On April 31, I finally chose a college! I rushed over to my library and paid my admission fee and housing deposit. It was such a relief that after months of going back and forth between what college to attend, that I finally chose a college.
The other day in the mail, I got my orientation information. I have to sleep over at the campus; there I'll receive my lap top and my class schedule. I also learned that I'm required to take THREE placement tests!
The school I'm going to accepted me late, since my school held back my transcripts. So while I thought they were sent, my high school did not send them out on time; therefore delaying my application process. By the time I was accepted, the limit for my major was filled and I was accepted as undecided. So, now I'm going into college as a liberal arts major. I definitely didn't want this to happen; now, I won't necessarily take the recommended courses for my intended major.
Anyway, I'm told since I'm a liberal arts major I need to take a math, English, and language test. This is not good. First of all, I'm not good at math at all. Honestly, I don't know how I passed algebra; that's mainly my fault. I just didn't understand the material and got behind. English test? That will be easy, since I love English. I just don't know what kind of questions they ask. How do I study for that? Language: Not good. I studied Spanish for three years,but remember nothing. I haven't used it since junior year. I was good at it in freshman and sophomore year, but struggled during junior year and decided senior year that it wasn't for me.
I'm allowed to take these tests online, which is good for my busy work schedule. But I don't know what to expect. I'm so afraid that I'll end up in a class that won't count towards any of my credits; especially for math and language.
So, if anyone has advice about placement tests, please leave some comments!
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The point of the tests is to place you in the appropriate class, so you don't end up in a class way over your head. And you may have to take a class that doesn't count, but what you said about Algebra is telling. Once you get behind in math, it is really hard to catch up. You don't want to start out college that way.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
Just to let you know, the placement tests would've happened regardless of how early you got in and also whether or not you got admitted to the specific area of study you wanted.
Also, you decide your own course load in college- you will be choosing every one of your classes. An adviser will be appointed for this, and perhaps a recommended schedule of classes, but this is only advice: it's up to you. (Just remember there's certain requirements Everyone at the university must fulfill.)
As for the placement tests, no need to study (maybe brush up a little bit on what you already feel comfortable with- at the most). These are to decide which level you will take in those three areas. They're meant to ACCURATELY judge what you ALREADY know. The purpose they serve is ensuring you don't get put in a class that's over your head... you wouldn't wanna start out in a math class where the teacher assumes you already know a bunch of things that you really don't. These test scores are reflected nowhere on your transcript nor on any record whatsoever. These tests only help. Really, don't worry about studying unless you're just brushing up.
I was required to take a math placement test, even though I had credit for calculus going into registration. Since I placed high enough on that, I was supposed to take a 'calculus readiness test' or something like that, but I managed to get out of that, since I already had credit for it. Out of the 100 or so people in my registration session, only like 10 placed high enough to take that test, so really, it's no big deal if you don't do phenomenal.
Also, just because you're listed as undecided doesn't mean that you can't take the classes recommended for your intended major. The fact that you're registering late might affect that, merely because the classes might already be filled by the time you get to register (this happened to me... I ended up taking a really small load my first semester because all the classes I wanted to take and get out of the way were already filled when I registered. I also didn't have my test scores in yet, so I didn't know all the classes I placed out of, and if one of the classes had been open, I would have taken it unnecessarily.)
So, bottom line... don't stress about them. You only have to take them once, and you can go from there, no matter what ends up happening.
~C
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I am a music major, and I had to take a placement test for a theory class. I was really hoping to pass the class, since I knew most of the stuff on there. I didn't pass because I was too slow answering the questions, but that was probably the best thing that happened to me. I learned so many more shortcuts for figuring out the key of a piece etc.
Don't worry about the tests. I'm sure that you will learn something new, and if not, the units should count to graduation.