{"id":20646,"date":"2019-08-25T13:52:46","date_gmt":"2019-08-25T18:52:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=20646"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:41:16","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:41:16","slug":"good-ielts-score-usa-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/ielts\/good-ielts-score-usa-canada\/","title":{"rendered":"What&#039;s a good IELTS score in USA and Canada?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many applicants believe that if you are applying to Colleges in the USA or Canada you need to take the <a title=\"Should I take the TOEFL or IELTS?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/toefl\/should-i-take-the-toefl-or-ielts\/\">TOEFL exam<\/a>. However, there are over 3,300 overall institutions that currently accept IELTS in the USA and 89 universities in Canada. These numbers are constantly growing. Although there is no minimum requirement for visa applications, there are quite strict requirements for applications for study in both the USA and Canada.<br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">As with any university application, you should first confirm the specific entry requirements for the university and program to which you are applying. However, we have broken down the general levels required in both countries, across different calibers of universities\/colleges, to give you a sense of what to expect.<\/span><br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_heading  avia-builder-el-first  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >IELTS scores required in Canada<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nThe top 3 universities in Canada (according to Times Higher Education University rankings 2018) require the below IELTS score for international applicants:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>University of Toronto:<\/strong> An overall band score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 6 in each exam section. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>University of British Columbia:<\/strong> An overall band score of 6.5, with a minimum score of 6 in each exam section. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>McGill University:<\/strong> An overall score of 6.5, with no minimum score by section. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">These scores reflect the fact that you are required to be at least a \u201cCompetent User\u201d in all skill sections, in order to be able to adequately take part in the English program on offer. \u00a0There are several universities that have a minimum score requirement of 5.5 as an overall IELTS band score: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Royal Roads University<\/strong> (Times rank 24<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> in Canada): 5.5 overall with a minimum 5.0 in each band. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Canadore College of Applied Arts and Technology<\/strong> (Times rank unknown): 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5.5 in each band. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>St. Clair College of Applied Arts and Technology<\/strong> (Times rank unknown): 5.5 overall with a minimum of 5 in each band. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >IELTS scores required in USA<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nThe top 3 colleges (according to Times Higher Education University rankings 2018) in the USA require students to be at least a \u201cGood User\u201d in order to successfully take part in their programs:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>California Institute of Technology (CalTech):<\/strong> 7 overall score<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT):<\/strong> 7 although this can differ between departments. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Harvard:<\/strong> 7.5 with a score of 7.5 or higher in each band score. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">There are many universities in the U.S. that require an overall score of 6, so require students to be at least a \u201cCompetent User\u201d to be able to take part in the program on offer. Examples include: <\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Rutgers-New Jersey and Camden Schools:<\/strong> 6.0 overall score<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>University of Wisconsin-Madison:<\/strong> 6.0 overall score <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Carnegie Mellon University:<\/strong> 6.0 overall score<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">N.B. Individual programs may differ in the score required. <\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although the US seems stricter in their English language proficiency required than some other countries, it is important to realize that the more focus you put into improving your overall English skills for academic use, the easier you will find it to excel in your chosen program of study. <\/span><br \/>\nWe should again emphasize that these are the minimum scores required for international student entry. In order for an application to be competitive students should ideally be scoring above this. Find out details on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptestglobal.com\/course\/ielts-prep?utm_source=kaptest.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=Blog%20article\">IELTS preparation<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptestglobal.com\/course\/ielts-free-resources?utm_source=kaptest.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=Blog%20article\">free practice resources<\/a> available.<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >How to get Top IELTS Scores<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nFirstly, for both the Reading and Writing modules, make sure you give an answer for every question. Even if you are well prepared for IELTS, you could find yourself missing some of the answers on the Listening module or running out of time in the Reading module \u2013timing is very tight for the Reading module. If you have a few questions that you haven\u2019t been able to answer fully, it is better just to guess and gain a chance of picking up the marks, rather than leaving questions unanswered.