IELTS [International English Language Testing System] announced that more than 2,500 higher education institutions in the US: undergraduate, graduate and professional schools programmes, including the eight elite US Ivy League schools, recognise IELTS as their English language proficiency test for admission.  Premier institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale School of Divinity and Concordia College are making IELTS their preferred language proficiency test.  

You can now download the US recognition list of over 2,500 universities and professional bodies in the USA which accept IELTS scores as proof of English language skills.

For Hong Kong, the number of US-bound students taking IELTS at the British Council increased 30%, with the total number of candidates taking IELTS worldwide exceeding 1.4 million.  IELTS is currently fully accepted by universities in the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada as the benchmark for basic language requirement on English.

“We have gone past the tipping point,” says Beryl Meiron, Executive Director, IELTS International who manages IELTS in the US.  “Many of the top schools recognise the effectiveness of IELTS, in particular its face-to-face speaking module, rigorous security processes and comprehensive assessment of all four language skills.  The old idea that TOEFL is the test for the US and IELTS for the UK, Australia and New Zealand, just doesn’t apply anymore.”

In the meantime, candidates registering with the British Council can register online, as well as get a free online preparation course called Road to IELTS with their registration.  For more information, please visit our website.