Hi, this is the TestGlider team.
When you start to study for the TOEFL, you’ll most likely be looking for these 3 things: how long you need to study, useful resources, and feedback. With these 3 things alone, it can feel overwhelming to practice by yourself. To cheer you all on, I’d like to introduce another TOEFL graduate from TestGlider. Jace finished with a 107 on her TOEFL after studying for 6 weeks on TestGlider. Here’s how she did it:
(Read other TOEFL graduate reviews here).
Meet Today’s TOEFL Graduate: Jace
- Quit her job to prepare for grad school applications in the U.S.
- Studied 1 year for the TOEFL alone
- After using TestGlider, reached 107 on her TOEFL exams.
Stuck on the Same Score for a Year
Looking at how Jace started her study journey, Jace says that she had no idea it would have taken her this long to achieve her goal score. She blames it on building a poor study strategy at first.
In the beginning, she believed pushing through the TOEFL with confidence would be enough, but that was far from reality. She switched on and off from studying English and TOEFL. After months with no progress, she finally gathered the courage to purchase a study pass on TestGlider and studied with a now-or-never mindset.
At the time of this review interview, Jace’s TOEFL results had come out:
You did fantastic, Jace!
Trying TOEFL Tutors and Practice Books
When Jace first started studying, she tackled test sets available online.
She had no problem practicing for the TOEFL reading section but issues arose when she couldn’t raise her listening section score. Even after repeatedly analyzing audio transcripts, she stopped improving. Losing motivation, this is when she stopped practicing her writing as well.
She says, “It hadn’t been a few months since I stopped studying for the TOEFL speaking and writing responses. I had no knowledge of the test so I didn’t even know I should be timing my practice answers.”
Saving Her TOEFL Score with Fast-Graded Feedback
Jace had to pause during her writing practice sessions often to ask, “Am I really doing this right?”
She says, “I really needed responsive feedback on my writing answers. I wasn’t studying with a tutor and even when I attended a TOEFL class, it was hard to get fast feedback on time.
Since I had to pay extra fees to get feedback from a professional grader anyways, I wanted to practice with realistic tests and chose TestGlider instead.”
She needed feedback on whether she was on the right track to improve her score the most, and she says, “TestGlider gave me that feedback and I think I got a good score result because of that.”
How Jace Scored 107 on the TOEFL with TestGlider
Jace studied for 6 weeks on TestGlider (a total of 44 days).
Her first Full Test score of 90 increased to 107 by her last Full Test, bringing her score up a total of 17 points.
Jace’s highest practice score was 107 — same as her actual TOEFL result!
How Helpful Was the “Other Ways to Answer” Feature?
The TOEFL speaking section’s tasks 2 through 4 test your ability to summarize the given information. Summarization was Jace’s weak point.
Jace says she struggled with figuring out where to improve her writing answer. This is where the “Other Ways to Answer” feature from the “Scores & Review” page came in handy.
Just when she thought her writing responses were too long or too difficult, she checked how other test-takers have answered the same practice question before her. This helped her fix her own essays.
Comparing her answers with others helped her solve her questions of, “Do others get a high score on the TOEFL by including a limited amount of information in their answers?”
She read the model answers provided on the Review page first then referred to the example responses from “Other Ways to Answer” to get the most feedback for her writing improvements.
She says, “I would say being able to compare my answers to others’ reponses contributed up to 65% for my score improvement.
At first, I used templates I’d find on online TOEFL communities. I used them to test TestGlider’s score accuracy.
I was stuck on scoring 25 for a year on the speaking section and decided to practice just the integrated tasks on TestGlider. The Review page and the model answers helped me figure out how to improve.”
Breaking Past the 25 Score Mark for TOEFL Listening
As Jace’s TOEFL exam date started to get closer, she desperately solved 1 test per day.
She solved all 12 Full Test sets on TestGlider and started to review all her previous answers starting from test session 13 (Grading is unlimited at TestGlider).
She says, “Solving test sets that I already read before helped me predict patterns on where to find key pieces of information.”
Disappointed by how other practice services didn’t offer thorough feedback, she boosted her score by reviewing her answers with TestGlider’s answer explanations for the questions she got wrong.
How Did You Find TestGlider?
2 years ago, Jace found TestGlider recommended on a TOEFL community forum (TestGlider was called TOEFLBANK back then).
When it came time for her to take the TOEFL, she realized 1 free Full Test wasn’t enough to test herself and was determined to improve with TestGlider.
Although she did her fair share of research on other practice websites, either the chat responses were slow in helping her or the practice were mostly offered in video formats.
She says she “chose a site with actual practice tests I can take. I landed on TestGlider’s study passes because it was better priced for what it offered compared to other sites.”
As she studied alone, she struggled to ask for help from friends who spoke English because she needed answers that were related to specific questions about the TOEFL.
Discovering TestGlider’s study tips, she felt encouraged to keep going.
She says, “TestGlider felt very professional to me and the knowledge this service had about the TOEFL was impressive. I was able to receive precise answers about any questions I had and was able to keep improving my study strategy.”
(Read all TestGlider TOEFL tips.)
Are There Other Features You’d Like to See on TestGlider?
Jace says, “When I first used TestGlider, there was no feature that let me see how other test-takers solved the same tasks. I was satisfied when the exact feature became available while I was studying on the site.”
Here are other things she wishes to see on TestGlider (comment below if you want them too!):
- When I first took the TOEFL at the test site, the computer exam had a bigger font with an older-looking design. I think it’d be helpful to provide an exact replica of the testing interface on TestGlider.
- During the reading section, the exam had pictures above the reading passage paragraphs. There were multiple pictures, about 2 to 3. It was a diagram of a fish shooting water and how a person can observe its trajectory. It’d be nice to see diagrams in the reading section of the TestGlider practice tests.
A Closing Message from Jace
“As a TestGlider user and TOEFL graduate, I highly recommend TestGlider. It saved me.
Even watching TestGlider’s older note-taking tip videos on YouTube was really helpful, and it was a better tip video than others I’ve watched.
The videos made me realize that the TestGlider team was comprised of people who had impressive English skills, and the detailed study tips and resources were a great sign that the team continuously looks to provide a better study service. It made me trust TestGlider even more. Thank you!”
Conclusion
After studying for 2 years for the TOEFL, Jace was able to reach her dream score and start the application process for a graduate program in the U.S.
A huge thank you to Jace for a thorough review of TestGlider, and we wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors.
With love,
The TestGlider Team
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