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Sara was told by her sponsor that she had to get a score of 5.0 on the IELTS test or her funding would stop. This money from her sponsor was the only way that she could stay in the United States and continue learning English because her family didn’t have enough extra money to support her study abroad. To make things worse, the sponsor told her that getting a 5.0 on IELTS would only give her an extra 6 months of finances. To actually get in the university, she would have to score a 6.5 to be accepted.
Learning English in America
Even though Sara didn’t know English very well when she arrived, she was excited to have this chance to learn. She went to class every day and studied hard. She was learning to talk in English and enjoyed making new friends. She didn’t enjoy reading and writing so much, but she was pushing herself to learn. She was improving. Her English classes were fun and she was so happy to have this experience. It was the first step to reaching her dreams of getting a degree at a great university.
However, she was starting to panic. She didn’t know much about the IELTS test and it scared her. She usually gets nervous when she takes tests. But since she was learning English, her friends told her to just sign up for the test and take it. They told her that she should take it many times until she got the score she needed. When she found out that it cost around $250 to take the test, she worried about spending that much money, especially if she took it many times. Her family had always taught her not to waste money.
Should Sara Take Her Friends’ Advice?
She trusted her friends and decided to take their advice. She signed up for the test and took it within a couple weeks. When she got her results, her heart dropped. She only scored 4.0. Even though she was learning English so well and did her best on the test, she didn’t get the score she needed. Actually, there were some parts of the test she couldn’t finish in time. She realized that it was inevitable that she would need to take the test again, and she would need to study a lot for it. She became more afraid of the time pressure from her sponsor.
Sara needed help. She went to her teacher to ask for help with IELTS, but her teacher was too busy to tutor her. She started to think her dream of an American university education was impossible. What would she do?
Sara’s Options for English Success and University Admission
Sara thought deeply about her options and came up with these:
- She could keep going to class and learn English as fast as possible.
- She could quit going to class and study only for IELTS.
- She could ask the university to accept her with a lower score.
- She could hire a university student to tutor her for the IELTS test.
- She could give up and get ready to go back to her country.
- She could tell her family about it and ask them to send her money.
Actually, she didn’t like any of her options. Some of them even felt impossible. The whole situation just didn’t feel fair to her. She got more and more discouraged.
Is Sara’s Story Unique?
Sara’s story is like many students who study abroad. There just isn’t enough time and money to reach the goals she has. Sara wished she had started studying for IELTS before she left her country. She wished she had someone to explain the test to her. If she had understood this test before she came to the United States, she would have balanced her time with her English classes and IELTS self-study. She would have found a way to learn the strategies to get a good score on this test. If she had started earlier, she would have reached the scores she needed.
Sara knew she would have to go back home, but she decided not to give up. She planned to return to her home country and get a part-time job to make extra money. She would study IELTS as much as possible when she wasn’t working. I wish I could have met Sara and helped her sooner, but it is never too late.
If you want to learn some of the strategies that could have helped Sara, stay in touch with me. You and I both know students who need to get a higher IELTS score. If you want help learning about IELTS, learning the best strategies for success, and want to save time and money reaching your dreams, let me help you. My IELTS course provides you with three steps to getting a higher score.
- You will understand everything about the structure of the test before you take it.
- You will learn strategies to work faster and choose better answers.
- You will receive help with your questions and for areas where you are weak.
If you want more information about this online IELTS course, SIGN UP for updates and I will be happy to let you know when it is available. You will also receive helpful information about improving your English skills. To start, let me give you this free guide to speaking English more naturally.