Why Take TOEFL? Reasons, Benefits and Requirements Indian Students Should Know

Quick Overview

The 2026 TOEFL is shorter, scores faster, and is accepted at over 13,000 institutions, UAE universities included, though a handful of UK schools are still reviewing the new format, so a quick check before you book saves you a wasted attempt.

Key Takeaways

• TOEFL changed on 21 January 2026. Ninety minutes now, down from nearly three hours.
• ETS puts global acceptance at over 13,000 institutions in 160-plus countries.
• India's TOEFL fee sits near INR 18,000 with GST. About INR 1,000 cheaper than IELTS right now.
• Scores show on two scales at once: the old 0-120 and a new 1.0-6.0 CEFR band.
• The TOEFL test is not something that the IRCC office uses now for the Canadian Express Entry programme or the Post-Graduation Work Permit. The IRCC office will accept the IELTS General Training test, the CELPIP-General test and the PTE Core test for those programmes. 
• The University of Oxford is not taking TOEFL scores that were given after 21 January 2026 because it is looking at the format of the TOEFL test. Always check your target university's current policy.
• Who needs to take the TOEFL comes down to what your specific university asks for, not a blanket rule.
• UAE universities mostly take either test. Pick based on your course and country, not habit.

Introduction

Every study abroad application hits the same wall eventually. What test do you take? Well, Indian students usually take the IELTS test. This is because the British Council has been in India for a long time, and the English taught in schools like CBSE and ICSE is similar to the English used in the IELTS test. Another reason is that the IELTS test used to have a paper-based option which was easy to take. The TOEFL test is seen as the test that people take if they want to go to the United States and is usually taken on a computer. 

That picture has shifted. Over 13,000 institutions worldwide now take TOEFL scores, per ETS, and the test itself changed a lot in January 2026. It now runs about 90 minutes; reading and Listening adjust to how you are doing as you go, and scores come back in about 72 hours, per ETS. If you are asking why take the TOEFL over the alternative, three things explain it: who accepts it, how it runs, and what it costs. This piece walks through why TOEFL matters for anyone heading to the US, Canada, or the UAE specifically, who actually needs to take it, and how it stacks up against IELTS on price and difficulty.

You will also get the 2026 fee breakdown, how to register, and what UAE schools expect from your score. Your English test is just one item on a longer checklist, though. Our guide to the documents required for UAE university admission covers the rest of that list.

What Is the TOEFL Exam?

TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language. It is an exam that checks how people who do not speak English as their first language can read, listen, speak and write in English. The TOEFL exam is run by the Educational Testing Service, also called ETS. Most people take the TOEFL exam, the TOEFL iBT. When you take the TOEFL iBT, you can take it in one of two ways. You can take the TOEFL iBT at a test centre that has been approved. The TOEFL exam can also be taken from your home; this is called the TOEFL Home Edition. Both formats use a proctor watching over video. Same recognition either way. Same price too, in India.

ETS rebuilt the test on 21 January 2026. Test time dropped from close to three hours to about 90 minutes. Reading and Listening now run in stages, and the difficulty shifts based on how you answer the first stage, so a rough start can push you into an easier, lower-scoring second stage. Scores show up on two scales side by side now: the old familiar 0-120 and a new 1.0 to 6.0 band tied to the CEFR. Here is ETS's own published concordance between the two, useful if a university you are applying to has not updated its published requirement yet:

Why Should You Take the TOEFL?

Start with the numbers if you are asking, 'Why should I take the TOEFL test?' Over 13,000 institutions in 160-plus countries take it, and that covers nearly every big-name school in the US and Canada. More UAE institutions are listing it next to IELTS every year too.

Past the acceptance question, a few practical reasons explain why TOEFL pulls in a growing share of Indian applicants specifically:

• Shorter test day: 90 minutes under the new format. Shorter than the old three-hour version, and shorter than a typical IELTS sitting too.
• Fully computer-based: every section, speaking included, happens on screen. Type faster than you write by hand? Talk more comfortably into a mic than at a person? This format works for you.
• Faster results: scores land in about 72 hours now. Handy when deadlines are stacked close together.
• Counts for scholarships and some visas: merit scholarship committees and student visa authorities in the US and increasingly the UAE take TOEFL as valid proof of English ability. This does not extend to every immigration route, though. See the caution below.
• Easier to book: TOEFL Home Edition runs almost daily. IELTS sticks to fixed, limited slots at most Indian centres.

One thing that needs to be made clear. TOEFL gets you into many programmes, but it is an academic test, not an immigration-approved one everywhere. For Express Entry and Post-Graduation Work Permit in Canada specifically, IRCC only accepts IELTS General Training, CELPIP-General, and PTE Core. TOEFL iBT does not count toward either. If your plan includes working in Canada after graduation, budget for a second, IRCC-approved test at that stage.

