Take the test at least twice, if not more

No one will ever know your TOEFL score unless you tell them. The university you want to attend won’t know if you’ve taken the test once or 10 times. They will only know the score you tell them. Don’t worry if you get a low score the first time – no one will ever know but you! You can keep taking the test as many times as you need to.

Students rarely get the score they need the first time they take the test.

Here are some things that might be a surprise the first time you take the test:
The test goes by very, very fast!
Some test centres are very large with lots of people taking the test at the same time. There is a lot of noise and a lot of distractions.
Someone may have started the speaking section while you are still listening. You might be trying to write an essay while the person next to you is doing the speaking section.
You may not be able to get the proctor’s attention to get more paper or to get help with your computer.