If you are going to study at a U.S. university, you will probably need to submit your proficiency test scores, and they will play an important role in your application. In this text, we will discuss whether 100 points on the TOEFL score is a good grade and whether this is a competitive score! Come on?

100 TOEFL points: is it a good grade?

The truth is that it depends on the faculty to which you are going to apply. According to TOPSCHOOLSINTHEUSA, a good TOEFL score is one that meets all the requirements of the university you are interested in studying.

On the other hand, we can look at the average grade to see what percentage of students (called percentiles by the TOEFL organization) who scored more or less than you did. In general, a grade above the average of 50% of students is already considered a good score and any grade above 75% is considered excellent. According to the official test averages, 100 points on the TOEFL are above the average of 80% of students, which puts you well above “good” and slightly above “great”.

However, averages may change depending on the academic level. For example, 100 points on the TOEFL go from the average of 80% of candidates to 88% when taking into account only the scores of high school students on the test.

Here are the percentiles that 100 TOEFL points fit into:

Academic level	TOEFL 100 percentage points
High school	88
Technical courses (two-year college)	89
University graduate	82
Postgraduate studies	76

As indicated above, a single TOEFL score can change the percentile quite significantly, depending on which academic level is considered. In general, as the academic level increases, the TOEFL 100th percentile decreases, showing that the more educated you are, the more likely you are to score higher than 100.

But then, is 100 TOEFL points a competitive score?

Yes! 100 TOEFL points is a very competitive score. In terms of English language skills, a 100 indicates that you are great, but you are still not perfect in the language. In fact, 100 TOEFL points meet the minimum test requirements in schools and more selective programs, including Ivy League universities .

According to the US News, the average TOEFL score required for admission (for undergraduate students) to U.S. universities is 78. That is, taking 100 TOEFL points will place you well above that average and you will be eligible for the most institutions in the country.

It is important to note that for applicants in undergraduate courses, the minimum TOEFL scores are usually set by the university, in general. For graduate students, the minimum scores generally vary according to the program.

Below, you can find the minimum score for several institutions and some US graduate programs:

Institutions that meet the recommended TOEFL score with 100 points

Institution	Minimum grade required	Recommended note
Boston University	–	90-100
UCLA	–	100
University of Chicago	–	100
Cornell	–	100
MIT	90	100
NYU	–	100
Notre Dame University	–	100
Vanderbilt University	–	100
University of Washington	76	92
Yale	–	100

Institutions that meet the minimum TOEFL score

Institution	Minimum grade required	Recommended note
Amherst College	100	–
Brown	100	–
Claremont McKenna	100	–
Columbia	100	–
University of Michigan	100	–
Northeastern	92	–
Rice University	100	–
University of Rochester	100	107
University of Southern California	100	–
Tufts	100	–

Institutions you need to improve your grade a little

Institution	Minimum grade required
Carnegie Mellon	102

Graduate programs that meet the minimum TOEFL score

Program	Minimum grade required
Northwestern University – Doctor of Musical Arts	95
University of Pittsburgh – MBA	100
Stanford – Education (PhD)	100
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – Mechanical Engineering	100
Columbia – Economics (PhD)	100
Harvard – LLM	100
Tufts – Biomedical Sciences (MS)	100
MIT – Chemistry (PhD)	100
American University – Psiscology (MA)	100

Graduate programs you need to slightly improve your grade

Program	Minimum grade required
NYU – Studio and Film Design (MFA)	105
Texas A&M – Finance (MS)	105
Harvard – Education	104
Cornell – Systems Engineering	105
Duke – Master of Theology (ThM)	108
Columbia – LLM	105
UC Davis – Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine	105
University of Chicago – Physics (PhD)	102
Yale – Global Affairs (MA)	102

How important is your TOEFL score for the application?

In general, your TOEFL score plays an important role in your application, but it depends on whether your institution of interest requires a specific minimum test score or not.

If your university requires a minimum TOEFL score, you must obtain at least that score to qualify for admission. Failure to obtain this score makes you ineligible for admission (unless the school offers conditional admission). For example, Brown University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 100 points for admission to undergraduate courses, which means that if your score is lower than this, you will not be accepted!

On the other hand, if your college recommends a TOEFL score, but does not require a minimum score (or requires a lower than the recommended score), try to get the recommended score. Although you do not need to obtain this exact score to qualify for admission, achieving it (or exceeding it) will significantly increase your chances of being accepted. For example, the University of Rochester requires a minimum TOEFL score of 100, but recommends obtaining at least 107.

But what if you score well above the required or recommended TOEFL score? Unfortunately, in general, this does not offer many advantages. Most institutions just want to check that you have the minimum level of English proficiency needed to do well in college. Therefore, there is not much difference between scoring above the minimum TOEFL score and getting exactly the required minimum score. That said, sometimes scoring well above the minimum can be beneficial, serving, for example, as a tiebreaker in your favor.