ABOUT THE FRESHMAN PLACEMENT TESTS  

The purpose of UIUC Placement Testing is to find out what your level of knowledge is in a subject so that we can recommend a particular UIUC course that will continue your studies where you left off. Only students who are coming to UIUC take the placement exams. Your acceptance of UIUC's offer of admission must be officially processed before we can register you to take the placement tests. If you are a transfer student rather than a freshman, click here.

The Center offers online placement tests in science (chemistry) and four foreign languages (French, German, Latin, and Spanish). If you need to take a placement exam in another foreign language, contact the department to make arrangements. You don't have to take a test in English because we place you into your Rhetoric course based on your best ACT English score (or SAT equivalent).

The Math Department coordinates online placement testing in math. All new students are required to take the ALEKS Math exam.

If you are a new student for Fall 2008, click here to take your ALEKS Math Placement Exam. You need to log in through the IStart webpage and follow the links to the ALEKS Math exam. After completing the ALEKS Math exam, you should print out the final page with your test results and bring it with you to registration. If you have questions about the ALEKS Math exam, please email advising@math.uiuc.edu.

Results from the ALEKS Math exam are valid for five months. If you don't plan to study math until Spring 2009, you must wait until September 2008 to take the exam.

Results from the chemistry and language placement exams are valid for one year. This means, for example, that if you choose not to enroll in a foreign language course during your first or second semester, you may still follow the placement recommendation when pre-registering for your third semester. However, after that date, you will need to re-test in order to obtain an updated evaluation before enrolling for courses. Re-tests are done with a paper-and-pencil exam and are offered only at the beginning of each semester.

Regardless of your Summer Registration date, you should complete all of your placement testing as soon as you can. Waiting till the last minute tends to cause stress, especially if your computer disconnects in the middle of an online exam. If you complete your placement testing at least one week prior to your Summer Registration date, we guarantee that your results will be made available to your academic advisor.