1. Language: The specific choice of IELTS or TOEFL depends on your personal habits. This is hard to say. But from the application point of view, if you decide to go to the United States (in fact, scholarships in the United States are quite generous now, but they are less generous than in previous years), it is recommended that you take the TOEFL. Although many colleges and universities in the United States have announced that they will accept IELTS scores, discrimination against IELTS scores is also real.
2. Language learning: As for improving your English level, if you now have the idea of ??studying abroad, you should start preparing now. The process of learning English is like a snowball, a long accumulation and repetition. process.
3. Language training time: This question is hard to say. From the perspective of an English major graduate, it is recommended that you prepare for Level 4 for half a year (I took this long back then, For me, it is enough), because you said that your English is not up to par, and your family's financial situation is not very good. Both IELTS and TOEFL training require a certain foundation to accumulate. If you force learning, it will be like trying to grow a young child. There will also be a lot of unnecessary costs financially.
4. Study and life: You did not specify your major. If you are a student of science and engineering, then you must seize every opportunity to practice, and even find and create such opportunities for yourself. Chance. Develop independent and good living habits in life. Health is the capital of revolution.