TOEFL is The Test Of English as a Foreign Language, which may have been recommended to you, or set as a requirement for your entry into university. There is a fee for doing this test which can be $185 or more depending on where you take the test. With all the tests you need to do, materials you need to buy, and general lack of funds, you may be wondering if there is a TOEFL fee waiver available. Let’s review whether the TOEFL fee waiver is available and what other options you may have not to pay the full fee when taking TOEFL.
TOEFL Waivers
Table of Contents
Your first step is to find out if your university even offers this, and then get exact details on if you meet the requirements.
Generally, the requirements would be:
- If you’ve already attended a school where English was the primary language.
- You may be able to enter an English program at the university instead of taking the test.
- If you’ve worked in a predominantly English-speaking environment.
This depends entirely on the university you’re applying to, so you’ll need to check with the admissions office or talk to your guidance or career counselor.
Does TOEFL Provide A Fee Waiver?
If you’re a high school senior in the United States, you may be able to get a TOEFL fee waiver or, more accurately, a reduction of 50% of the test cost.
There are some requirements that you’ll need to meet:
- Your parent’s income must be considered low-income, which is based on how many kids and total family income.
- Your family must receive public assistance.
- You must be a resident of a federally funded housing program; or
- You must be enrolled in a program for financially disadvantaged people.
A few stipulations to keep in mind:
You will only get 1 TOEFL fee waiver voucher, so if you need to retake the test, you will have to pay the total price.
You can’t be a foreign exchange student, so any international students hoping to attend US high school won’t benefit from this reduction.
If you’re not a US high school senior, then there is no official waiver or reduction available for you. This includes US high school students that haven’t reached their senior year yet but still want to take the test.
How Do I Get My TOEFL Fee Waiver Voucher?
If you believe you qualify for a fee reduction, you should gather copies of the proof required for each of the items listed above, as this will be needed to show your guidance counselor. If your guidance counselor agrees that the proof is sufficient, then you can proceed.
You have two options, either you’re going to register online, or your guidance counselor will provide forms you need to fill out.
Online Registration
- Register on the ETS website
- Get a money order or cheque, confirm who it should be made out to with your guidance counselor, and write your name on the front.
- Give your payment and your ETS ID from the website to the guidance counselor.
- Once approved, your voucher will appear in your online account.
Mail Registration
- Get a student profile form from your guidance counselor
- Get a money order or cheque, confirm who it should be made out to with your guidance counselor, and write your name on the front.
- Give the form and the payment to your guidance counselor.
- You or your guidance counselor will receive the voucher via email if approved.
For both online and mail, your guidance counselor will need to fill out forms as well, confirming they’ve seen your proof that you qualify, and then they mail the forms to ETS, who then process them. So there is an up to 3 week waiting period until you’ll hear back from ETS on whether they’ve approved your application.
In some situations, all vouchers have been used for that timeframe, and you’ll either need to pay the full price or wait for the next round of vouchers to be available.
Is There Any Other Discount For TOEFL?
ETS is the official provider of TOEFL, and they do not offer any other discounts when taking the test. However, they allow employers, companies, or schools to purchase vouchers that can be provided to you.
In some cases, a TOEFL prep course will provide a discount code for the test, so if you plan to take a prep course, consider finding one that offers a discount code for the actual test. Though make sure that the prep course isn’t much more expensive than other courses.
How Do I Get A TOEFL Voucher?
ETS allows anybody to purchase vouchers that can be provided to students, so they don’t need to pay for the TOEFL themselves. This is most commonly done by high schools that offer vouchers to their students, though not all or potentially many high schools will be offering this.
Discuss with your high school counselor if there are any TOEFL vouchers available either for everybody or a limited supply that you can apply for.
While you’re talking to your high school counselor, see if they’re aware of any other cost-saving options for TOEFL, especially any scholarships available.
Can I Get A Scholarship For TOEFL?
ETS does not offer any scholarships for students taking the TOEFL. The only official scholarships are awarded from ETS are for work within TOEFL-related programs and generally to higher-level candidates, rather than students needing to take the actual TOEFL.
There are a number of private scholarships which you can apply for that will cover some or all of your test fees. However, this will depend on your location and if you meet the requirements for those specific scholarships. Discuss this further with your guidance counselor.
If you would like to get prepared for the TOEFL Writing part here you can find all the TOEFL Writing Topics.