Beginning Again

Carmela had passed the FPGEE in 2008, so the next obstacle on her journey was the dreaded TOEFL. She had her first few attempts in 2009, using only her confidence as a guide. She, like many new TOEFL students, thought that since she had a good grasp of the English language the test wouldn’t be that bad.

But when she got her results back, she knew it would take more. So, she purchased the Barron TOEFL book and the official ETS guidebook. 

When Carmela was in college, she used to be able to master a subject just by reading and re-reading the material over and over. However, she quickly found out that the TOEFL is a “whole different animal altogether.” Reading the guidebooks she purchased multiple times wasn’t helping her at all.

That’s when she turned to one-on-one tutoring. She went through quite a few tutors, but she didn’t feel like any of them were truly focused on helping her pass the TOEFL. Also, none of them seemed to know what the TOEFL graders were looking for. 

At this point, Carmela was getting frustrated and losing hope. She had been trying to pass the TOEFL for almost 2 years now…

She even went so far as to sign up for a personality development class. She thought maybe it was her introverted personality that was holding her back. But that didn’t help either…

She looked up sample tests and answers online to try to mimic and memorize the way other people spoke. But whenever she was in front of the screen during the test, she would freeze up.

No matter what she tried, she wasn’t improving. Like many students, she started developing resentment towards the TOEFL. In her mind, the only way past the TOEFL was a miracle. 

In 2011, after 2 long years of struggle, she gave up and let her FPGEE expire…

Finding Help

Thankfully, several years later Carmela found her TOEFL solution.

After spending 10 years in Saudi Arabia, she came to the US in 2014. She decided to start working towards her dream again and took the FPGEE in 2015. After passing, she went through a period where she took the TOEFL for a year or so before stopping again. 

Then, in 2018, she made an effort to be as active as possible with the TOEFL. She told herself:

“I will just keep taking it until it’s over.”

Her FPGEE didn’t expire until January 2020, so she had a good amount of time to prepare. 

One day at work, Carmela was talking with a coworker who happened to be a licensed pharmacist. When she asked her coworker how she was able to pass the TOEFL, she told her to check out NoteFull’s website. 

That’s when her journey changed for good…

She had a lot of trouble with the reading section, so the first program she got was the Reading Mastery Program. Then, she started getting emails about the Speaking Success Story Course. At first she was reluctant to join. But when she found out that there would be small group tutoring, she decided to sign up.

Carmela was pleasantly surprised by the methods she learned as well as Joseph’s knowledge about the TOEFL.

“When I was in the Small Group Tutoring series constantly, the magic starts to manifest!”

She was in the Speaking Success Story Course from May until December of 2019. And she participated in the Small Group Tutoring part of the course almost every week from June through October.

Whenever she didn’t have to work on Saturdays, she would attend Joseph’s Saturday classes. She stayed in contact with the NoteFull team by regularly sending whatever questions she had. And she studied the recordings from class over and over until she understood the concepts.

“The Small Group Tutoring transformed me from being a failure to a success story.”

On Their Way

Carmela ended up losing count of how many times she took the TOEFL. But finally, after a DECADE of struggle, she got her dream scores! 

“One of the sweetest success in my life…I PASSED!”

The determination it took to go through so many failed attempts for so many years is truly impressive. You did it, Carmela! We’re so happy for you, and we’re so grateful that we could help you on your journey! 🙂

Now, Carmela is interning as a pharmacist to complete her hours in a hospital setting. Her plan is to take the pharmacy board and law exam in the second quarter of next year. In the meantime, she’s doing her best to balance work, her studies, and life.

“To all the students traveling the path I traveled, just keep doing what your doing (as Joseph always tells us) never stop working to improve yourself. Your success is coming! Dreams do really come true. It’s only up to you when you want to yearn it. Keep yourself motivated by focusing on the reward at the other end of the road. It’s not always failure because your success really will come. When I focused studying the TOEFL, with Notefull as my only tool, it leads me to the path of clarity about my weaknesses and helps me discover what the TOEFL really want or testing me about my English knowledge…

…Lastly, give enough time for your TOEFL studies. You have to do your part of studying and practicing as many as you can repeatedly until the habit become automatic. I know time is the hardest because you will have to sacrifice your normal life routine but remember that a dream will come only to those who is worthy of it and most of the time they are the warriors who fought all the battle of hardship…Consistency, patience, hard work and time were my personal tools to achieve my success…”

Here For You

Whether you’ve never taken the TOEFL before and need it for nursing,

—or have taken it more times than you can count for pharmacy,

—or need help in one section for physical therapy,

—or all sections for dentistry,

—or need to improve a little for teaching,

—or A LOT for graduate school,

—or any combination that’s stressing you out…

Take a deep breath, relax, and click here to read our getting started page with care. By the end of that page, you’ll know your next steps to your TOEFL success with NoteFull.

If you’re a current NoteFull student, take a deep breath, relax, and KNOW you will succeed JUST like Carmela. Keep following your courses and keep attending your monthly Gold Course of online TOEFL classes.

We CAN and WILL get you to your dream score!

Share your story

Your success IS coming too!

Review these success stories often to keep you inspired. Study the advice each success story gives for specific guidance. Register for the NoteFull courses you need to get your dream TOEFL score. And, stay in touch with us every step of the way.

We’re here to help and will support you UNTIL you pass. We want to be one of the FIRST to congratulate you when you earn your dream TOEFL score. And, when that happens, we can’t wait to invite you to be our next success story so YOU can inspire 100s of others just like Carmela.

To learn how NoteFull can help you: click here for our getting started with NoteFull guide.

To reach out to us for more personal guidance: click here to email us through our contact us page.