If you are heading to a university in the United Kingdom, you will almost certainly need an English test score. IELTS and PTE Academic are the two most Nepali students take, and most UK universities accept both. They test the same four skills — listening, reading, writing and speaking — but they feel very different on the day, and that difference can be worth a band or two.
IELTS Academic
IELTS is run jointly by the British Council, IDP and Cambridge. You can sit it on paper or on a computer at a test centre. Listening, reading and writing are taken in one sitting of about two and a half hours; speaking is a separate conversation of 11 to 14 minutes with a real examiner, sometimes on a different day.
Each skill is scored on a band from 0 to 9, in half bands, and your overall band is their average. Computer-delivered results usually arrive within a few days; paper results take about two weeks.
PTE Academic
PTE Academic is run by Pearson. It is taken on a computer at a test centre, in a single sitting of about two hours, and it is scored by computer — speaking included, which you answer into a microphone rather than to a person. Scores run from 10 to 90 for each skill and overall, and results usually arrive within two days.
Side by side
| IELTS Academic | PTE Academic | |
|---|---|---|
| How you take it | On paper or on computer, at a test centre | On computer, at a test centre |
| Speaking | Face to face with an examiner | Into a microphone, scored by computer |
| Length | About 2 hours 45 minutes; speaking sometimes on another day | About 2 hours, in one sitting |
| Scores | Bands 0 to 9, in half bands | 10 to 90 |
| Results | A few days on computer, about two weeks on paper | Usually within two days |
| Valid for | Two years | Two years |
What UK universities usually ask for
- Bachelor’s degrees: often IELTS 6.0 to 6.5 overall, with no band below 5.5 or 6.0.
- Master’s degrees: usually IELTS 6.5 overall, with no band below 6.0. Some courses, such as law, nursing or teaching, ask for 7.0 or more.
- PTE scores: each university publishes its own PTE requirement beside its IELTS one, so read it from the course page rather than converting scores yourself.
- Foundation and pre-sessional English courses: often accept lower scores, and can lead on to the degree.
Which one should you take?
- Choose IELTS if you would rather talk to a person than a microphone, or prefer to write by hand — the paper test is still offered.
- Choose PTE if you are comfortable typing and working on a computer, or need your result quickly — it usually arrives within two days, which helps when a deadline is close.
- Either way, confirm that every university on your list accepts the test, at the score you are aiming for, before you book.
Whichever you choose, book the Academic version: IELTS General Training and PTE Core are meant for work and migration, not university admission.
Our IELTS and PTE classes in Chabel include regular mock tests in the real format, so you can try both before you decide. Talk to our counsellors about the scores your universities ask for.