
Freshman Placement Exam Overview
First of all…don't panic! These tests are simply a tool your advisor uses to determine how to place
you in appropriate classes. Your success is important to us, and that means registering you for classes
in which you will have every opportunity to earn an "A."
Each school has different requirements, so please make sure you are reviewing placement exam
guidelines only for the school to which you were admitted. It is also important that you know which
required and/or optional placement exams apply to you. Please carefully read the guidelines below so that
you can determine which exams you need to complete. After reviewing the guidelines, you will find a link
to begin the online placement exam process at the bottom of this page. If you have remaining questions
about placement exams, you may find contact information for your academic advising center at the bottom
of this page.
If you will be taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams that are accepted by the Swanson School of Engineering in
math, chemistry or physics and plan on using that credit, we ask that you sign up for and attend a
PittStart session in July or August. Doing so provides us with the opportunity to use that information in
our scheduling conversations. Please rest assured that you will get all of the classes that you need for
your first semester even if you wait until one of these later PittStart sessions. All required Integrated
Freshman Engineering classes are guaranteed for incoming freshman students.
For more information on accepted AP credits, click
here.
Even if you are coming in with credit for math, physics or English, you still need to take the placement exams.
Your advisor will discuss your options with you during your individual meeting on the second day of your PittStart session.
Completion of Online Placement exams begins May 1, 2008.
Engineering Placement Exam Guidelines
Required Exams Offered Online
(please refer to the information below for exemption requirements)
|
| English |
90 minutes |
| Algebra |
90 minutes |
| Trigonometry |
25 minutes |
|
|
Optional Exams Offered Online
(please refer to the information below for optional exam guidelines)
|
| French |
60 minutes |
| German |
60 minutes |
| Spanish |
60 minutes |
|
|
Optional Exams Offered On Campus During the PittStart Session
(please refer to the information below for optional exam guidelines)
|
| Music Theory |
60 minutes |
| Russian |
60 minutes |
| Portuguese |
60 minutes |
| Latin |
60 minutes |
| Italian |
60 minutes |
|
|
| Exam |
Special Notes |
English Writing
(Required unless you are exempt) |
Required if verbal/critical reading SAT is below 600.
In order to be exempt from the English Composition requirement and be awarded AP
credit for English Composition 0200, you must score a 5 on the AP English test and
score 600 or higher on the verbal/critical reading portion of the SAT test. No
credits will be awarded until we receive official notification from the testing
service.
|
Algebra
(Required for all Engineering students) |
All Engineering students are required to complete the algebra exam. |
Trigonometry
(Required for all Engineering students) |
All Engineering students are required to complete the trigonometry exam. |
Foreign Language
(Optional) |
Students who wish to continue studying the same foreign language they took in high
school should take these exams. |
Music Theory
(Optional) |
If you are considering a major or minor in music, you should take this test. A
sufficient score will exempt you from the required preparation for Music Theory class.
|
|
Algebra
The online algebra exam is designed to determine whether you have acquired the algebraic skills
sufficient for college-level quantitative courses. The five-part, 90-minute exam covers problems ranging
from elementary to advanced algebra. The 45 problems cover the following material: algebra of rational
numbers; operations with algebraic expressions; linear equations and inequalities; factoring and algebraic
functions; exponents and radicals; graphing and distance; fractional and quadratic equations and
inequalities; functions and their graphs; complex numbers; absolute values; and systems of equations and
exponential and logarithmic functions. Calculators without keyboards are permitted; books and notes are
not allowed. We strongly recommend that you review for this exam.
To view sample algebra and English placement exams, click
here.
Trigonometry
The online trigonometry placement test is a 25-minute, 15-question exam that tests definitions of
trigonometric functions, right angles, evaluation of special angles, related angles, radian measure,
graphing, identities, laws of sines and cosines, trigonometric equations, and arc functions. Calculators
without keyboards are permitted; books and notes are not allowed.
English Writing
ALL Freshmen Engineering students are required to take the English writing placement exam if their
Verbal SAT is lower than 600.
The online English writing placement test is designed to measure your ability to read and understand
college-level material and to write a thoughtfully coherent response. You will be given 90 minutes to
read a short passage and write an essay in which you will be asked to explain what the writer of the
passage is saying about a particular issue, and respond to that writer's view and issue in terms of your
own knowledge and experience.
Sufficient achievement on this exam will exempt students from further composition courses. Based on
your performance on this exam, you may be required to add a composition class as well as a one-credit
tutorial (Composition Tutorial 0201) designed to help you resolve specific issues in your writing at the
basic level.
Foreign Language
Currently there is no foreign language requirement for the Swanson School of Engineering. However, the school
strongly believes in the value of international experience and so encourages students who are interested
in continuing a language they have already started in high school at the college level to further their
foreign-language studies. Exams are offered in French, German, Italian, Latin, Portuguese, Russian and
Spanish. All exams, except the French, Spanish and German tests, are one-hour reading exams that include
multiple-choice questions, completion of sentences with words or phrases, questions about the content or
meaning of a passage and recognition of grammatically correct forms of words or phrases. You are
encouraged to review first and second-year language texts before taking the exam.
Engineering Placement Exam Questions Contact:
|
Freshman Engineering Program Office
(412) 624-9825
|
|
|