An IELTS Band Score of 7.0 or more is seen as a good IELTS score. It helps you apply to many universities abroad without worrying about the English language requirement. But remember, even if you get IELTS score 7 or above, this not gurantee you will get admission. Every university has its own rules and selection process.
The IELTS exam is a very famous English test that students take to study in big English-speaking countries like USA, Canada, Australia, UK, and others.
You need IELTS scores if you want admission in UG or PG courses abroad, or if you are applying for PR in any English-speaking country. The IELTS scores are given from 1 to 9 bands. If you don’t understand how the bands are counted, you can check on our website. There is also an IELTS score calculator you can use if you feel confused. It helps you understand your IELTS results better.
After you know how the IELTS score is calculated, you should also learn what a good IELTS score means. Most of the time, 7.0 or above is said to be a good IELTS score. If you score 7 or higher, you can apply to top universities around the world. Some people also think 6.5 IELTS score is good enough. In this article, we talked about what is a good IELTS score and how much score is needed for study abroad or for visa. You can also join our free IELTS training class below to improve your band score easily.
- What is a Good IELTS Score?
- IELTS Scores for Top Universities 2025
- How are IELTS Scores Calculated?
- IELTS Band Scores
- IELTS Scoring for Different Sections
- IELTS Scores Validity
What is a Good IELTS Score?
An IELTS Score of 7 or above is considered to be a good. Achieving an IELTS Band Score of 7 and above will qualify applicants to most universities abroad. While a 7 Band Score is considered a good IELTS score. However, candidates should note that getting a higher IELTS score will only help the applicant.
A good IELTS score is required to get admission to your desired university located abroad. Now, every country has an IELTS cut-off according to them. Top universities in the USA accept IELTS scores of 7 or more. Similarly, UK universities like Oxford or Cambridge require 7.5 or more. For universities in Canada and Australia, an IELTS score of 6.5 or 7 or more is required to get into their top colleges.
Generally, an IELTS band score is one of the requirements of a university for granting admission to international students. A good IELTS score will increase the chances of your application, but not solely responsible for your admission. Commonly, an IELTS score of 6.5-7.0 is considered good for decent university admission, while top universities in the world require an IELTS band of 7.0 or above.
| Purpose |
Required IELTS Score |
Details |
|---|---|---|
| University Admission |
6.5 – 7.5 |
Most universities accept this score range. Top universities usually need 7.0 or higher. |
| Immigration and Professional Use |
7.0 or above |
This score is needed for professional license, permanent residency, or immigration in countries like the UK, Canada, and Australia. |
Also Read:
IELTS Scores for Top Universities 2025
In this section, we are going to be talking about the IELTS cut off across top universities in the world. This will give readers a fair idea of the IELTS score requirements while applying to universities abroad.
| Top Universities | IELTS Score Requirements |
|---|---|
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Cambridge, United States |
Minimum Score: 7.0 or higher Recommended Score: 7.5 & above |
| University of Cambridge Cambridge, United Kingdom |
Usually a minimum overall grade of 7.5, usually with 7.0 or above in each element |
| University of Oxford Oxford, United Kingdom |
Standard level scores: 7.0 with a minimum of 6.5 per component Higher level scores: 7.5 with a minimum of 7.0 per component |
| Harvard University Cambridge, United States |
6.5 & Above |
| Stanford University Stanford, United States |
n/a |
| Imperial College London London, United Kingdom |
Standard: 6.5 overall (Minimum 6.0 in all elements) Higher: 7.0 overall (Minimum 6.5 in all elements) |
| ETH Zurich Zürich, Switzerland |
7.0 and above |
| National University of Singapore (NUS) Singapore, Singapore |
6.5 and above |
| University College London (UCL) London, United Kingdom |
Min 6.0 – 7.0 (as per program) |
| University of California, Berkeley (UCB) Berkeley, United States |
For UG: 6.5 or higher For PG: 7.0 or higher |
Also Check: How to Get IELTS Band 7
How are IELTS Scores Calculated?
IELTS score is from 0 to 9 in band score. For every score, the user's skill can be measured, which we have given in the above description. If a candidate has scored an 8, then he/she is a very good user of the language, whereas, if a candidate has scored 4 then he/she is a limited user of the language and might face difficulty in understanding and using the language.
Organizations and institutions of English-speaking countries accept IELTS scores worldwide. Those who are taking the IELTS for immigration should know that is a good IELTS score is based on the type of visa they require to move abroad. Whether one is going for immigration or a job or as a student plays a crucial role in deciding a good IELTS score. For an international student, a score acceptable to the college/university or the institute might work to get a student visa.
IELTS Band Scores
Before knowing a good IELTS score, one must be aware of the IELTS band scores. The IELTS test is scored between 0 and 9. You can learn about the skill level for every band in the table below. IELTS scores are trusted by organizations across the world. It tells how much you understand English Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing. So, if you have scored 7 or more, then you are marked as a good user. If you scored 8 then you are a very good user. Also, if you scored 6, then you are also a competent user.
Below we have described the different IELTS Band scores to understand the IELTS score better.
| IELTS Band Score | Skill Level |
|---|---|
| 9 | Expert |
| 8 | Very Good |
| 7 |
Good |
| 6 | Competent User |
| 5 | Modest User |
| 4 | Limited user |
| 3 | Extremely limited user |
| 2 | Intermittent |
| 1 | Non-user |
| 0 | Did not attempt the test |
IELTS Scoring for Different Sections
Reading and Listening sections have 40 questions each, and one can get a score of a maximum of 40 in each of the sections. The marks awarded are raw scores that are then converted to the band score by the IELTS administrator. Whereas, for the Speaking and Writing sections of the IELTS exam, different band descriptions have been given. The average score of these descriptions will be the score in these two sections.
Task achievement, coherence, cohesion, lexical resource, grammatical range, and accuracy are the band descriptions for the Writing section. Fluency and coherence, Lexical resource, grammatical range and accuracy, and pronunciation are the band descriptions for the Speaking section.
Check this video to know all about 'Good IELTS Scores'
IELTS Scores Validity
Candidates should note that their IELTS results are valid for 2 years. However, for Skilled Migration applications, the validity of their IELTS scores is three years.
Also Read: Grammar for IELTS: Syllabus, Topics, Tips & Strategy
An IELTS Score 6 is neither good nor bad, it varies on the universities requirements. It will aways depend on the IELTS score requiremenst for the university you are applying for.
The difficulty of IELTS exam is not same for everyone. It depends on your English level and how much you prepare. Many students find IELTS Writing and IELTS Speaking little hard because you need good ideas and fluency.
But if you do practice and know the test format, the exam becomes easy. Focus more on your weak areas and you can get a good band score.
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Comments
(1)
J
3 years ago
A
3 years ago
Hi. Even if you did not score well on the IELTS, you can re-take it with better preparation. Please refer to this link: https://studyabroad.shiksha.com/exams/ielts
8777 score in the IELTS means you got 8.0 in Listening, 7.0 in Reading, 7.0 in Writing, and 7.0 in Speaking. This 8777 score matches CLB 9 level. It gives you 82 points more than someone at CLB 8 level. This also helps increase your rank in Express Entry pool.