How IELTS scores reach a US university
ielts.org's results page describes e-delivery and postal mail as ways to share a result with an organisation, and each US university then says how it wants to receive yours and what else you must do. This page sets out what ielts.org says, how four university pages word their instructions (the University of California, MIT graduate admissions, Illinois graduate admissions and Harvard Griffin GSAS, the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences), and how Harvard's page and a fifth page, Berkeley's international requirements page, word the age limit on a score.
Everything here was read in October 2026 from the pages linked below, and pages change, so open the one for your own programme before you act. The universities are named only to show what their own pages say; Band Booster IELTS has no connection with any of them.
What this page leaves out. It repeats no score numbers (see IELTS scores at US universities) and does not say whether Online or One Skill Retake results are accepted (see IELTS Online and One Skill Retake at US universities). It quotes no exam fee, deadline or test date. Visa rules and university admission rules are different things, and this page gives no visa or immigration advice. The institution that asks for your result decides how it wants to receive it.
Where your result appears: the IELTS USA account
According to ielts.org's page on getting and sharing your results, if you took your test in the USA you will receive an email with a link to view your test scores in your IELTS USA account. Keep that email.
How long results take and how the computer test works are covered on computer-delivered IELTS in the United States, and what to bring on test day is on IELTS test day in the US.
What ielts.org says about sharing results
| Topic | What ielts.org says |
|---|---|
| E-delivery | You can share your results by IELTS Results Service e-delivery with as many organisations as you like. |
| Post | You can share your results by postal mail with up to five organisations at no extra charge. For any additional organisations by post, ielts.org says a processing fee is charged. |
| Checking a result | The organisations you share with will be able to verify your results using the IELTS Results Service. |
| Access for organisations | The US recognition portal page says organisations that accept IELTS are given complimentary access to the IELTS Results Service. |
Two things follow from that wording, and neither is a statement about any one university. First, ielts.org describes e-delivery without a limit on the number of organisations, while postal copies are at no extra charge for up to five organisations and carry a processing fee beyond that, so a long list of applications is worth thinking through before you choose a method. Second, the receiving organisation can verify the result itself, so what a university's page has to tell you is how it wants the result sent, and to whom.
This page does not describe the steps for choosing recipients or give any fee amount. For those, use ielts.org's results pages, and ask your test centre if a screen is unclear.
Four examples of what university pages ask for
These are examples, not a list of requirements, and each is one institution's instruction for one group of applicants.
| Page (read October 2026) | What it says about sending scores |
|---|---|
| University of California, English proficiency page for international applicants | Self-report your English proficiency scores in the UC application. If you are offered admission, send your scores after admission, and only to the campus where you intend to enrol. |
| MIT graduate admissions, standardised tests page | Choose "Massachusetts Institute of Technology Graduate" as your score reporting option when submitting your scores. The page says no institutional or departmental code is required to send MIT your electronic score report. |
| University of Illinois graduate admissions, international applicants page | Scores should be sent electronically via your testing centre to an account named "University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Graduate". |
| Harvard Griffin GSAS, English proficiency page | IELTS scores are sent through the IELTS Test Center E-Delivery service. The page also gives a validity limit and a rule about tests older than two years, covered under expiry below. |
What the examples share, and where they differ
- Timing. The University of California page splits the process in two: self-report in the application, send scores later, after admission. The lines used here for MIT, Illinois and Harvard describe the electronic sending and do not split it into two steps.
- Names. MIT names a reporting option, Illinois a named account, Harvard the e-delivery service and the University of California the campus you will attend. A name that works for one university is not a name for another, and the wording above is as read in October 2026, so copy the current name from the live page.
- Audience. The MIT, Illinois and Harvard pages are written for graduate admissions, and the Berkeley page used under expiry comes from its undergraduate office. If you apply to a different school or level, look for that school's own page rather than assuming it matches.
Expiry: how old a score can be
By most institutions' policy, an IELTS score is valid for 2 years. That is a common policy, not a rule that every university shares, and this page does not quote ielts.org's own wording on validity, because the rule that matters to you is the receiving institution's. Two pages put it in their own words, Harvard's (one of the four above) and Berkeley's:
- Harvard Griffin GSAS says TOEFL and IELTS scores are valid for no longer than two years. The same page adds that ETS/IELTS will not send score reports for tests taken more than two years from the original test date, that if you can no longer send your scores you will need to submit scores from a new test, and that for applicants to a named admission term it sets an earliest test date.
- Berkeley's international requirements page, from its Office of Undergraduate Admissions, lists IELTS among its English proficiency options and, after the list of routes, says the scores must be valid for 2 years from the enrolment date to be considered acceptable. The sentence itself does not name a test, so ask the admissions office if you are unsure which scores it covers.
The two pages are worded differently: Berkeley's sentence counts from the enrolment date, while Harvard's page speaks of tests taken more than two years from the original test date. Each page adds its own lines about dates, so read the whole passage on the page for your programme. If your test date is close to a limit, ask the admissions office which date applies, rather than working it out alone. If you are thinking of retaking, whether a retake result is accepted is a separate question: see IELTS Online and One Skill Retake at US universities, and One Skill Retake or a full retake for how the options compare.
Before you send: a checklist
- Find the admissions page for your own level and school, and note the date you read it.
- Write down the route it names: self-reporting, a reporting option, a named account, e-delivery or post.
- Note when it wants the scores: with the application, or only after admission, as the University of California page does.
- Check the age rule and which date it counts from, as Harvard's and Berkeley's pages word it differently. See IELTS scores at US universities for the score side of the same pages.
- Find the email with the link to your IELTS USA account, and read ielts.org's results pages for the sharing steps.
- If the page is silent or unclear on how to send, ask the admissions office before you send anything.
Where lessons with Mike fit
Band Booster IELTS is a private online tutoring service, not an IELTS test centre. It does not register candidates, send or hold results, or set exam fees, and it cannot tell you what a particular university requires. What it can do is help with the work that comes before there is a score to send. Mike, a CELTA-certified teacher based in Hanoi who scored 8.5 in IELTS Speaking, teaches every session himself, one-to-one and live on Google Meet in English. Read more on About Mike.
- Speaking. Parts 1, 2 and 3 are practised in the real test format, with feedback during the session. See Speaking coaching.
- Writing. Task 1 and Task 2 are marked against the public band descriptors. See Writing feedback.
- Listening and Reading. Both are covered in lessons too.
A regular lesson lasts 60 minutes, sessions can be recorded on request, and written progress notes appear in your account afterwards. The booking page shows your price in your own currency before you pay, there is no subscription, and a paid 30-minute trial is available once per student, on a first booking. No band score is promised: progress depends on your starting point and the work between sessions. The online IELTS tutor page for the USA shows lesson times against US time zones.