<p>could a current U OF C student help a very confused and stressed prospective student?
I need some info of on the placement tests, please. If you could clarify for me :
the difficulty level
the format (multiple choice, free respnse?)
the timing
the amount of studying required
the material covered (is it hs or college material?)
please help !!!</p>
<p>ty</p>
<p>what are the placement tests for?</p>
<p>E^2: Placement.</p>
<p>well, that certainly answers all questions.</p>
<p>hey nerdygeek here's some info on math placement tests
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159581&page=3&pp=15%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=159581&page=3&pp=15</a></p>
<p>so, they're optional....if one wants to advance oneself</p>
<p>Psssshhh, are there remedial placement tests?</p>
<p>If I've only taken pre-calc I don't think that I'll even make it into the 13000 series- will I?</p>
<p>i heard from current students that you should take placement tests, as many as you can, because if you do relatively well, then you place out of a bunch of classes, and that means that you might be able to graduate early. </p>
<p>so i'm taking blind shots, taking every placement test that i can.</p>
<p>As long as there is no uneccessary studying (which would be any kind of studying in general) before hand, I suppose it wouldn't hurt</p>
<p>Here's the rough rundown (from two years ago, so no guarantees it's exactly the same now).</p>
<p>Math: You have to take it. You'll get placed in a some variation of math. There's a version of the test for people who've seen Calculus before and a version for those who haven't. You get placed somewhere, from a tutorial (I think) all the way up to advanced classes. Most people who've seen calculus before place into 151 or 152 (the first or second quarters of the intermediate Calc sequence). People who haven't seen Calc before usually end up in 131 or so. These are generalizations, and I know people who've been at every level.
PREPARATION: Don't "study" per se, but it's probably a good idea to make sure you still remember what things mean. You don't want to overplace yourself and end up completely lost. </p>
<p>Foreign Language: You must take a year of foreign language here. This can be completely averted with an appropriate score on the placement exam, and a brief oral competency test later in the quarter. If you've taken a language before, take the test. You never know how well you'll do. Some language exams are much easier than you'd expect (Spanish, for example). The test will place you at a level in the language, or, if you test at the second-year level (ready for 201) or higher, it can be used to fulfill the foreign language competency requirement.
PREPARATION: Don't re-teach yourself a lanuage just to pass the exam. If it's been awhile, you might brush-up on grammar and stuff, but if you don't already know it, don't try to learn it. Again, you don't want to end up in a class of people who know the language much better than you.</p>
<p>Sciences: I know much less about these. It really depends on your background in the subject areas.</p>
<p>Basically the potential for placing out is:
Math: 1 quarter is reasonably possible, if you've seen Calc before (and are planning to take Calc as your Math here). Not many completely pass out of it, but it's possible.
Language: If you know (3 solid years in HS is probably enough) a language you'll most likely test at the 201 level at least.
Science: I know that Honors Gen Chemistry is only 2-quarter (instead of 3), but otherwise I know almost nothing.</p>
<p>I would agree that you should take a placement test in anything you have a remote chance of either getting credit for or wanting to pursue.</p>
<p>I thought getting a 3 in an AP Language course was enough to complete competency and one would therefore not have to take a foreign language.</p>
<p>"The College believes that knowledge of a foreign language is important, and it expects demonstrated competency in a foreign language before graduation. Competency examinations are administered annually; students may also demonstrate competence with AP scores of 3 or higher in certain languages."</p>
<p>Regarding chemistry, a 5 on the AP Chemistry Exam lets you place into Honors Chemistry or Organic Chemistry - a second year course. If you are sufficently movitated (or a sucker for punishment), that would put you on a track to graduate in four years with a BA/MS in chemistry if you take 4 courses on all (or nearly all) quarters.</p>
<p>What about economics? How many math courses will I need to take by the time I graduate?</p>
<p>Econ needs more math than a physics major (if you count stat as math)</p>
<p>Thats all I know :) check the course guide.</p>
<p>As for placement tests, It's WAY to early to think about that and when it is time...nobody studies even if they say they will, its not worth it to place into a class that is then to hard for yuo</p>
<p>honors calc seems really sweet, though.... i say that if people want to give it a shot, go for it!</p>
<p>yes...........honors calc is what REALLY gets me off.</p>
<p>oh my. i didn't know calc was that exciting for you esquared</p>
<p>Is it possible not to have to take core bio by doing well on the placement test?</p>
<p>All the stuff you need to know is in the course catalog. You might want to start reading it.</p>