TOEFL score and opinion

[berzentine]

I have a 108 in TOEFL. (R 29, S 26, W 28 L 25). I realize that this score is above all the university requirements and I am eligible to apply to the top schools CMU Stanford and UCB. However, few of my friends said that TOEFL is low and these schools prefer 110+ so retake. I am looking for majoring in CS and the websites dont explicitly state any such things. What should I do ? Any first hand experiences or contact who got in with such scores and good profile?

 

[DogsArePeopleToo]

I'm not in the CS field, but my two cents:

A 108 on the TOEFL is the 93rd percentile. That's an excellent score. What the TOEFL tells grad schools is that your English is at the level where you can read, write and speak proper, university-level English. A 108 (out of 120) certainly demonstrates that very well.

If you were applying for a program such as history, English literature or creative writing, there might have been a reason to prepare and retake. But for computer science, your TOEFL exceeds the minimum requirements of all the programs you're applying to, so I think you're covered, particularly if your GRE verbal and AWA are also good.

If I were you, I would focus on the rest of your application components and would only retake the TOEFL if you had everything else ready and were just looking for a fun challenge to see how much high you could go.

[DogsArePeopleToo]

To add to the above, just for context: the Harvard Kennedy School, one of the most competitive schools for Master's in Public Policy and Administration, requires a TOEFL iBT minimum of 100 (Source: HKS website). And you use verbal and English language abilities a lot  more for MP/MPA.