Canadian universities stop accepting Duolingo English Test
What does it mean? And what should those who wanted to take this particular test for admission do?
To get into English-language colleges, including those in Canada, applicants need to prove their knowledge of the language. This can be done by taking one of many language tests. The most popular of these is the IELTS. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of many test centers around the world, both students and universities needed an alternative. And it has been found. DET — Duolingo English Test. Many Canadian universities began to accept its results as proof of English language proficiency.
What are the features of the Duolingo test? You can only take it online, from the comfort of your own home. This allows you to save a lot of time and get rid of the classic stress of most exams. Its duration is only 1 hour, which means it is much shorter than, for example, the IELTS (almost 3 hours). DET costs only USD 59, and the results are available in 48 hours (and by paying USD 40 you can get the results in just 12 hours after taking the test). And you can send your results to an unlimited number of universities directly through the Duolingo website.
At first glance, Duolingo English Test has only pluses. It is a worthy alternative to IELTS in many respects. Perhaps if you wanted to apply to a Canadian university, but didn't know about Duolingo, now you are thinking: why not choose this test?
But, quite suddenly, this summer, the Duolingo test got one notable flaw: some Canadian universities are no longer accepting its results as proof of English proficiency.
We are partners with University Canada West, a higher education institution in British Columbia, whose main distinguishing feature is that you can get an MBA at a good price. And this university also offers a scholarship of as much as CAD 9,720! And they accepted DET results.... Until July 31, 2023. Now, the Duolingo test for admission to UCW can only be taken by residents of countries where there is no other alternative. And if you, for example, are a resident of such a country (except for Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, and Iran, applicants from those countries can still take the DET), you must still provide the university with a letter explaining that you chose Duolingo because you had no other options. And even if you do this, the university does not guarantee to accept your application.
One of our clients wanted to take Duolingo specifically for admission to University Canada West. But she postponed it too long, and because of this she didn't make it to July 31. Now she was faced with a difficult choice: to take the more expensive, long and stressful IELTS Academic or to start studying in an English language pathway program (which we will come back to).
And while only a few people can probably get into UCW by taking the Duolingo test, another university we're partnered with — Georgian@ILAC — still allows you to get in with DET scores, but only until December 31, 2023.
There are 2 conclusions that can be drawn from the current situation.
First: carefully read the English language requirements on the website of the university you want to apply to. Pay attention to whether there are any footnotes at the bottom of the page. It is possible that this university no longer accepts DET or will stop accepting it in the very near future.
Second: If you wanted to take the Duolingo test to get into a Canadian university, now is the time. Who knows, maybe in a month or two it will be too late. So don't delay!
If you did not manage to pass Duolingo, the university you are interested in does not accept it, and you cannot or do not want to pass IELTS for one reason or another, there is a way out in this situation: ILAC English Language School. This is a world-renowned language school, which is chosen by tens of thousands of students around the world every year. You can study at its campuses in Toronto and Vancouver, as well as online. Despite its excellent reputation, the cost of studying at ILAC is not high at all, and one lesson at ILAC will cost you less than one lesson with a tutor in your city. And thanks to the fact that we are official partners with ILAC, registering for online classes through us, you will also get a 30% discount. ILAC has a University Pathway program, after which you can get into dozens of higher education institutions in Canada without taking IELTS. This includes the aforementioned University Canada West MBA program.
