A large number of students venture abroad to get a higher education, especially to countries like United States, Australia, Canada, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.
There are many reasons why students choose to study abroad, including job prospects and ease of admission. From the paradigm of students who decide to study overseas cite extreme competition and unrealistic criteria to seek admission in their desired trade.
Read More: Exams for Studying in the UK
While on the other hand, many of the postgraduate students decide to study abroad based on experiencing a new environment and culture and own a strong desire to have international exposure to working and living abroad.
Most of the students who wish to pursue undergraduate courses abroad are influenced by the highly competitive and unrealistic admission criteria in their countries.
Read More: Can You Study Abroad Without IELTS?
Table of Contents
Popular Competitive Exams to Study Abroad:
Here are the following competitive exams to study abroad:
- IELTS
- TOEFL
- GRE
- GMAT
- SAT
- LSAT
- MCAT and many others
IELTS:
IELTS test is used to find out your English language proficiency for immigration, educational and professional purposes. This exam is usually recognized by about 10,000 organizations all over the world and is conducted within 900 test centres across 140 countries. Moreover, nearly about 2 million people take this exam yearly.
Read More: Can You Study Abroad Without IELTS?
And if your previous education is not in the English language, you would then need to submit your IELTS exam score as a part of your application. So, the IELTS exam will check four areas of your English skills, including listening, reading, speaking, and writing.
How Can You Register for IELTS?
You need to register for the IELTS exam and fill in the application form if you want to sit in the exam. First, check the exam dates of your nearest exam centres and carefully note down any registration deadlines.
If you have found a period, then ask your institution for what type of exam they are looking for. International English Language Test is the world’s most popular English language test taken by students that are planning to study abroad.
Read More: How To Study in Canada Without IELTS?
This exam is considered beneficial by many global educational institutions, employers, professional and government bodies. This exam tests your English skills regarding a new job or shifting abroad.
Sections in IELTS Exam:
IELTS exam expects students to be familiar with British, English, Australian, and American accent. This exam comprises of two parts named as IELTS academic and general training.
The primary difference between the format of these two tests is that the reading and writing section in the case of the academic section is based on newspaper or other research article content while in General training, topics are based on social issues.
The examination time is 2 hours and 45 minutes. The candidate is ranked on band score 9. The range of scores in the IELTS exam varies from 0-9.
TOEFL:
TOEFL is a test to check someone’s abilities in the English language. It is mostly taken by non-native speakers of the language looking to enrol in degree programs of foreign countries.
Only a few immigration departments use the score of the TOEFL exam for issuing residential and work visas as well. It has been observed that more than 900 colleges accept the scores of TOEFL, including the top 100 in the US. Recent statistics show that over 27 million people in the world have taken the TOEFL test.
Read More: Exams for Studying Abroad
Skills Tested in the TOEFL Test:
This exam is valid for about two years and can be conducted both computers based or paper-based testing. So, English skills, including reading, writing, listening, and speaking of the candidates, are checked. All the questions need to be answered in about 200-250 minutes.
It is expected from students to answer the questions in listening, structure and written expression, and also comprehension. The TOEFL exam is one of the three major English language proficiency tests taken by students who are planning to study abroad.
The scores of the TOEFL test range from 0 to 120 points for the IBT test version while for PBT 310-677. The writing test is not part of an individual final score and is rated on a scale of 0-6.
GRE:
The applicants of business school and prospective graduate from all over the globe that is interested in pursuing a master’s or post-graduation in the field of business applications for the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test.
Universities which Require GRE Test:
GRE test is a requirement to study in universities of North America (Canada and USA). It is used as admission formality or as a selection criterion for many jobs. The GRE test is indeed available in more than 160 countries.
While in many countries, this test is conducted on the computer regularly throughout the year. The validity of the GRE test is for five years after the test date.
The educational testing service (ETS) is responsible for conducting this test. The duration of the complete GRE test is 3 hours and 45 minutes. It has three parts consisting of verbal, qualitative, and Analytical writing.
GMAT:
GMAT is a Graduate Management Admission Test. It is used to access analytical writing and problem-solving skills that are essential in real-world business and management success.
Purpose of GMAT Test:
The primary purpose of GMAT is to get admission to graduate management programs such as MBA. It is accepted by more than 6000 business and management programs worldwide in more than 140 countries. GMAT has more than 600 test centres all over the world.
The validity of the GMAT test is about over five years. It is developed to test the reasoning skills of candidates. It has four sections including Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), Integrated Reasoning (IR), Verbal Reasoning (VR), and Qualitative Reasoning (QA) respectively.
Other Entrance Exams:
There are many different tests if you wish to study abroad, such as SAT, PTE Academic, ACT, MCAT, and LCAT. Many universities take SAT in the United States for admission to undergraduate programs.
The main objective of this test is to see how the student handles the university curriculum. PTE (Pearson Test of English) is one of the world’s leading computer-based tests conducted for immigration purposes or to study abroad.
Conclusion:
Before you decide to study abroad in any discipline, then first search out which entrance exam is mandatory for your program of interest.
