IELTS IDP or British Council

[vaibhav007us]

How much time would be required to prepare for the exam. Is it sufficient if I give 1 hour daily for exam on July 30, 2016?

 

[rdpldo]

How much time would be required to prepare for the exam. Is it sufficient if I give 1 hour daily for exam on July 30, 2016?

If you have good foundation in English, then 1 hour will suffice. If you still doubt your capability, you may want to supplement it by watching CNN and BBC. You can also read newspapers.

 

[no0oki3]

i have give n my exam at both the places, idp and bc in 2016. i would just like to share my experience.

bc-riyadh and idp mumbai.
the pattern is exactly the same. the papers r also identical.

bc riyadh pros:
1.can accommodate u even if u hav happened to have missed the exam or late (personal experience). all u have to do is ask. and in some cases they might even do it for no extra charge.
2. really friendly staff who seem to happy to be working. really compassionate towards the test takers.

bc riyadh cons:
1. things can be a little complicated to understand who is the exact manager in charge as they are hard to find. but u could reach them if u r persistent enough.
2. theywont help u if u cm after 1 week of a missed exam.

idp mumbai pros:
1. test dates were available as compared with bc. ( a v good sign that its not in demand).

idp cons:
1. very stubburn and rude call center, highly impolite staff, only idp gurgaon is HQ and can help but other idp offices have practically no power. they dont even know the fees! i wonder why r they even open.
2. not just that, i had personal problems in both my tests in bc and idp and bc handled them far better. bc-absent or late, idp-surgery. if anything i can provide proof that idp has threatened me to either paymore than what was mentioned on their "test transfer/cancel form" or we do not accept your application for a transfer. obv, i had to cuz it makes more sense to pay something small, extra than to incur a loss of the whole test amout.
3. oh and it gets better, since i was angry and reluctant in paying the extra fees i suspect that they may have deliberately withheld my results. and i have absolutely no clue when they ll be out and whether or not they ll be tampered with. very helpless situation.

in my personal experience, in the first half of 2016, bc is a clear winner. please take my suggestion and dont get carried away by the availability of test dates for idp. it makes no sense that you take the test earlier and then indefinitely wait for your results. pointless.

if you need a detail of my exact case please read some of my posts.

hope i could help.

 

[Manpreet Singh Punni]

i dont think there is any difference

 

[lusafaty]

British Council releases test results at least 6 hours earlier than IDP does, which for me is a huge deal because I don't need 6 more hours of anxiety in my already miserable life.

 

[xpressentry]

Both are the same IMO

 

[Boviesam]

I gave 2 tests, 1 with British Council and 1 with IDP. I felt IDP was simpler as far as the question and the exam content were concerned, but that may be because I had better practice the second time, I use to practice a full test everyday for 2 weeks before my second test. I scored overall 7.5 (L 9, R 6.5, W 7, S 7.5) with BC and an overall 8 (L 9, R 8.5, W 7, S 8) with IDP. I think practice and confidence is what you need, doesn't matter if its IDP or BC. However, from earlier posts, many people think IDP is simpler so give it a shot with IDP.

Hello there ,

I see you got 9 bands for listening in both attempts. Would you please like to share any strategies that u use. Also please advise if u were given headphones for listening because we dont get one in Canada unless we are impaired.

 

[xpressentry]

London also doesn't give headphones.