If you're applying to a US college and TOEFL feels like the only name you've heard, it's worth knowing the Michigan English Test (MET) exists as an alternative some institutions accept. Here's what actually changes between them — acceptance, format, marking and the practical details — so you can check fit before you book either one.

Who this is for

You're applying to US universities and TOEFL iBT is the test you already know, but you've come across the Michigan English Test (MET) as an option and want to know what's actually different. This compares the two on format and logistics, not on which one is "better."

Eligibility first

Neither ETS nor Michigan Language Assessment sets a single rule for who accepts their test — acceptance is decided by each university, individually, for its own admissions process. ETS's own institution-search tool for TOEFL carries this exact caveat, checked 28 September 2026: "ETS provides these search results as a guide. Please contact the institution directly to verify accuracy of your search results" (ETS: TOEFL destinations search). Separately, ETS's TOEFL homepage states TOEFL iBT is "Recognized by 13,500+ institutions across 160+ countries" (ets.org, checked 28 September 2026) — a reach figure, not a guarantee for any one school.

Michigan Language Assessment doesn't publish a different kind of rule either: MET acceptance is set school by school. Check with your target university directly, or with Michigan Language Assessment's own recognizing-organization search, before assuming a score will be accepted — that page could not be verified at the time of writing, so treat it as a starting point rather than a confirmed answer.

Rules change, and admissions requirements vary school by school and program by program. Confirm current acceptance directly with your target university's admissions office before you book a test, and see our eligibility-first exam guide for how to work through this for other destinations.

Side by side

Publisher facts, checked 27 September 2026:

| | TOEFL iBT | MET | |---|---|---| | Results in | 3 days after the test; Paper Edition 11–13 business days | Typically within 5 days | | Where and when | Test centre (170+ dates a year) or Home Edition, 24 hours a day, 4 days a week. Home Edition is not accepted for Canada's Student Direct Stream | Digital at a test centre, booked on demand. At-home testing is paused indefinitely after 30 September 2026 | | Speaking | Recorded into a microphone; no examiner | Recorded on the computer; no examiner | | Who marks it | Speaking and Writing: AI scoring plus multiple human raters | Listening and Reading by computer; Writing and Speaking by certified raters | | Retakes | Not more than once in any 3-day period | One section (Writing, Listening or Reading) can be retaken, ordered within 3 days of results | | Test length | About 2 hours | 155 minutes | | Result validity | 2 years from test date | Results do not expire; institutions set their own acceptance window | | Score reports | 1–6 scale from January 2026 (legacy 0–120 shown during a two-year transition); 4 free reports, then US$25 each | 0–80 per section; unlimited free digital sharing |

Sources:

What each test asks you to do

The 2026 TOEFL iBT runs under two hours including check-in. Reading and Listening are multistage adaptive; Writing and Speaking are linear. Speaking includes a Listen and Repeat task — you hear a sentence and repeat it back — alongside Take an Interview, a sequence of prerecorded interview questions. Writing pairs Build a Sentence items with an email response and an academic-discussion response. Scores report on a 1–6 scale, and ETS also runs a TOEFL Home Edition, available around the clock, though it's explicitly not accepted for Canada's Student Direct Stream. You may need extra format preparation here if repeating a sentence you just heard, or answering a string of prerecorded interview questions with no live back-and-forth, is new to you.

MET takes 155 minutes, delivered digitally at a test centre — at-home MET testing was paused indefinitely after 30 September 2026, so a test-centre booking is now the only route. Writing has two parts: short responses to three linked questions, then a multi-paragraph essay; Listening and Reading are computer-scored multiple choice, drawing on conversations, talks and both single and multi-text passages; Speaking is five recorded tasks that lengthen and grow more complex as you go — description, personal experience, opinion, advantages and disadvantages, then a supported position. Each section reports 0–80. You may need extra format preparation here if you're not used to a Speaking section that scales up in complexity task by task, or if test-centre-only booking changes your planning versus a test you expected to sit at home.

The practical differences that decide it

Validity carries the same caveat both ways: TOEFL iBT reports are valid for 2 years from the test date per ETS, while MET results don't expire on Michigan Language Assessment's side — but a university can still set its own, shorter acceptance window regardless of what either publisher says, so confirm with your target school rather than assuming the publisher's figure is what counts.

Retakes work differently in shape: TOEFL has no per-section retake — you sit the entire test again, just not more than once in any 3-day period. MET allows a single-section retake (Writing, Listening or Reading, ordered within 3 days of results), but Speaking specifically cannot be retaken alone.

Turnaround is close: TOEFL delivers results 3 days after a test-centre sitting (Paper Edition is much slower, at 11–13 business days), and MET typically returns results within 5 days.

How to decide

Work through it in this order: confirm which test(s) your target university accepts, work out what score and format your program needs, then weigh the format differences above against your own strengths — adaptive sections and a Home Edition option on TOEFL, versus a fixed test-centre booking and a Speaking section that escalates in complexity on MET. Our free 15-question chooser helps with the format-fit piece; the full eight-exam comparison and the validity and retakes breakdown cover the rest of the practical detail.

Practise both before you choose

Both TOEFL iBT and MET practice are live on ScoreFluent under one account, in beta, free to start, and scored against each exam's own rubric — so you can try a TOEFL academic-discussion response and a MET supported-position task in the same afternoon before you commit to a test fee. Eight exams share the account: TOEFL, MET, IELTS and CELPIP among them.

Frequently asked questions

Does ETS or Michigan Language Assessment decide which universities accept TOEFL or MET?

No — there's no single-body acceptance rule for either test. ETS's own institution search tool for TOEFL carries a standing caveat: 'ETS provides these search results as a guide. Please contact the institution directly to verify accuracy of your search results' (checked 28 September 2026). MET acceptance works the same way: check with each university, or Michigan Language Assessment's own recognizing-organization page, before assuming a score will be accepted.

How many institutions accept TOEFL iBT scores?

ETS states TOEFL iBT is 'Recognized by 13,500+ institutions across 160+ countries' (ets.org, checked 28 September 2026). That figure describes reach, not a guarantee — each institution still sets its own required score and format.

Can I retake just one section of MET or TOEFL?

MET allows one section retake — Writing, Listening or Reading, ordered within 3 days of results; Speaking cannot be retaken alone. TOEFL iBT has no per-section retake: you sit the whole test again, but not more than once in any 3-day period.

Do TOEFL and MET scores expire?

TOEFL iBT score reports are valid for 2 years from the test date, per ETS. MET results do not expire on Michigan Language Assessment's side, but each institution sets its own acceptance window — so check with your target university either way.

ScoreFluent is an independent practice platform and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to ETS or Michigan Language Assessment.

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