<br \/>\nIn the Writing module, make sure you read the question carefully, double check that you understand what you have been asked to do and make sure you answer the question as accurately and fully as possible. For example: If in Task 2 you are asked \u2018To what extent do you agree or disagree\u2019 you should discuss how much you, not other people, agree or disagree with the statement. Not answering the specific question given is one of the main reasons candidates are marked down.<br \/>\nIf you have a good level of English, you do not want to see your Writing\u00a0<a title=\"How is the IELTS Scored?\" href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/ielts\/how-is-the-ielts-scored\/\">band score<\/a>\u00a0(and thus your overall band score) go down because you failed to answer the question. On the plus side, if you do a good job of simply answering the questions that are asked, this will have the effect of boosting your score (for Task Achievement in Task 1 and\u00a0Task Response in Task 2), even if you are weaker in the other criteria, since you will score highly (closer to 9) in that first criterion. In addition, you have to make sure that you write enough words. For Task 1, you must write at least 150 words and for Task 2, at least 250 words. If you write less than these amounts, you will be deducted marks.<br \/>\nOf all the modules, test-takers will often find the Speaking module to be the most challenging, because Speaking is the module that is most affected by your personality. You may be a quiet and shy person who doesn\u2019t say very much even in your mother tongue, so you may find the Speaking interview particularly challenging. Unfortunately, the examiner can\u2019t take this into consideration, so you need to speak as much as you can. It helps to remember that the examiner, unlike a teacher, is looking for the positives in your English, so the more you can say, the more chance you have to get a higher score. Some candidates feel that there is a \u2018right\u2019 or a \u2018wrong\u2019 answer and that they will be judged on this. This is not the case; the examiner is only interested in how you express your ideas in English \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter what those ideas are.<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_promobox  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >What to do if your IELTS band score is not high enough<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<strong>If you didn\u2019t quite make the grade for your university or program of choice, there are several courses of action you can take: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><b>Retake the IELTS exam <\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The most obvious answer to improve your score is to go back and prepare thoroughly for the exam, especially the areas where your section band score was lowest, and then retake the IELTS test altogether. There is no limit to the number of times you can sit the exam and there are also no restrictions on when you can do this. The test maker advises simply to retake the exam once you feel ready. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.kaptestglobal.com\/course\/ielts-prep?utm_source=kaptest.com&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=Blog-article\">Find out information on the IELTS exam and preparation options<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Contact the university admissions office<\/b> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">All may not be lost with your current score. It is always worth contacting the university admissions office and speaking to someone to see if they will accept you based on your current score. This can be an easier option, particularly if the rest of your application is strong in other academic scores and\/or professional experience. The university could award you with a conditional offer, under the understanding that you complete some work on improving the weaker area of your English skill set. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Alternative university or programs<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another option would be to seek an alternative program that requires a lower IELTS score or the same program at a different university. Although for many students this is not an ideal option, it can be a way to achieve your end goal without needing to delay your application. However, we would still recommend that you work on improving your overall English skill level, as once you start a university program in English, this will be essential to keeping up and getting good grades throughout university.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Take a different English exam accepted by university<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A final option available can be to take a different English exam that is also accepted by your university, such as the TOEFL exam. You may find the differences between the exam formats and types of questions included lend themselves better to your overall testing preferences and skill set. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/toefl\/should-i-take-the-toefl-or-ielts\/\">Check out the differences between the IELTS and TOEFL exams<\/a>\u00a0and see for yourself.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\t<div   class='av_promobox  avia-button-yes   avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\nNeed some help prepping for the IELTS? Check out Kaplan&#8217;s resources.<\/p>\n<\/div><div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-right ' ><a href='https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/ielts\/books'  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color   avia-icon_select-no avia-size-large avia-position-right '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >IELTS Resources<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many applicants believe that if you are applying to Colleges in the USA or Canada you need to take the TOEFL exam. However, there are over 3,300 overall institutions that currently accept IELTS in the USA and 89 universities in Canada. These numbers are constantly growing. Although there is no minimum requirement for visa applications, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28970,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[362],"tags":[361],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20646"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20646"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20646\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34761,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20646\/revisions\/34761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}