Each independent US school or institute or university fixes up cutoff
TOEFL score for the admission. Be an observant of this fact, when you
apply for different schools either by reading the brochures of the
respective institutes or through the official or any other reliable
websites of the institute.
The TOEFL score is the result of your understanding level of the
English language. Mainly, the university you're applying to wants to
know that you know enough English to understand your courses and perform
well in the university or school. If you want to get admitted in any of
the top schools such as Harvard or Standford you need to have a good
TOEFL score. For the top schools your score should be around 280 or more
(if you have taken paper based TOEFL, then it should be 650 or more). To
get admission in average category schools, a TOEFL score of abou t 133
(450 on the paper test) is enough.
It is a misconception that scoring in Paper based TOEFL is easier than
Computer based TOEFL test. Your score depend on your proficiency in
English. The TOEFL score is valid for only two years. In other words,
two years after you take your TOEFL, your score will be deleted from the
official TOEFL database, and TOEFL will not send you another report of
your score. If you still have a copy of your original score, you can ask
the university whether they will accept it, but most universities will
not accept a copy from you; they require a score sent directly from
TOEFL.
