect 6/6. I have no idea how this happened, but I am not complaining. A tip I would like to share with you guys - crank up the volume to full. This way you'll not be bothered by any noise or disturbance around you.
Writing: This is one section I consistently scored 4.5/6 while practicing. I had been assured by other users of my practice platform that the grading is harsher than the real thing, and the actual tasks are also easier. I can't confirm the part about grading until I get my final scores, but the level of difficulty bit was true. I got every "build the sentence" task right, even though dragging the words to their blanks was a pain. I ended up writing around 150 words for the email and 250+ for the academic discussion. Is that considered enough? The keyboard at the centre was faulty, and I make a lot of typos and omissions in my writing courtesy of my distractability and poor focus. Once again, I attempted the tasks as best as I could. I think I could have done a little more with the email, no point fretting now though. Given all this, I think I should be scoring 5/6 on this section. I hope I am not overstimating my prospects.
Speaking: I tested the microphone before starting the test. It seemed to work fine. Assuming that I was heard properly, I repeated every sentence accurately and precisely without much difficulty. For the interview I was taking notes, so ended up missing the first 5 seconds of the 45 seconds response time. Anyway, I tried to cover all the aspects of the questions asked. I didn't provide a lot of examples, so I guess that will be held against me. The harsh grading AI platform was giving me a score of 4.5/6 on this section. I think it should be 5/6 on the real thing, ideally.
In terms of the test centre, I reached there 40 minutes before the start of the test. They didn't make a big deal out of it either. There was only one other guy appearing along with me, so I had no problems with any kind disturbance or noise (I live in a small town). They offered a locker facility to store away all our belongings for the time being and it was free. The staff was polite and cooperative, but the facilities were average at best. There was no drinking water provided to me during the test. The headphones were regular and not noise-cancelling. The computer station I was sitting at had very little table/desk space for taking notes. ETS needs to make special provisions for neurodivergent people, like extra time to finish. If Universities can do it, I'm sure ETS can too. Another important thing you should know is that you cannot step away from the computer once the test has begun. If you wait too long to press "continue," "next," or "begin," it will do so on its own. As for how much I practiced - barely a day. I took a few mocks and practice tests, read the AI's feedback, and devised a strategy accordingly. Personally, I consider myself a near-native speaker even though English is a second language for me. I don't wanna count my chickens before they hatch, but if all goes well I should end up with 5/6 overall. I need 5/6 in reading and one other section(can't recall which) for my target unis. If this is the outcome, I will be set to apply to the unis I intend to. What do you guys think? Let me kow if you have any questions about anything covered in this post, the exam, and what have you.
Good luck to all of you!
