Astronomy with low TOEFL + GRE score

[AlohaFF]

I'm an international applicant. I have an undergraduate degree in Physics from a reasonable university in Asian. I have good recommendation letters from a director of my national astronomy institute. But I have problem with my TOEFL and verbal+writing GRE scores.

My score:

GPA 3.98/4.00
VGRE 280 (5%)
QGRE 800 (94%)
WGRE 2.5 (3%)
PGRE 840 (79%)
ibtTOEFL 79 (Reading:24, Listening:21, Speaking:13 , Writing:21)

Where to apply for astronomy/astrophysics with these scores?

[grae313]

Check grad school shopper (http://www.gradschoolshopper.com) to see a school's minimum TOEFL requirements. Ohio State has a minimum of 79, so there are respectable programs for which you are not below the minimum cutoff. It seems like a lot of schools have a minimum of 550/213/80, which you are close enough to that your application might be looked at, but it will still make admissions anywhere difficult. I don't think anybody has a list of schools with a TOEFL minimum of 79 or below, so you'll have to do your own research here and check the requirements school by school. Do you have any research experience? If your application is otherwise strong, remember that you can always take a year off and try and improve your English then try again next year. All of your other scores will still be valid. Even if your TOEFL score is at or slightly above a school's minimum cutoff, it's still going to be hard for them to accept you, especially if you plan to be funded with a teaching assistantship. Remember that you have to understand others and they also have to understand you for you to be successful here. If you want to study in a foreign country and aren't good with the language it makes it difficult for everyone involved.

[Mataka]

You should try to do a master in an English speaking country first, it should boost your application and improve your English too. Also, you can try to do the IELTS instead of the TOEFL, I met people who thinks this test is a bit easier ...