Finally, I did it! I got an overall band score of 8.0, and in all sections over 7.5. That's enough to get in just about every university in the world.
How was the test day?
Well, not so good. I arrived in Vienna one day before and met a few friends, to stop thinking about the test. I overnighted in a small flat of a friend, where I got probably 4 hours of sleep.
At 6:30 a.m., I went to the test centre. The registration started at 7:45, and 45 minutes later we started with the official test. So early in the morning, I couln't even breakfast since I can't eat anything before 10.
The IELTS test itself was like just about the same as the sample tests from my prep book. Reading was a bit more difficult, while listening was a bit easier. Writing wasn't that hard too, because the essay topic was easy (opinion about education and internet). Because of great time management (and the 4 sample tests I did before), I never had any time problem. If you want to go to the restroom, plan to do it during the reading section.
My test finished at 11:30 and I was wasted. After the test I had lunch and a coffee with a friend. At 16:15 I had the speaking part, where I fucked it up.
The first part of the speaking section was ok, the second one was just bullshit. I had to talk about a historical place, where I wanted to go, where it's located and so on. After 30 seconds or so of talking, I had no idea what else I should say. So I stopped talking for about 20 seconds. These seconds felt like hours... simply horrible. The last part was better, as the examiner had pity for me and asked good questions.
I thought, I wouldn't make it. And yesterday, I received my results and I was pleasantly surprised!
Here are a few tips:
- Take IELTS. It's easier, shorter and you have a statistical advantage.
- Drink enough water. You need to be concentrated for around 3 hours.
- Practice with Sample Tests. You'll get a feeling for the difficulty and the time.
- Arrive one day earlier. Check where the test centre is and in which room you'll have the exam.
- Relax one day before the test. Have fun and stop thinking about the test.
That's it, guys. I won't update this blog anymore and I hope you had a great time reading it.
Thank You,
AustrianBanker
