Sitting IELTS in NZ -Feedback please
 

Hi all,

I have PR in NZ (Originally from UK) after three years still treading water to make ends meet.

I'm applying for an Australian independent residency visa (189) all ready to submit, but the ielts test is my stumbling block. I need a score of 8 over all four domains to score the points I require. Despite two attempts (revision and tuition prior to the last try) I can't get my reading score above 7.5. I don't where I went wrong this time as I was really happy with my attempt (not like the first attempt which also got a 7.5 strangely). I need the ielts to gain enough points for the visa. It is possible ?? :eek:

What are people experiences of sitting the Occupational Test achieving a B for max points? Are there less 'tricks' to watch for?

I'm a UK trained nurse taking the test in New Zealand. While I'm a native English speaker I meet others from Asia taking the test for 5th and 8th time. At $350 a shot !!!!!
Thanks

Re: Sitting IELTS in NZ -Feedback please
 

I work with international students.... the most attempts I am aware of for sitting IELTS to attain a score of 7 in each band (for applying for nursing registration in NZ) is 27. This included clubbing scores together.

I also heard of a student having 22 attempts before then doing OET and getting 4 x B's in 2 attempts.

Students seem to think OET is easier to attain.

Gill

Re: Sitting IELTS in NZ -Feedback please
 

What sort of tuition did you receive? I was lucky enough to pass mine the first time round after having looked over a lot of mock papers and making sure I understood how the exam wanted me to answer. Clearly your level of English isn't the issue so maybe just keep preparing as you have been and do a few more mock tests. Good luck :)

Re: Sitting IELTS in NZ -Feedback please
 

"Clearly your level of English isn't the issue so maybe just keep preparing as you have been and do a few more mock tests". Good point. I got a long ruler and gradually pulled it down the document skimming for words similar in the questions.
Practice on line via free old papers also took the stress out of it. I also asked a school teacher who taught me a simple trick of slanting my paper , and writing in script. It was faster than joined up writing and all my handwriting was legible. Useful later when writing up nursing notes. Good Luck