Heading to a Dubai campus for a management degree instead? Our guide to the MBA admission process in Dubai has the exact English test cutoffs school by school.

Who Needs to Take the TOEFL?

Who needs to take the TOEFL is a fair question. Not everyone does. You will likely need a score if any of these apply to you:

• Your last degree was not taught in English.
• Your target university names TOEFL as accepted or preferred.
• You are going for a US student visa and the school asks for TOEFL specifically.
• Your Medium of Instruction certificate does not meet a university's waiver rules.

Some universities in the UAE do not require the test for students who did their schooling at a CBSE, ICSE or the state board. This is for students who scored well in English in grade 12. They need to show a medium of instruction letter. The required score is different for each university in the United Arab Emirates. No one score is the same for all the universities in the United Arab Emirates. You should ask the admissions office of the university you want to join about the cutoff for the English score. Do not use a score to check. Ask the admissions office of your university about the United Arab Emirates university cutoff.

This includes working professionals who are seeking licensure, teaching certification or a skilled migration visa. Some overseas employers and some regulators require TOEFL by name and accept any English test interchangeably. Check your target body's exact rule rather than assuming one test swaps for another, and note the Canadian caution above if migration is part of your plan.

TOEFL vs IELTS: Which One Should You Choose?

TOEFL Exam Fee and Registration in India

TOEFL Requirements for UAE Universities

The TOEFL exam is for which country? It comes up a lot early on, and honestly, TOEFL was not built for one destination, though it still leans US in reputation. UAE universities are firmly part of this picture too. Schools across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah increasingly list TOEFL iBT right alongside IELTS on their English requirements.

Actual score cutoffs vary by university, and it is worth quoting two directly from official sources rather than a general range:

• American University of Sharjah (AUS): undergraduate admission asks for a TOEFL iBT score of 80 or an IELTS 6.5. Its MBA and MATESOL programmes now list this on the new scale as Band 4.5, per the university's own admissions and testing pages, a conversion set by AUS itself rather than the general ETS concordance shown above.
• Canadian University Dubai (CUD): undergraduate admission asks for TOEFL iBT 61 or IELTS 5.0. Graduate and MBA programmes ask for TOEFL iBT 79, or IELTS 6.0, per CUD's own admissions pages.

These two are confirmed directly against each university's own site. Cutoffs at other UAE institutions differ, so treat these as examples, not a universal number. Our own list of the UAE universities accepting TOEFL scores is a faster way to check more universities at once, instead of digging through individual admission pages one by one.

For a full look at how UAE schools structure admissions city by city, our guide to the UAE universities admission process for Indian students covers every stage, from shortlisting through visa sponsorship.

Still leaning toward IELTS for your visa route? Our explainer on IELTS UKVI requirements breaks down exactly when that version applies and when it does not.

Quick fix for an older workaround: EmSAT is not a compulsory Grade 12 examination in any of the UAE. In November 2024, the Ministry of Education removed that requirement across the country. Some individual universities, including AUS and CUD, still accept an EmSAT score as an alternative to IELTS or TOEFL for certain programmes, but it is no longer a general national pathway. 

Check Your TOEFL Score Against UAE University Cutoffs

Checking the test requirements at more than 100 universities in the UAE by hand takes a lot of time. Most applicants do not have that time. As the two examples above show, AUS requires a TOEFL iBT score of 80 for undergraduate programmes, and CUD requires 61. The difference between universities can be big even if they are in the city. Study From UAE has a database with more than 100 UAE universities and 1,000-plus programmes. The TOEFL and IELTS cutoffs are listed for each course. This way you do not have to do the manual search for every school on your list. Use the Find Your University Quiz to find programmes that match your profile. Use the Compare Universities tool to see English test requirements for different universities at the same time before you book any exam. 

Conclusion

Choosing between the TOEFL and the IELTS is not about picking the one that you know better. The TOEFL and the IELTS are two tests. You have to think about the university you want to go to. Do you like taking a speaking test on a computer? When do you need to get your results? You also need to find out if the university you are applying to accepts the TOEFL format that was introduced in 2026. The new TOEFL test is shorter than the old one. You get your scores back from the TOEFL test too. The university and the TOEFL test are important to consider when making your choice.

The scores are reported in a way that universities in the United Arab Emirates and Europe are used to seeing with the TOEFL test. Oxford is the clear exception right now, so a UK application in your mix is reason enough to double-check first.

Check your shortlisted university's exact score requirement and its stance on the 2026 format. Book your preferred delivery, test centre or home edition. Register early enough to dodge late fees. Explore verified English test requirements for UAE universities on Study From UAE, and match your TOEFL or IELTS plan to a programme that actually fits your goals before you pay for either exam.