Haverford College Placement Questionnaire
Click here to fill out the placement questionnaire
More information:
Should you fill out this questionnaire?
The answer is yes if you are a current (or recently admitted) Haverford College student who is interested in taking any of our Introductory Chemistry courses numbered 110, 111, 112 and/or 115. The answer is also yes for Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore students who wish take these Haverford courses. These courses are required for Chemistry majors and for any student interested in attending medical and other health-related professional schools; these courses are also commonly used to fulfil the prerequisites for Haverford's introductory Biology course, Bio 200 (which is usually taken in the second year).
Why do we ask you to fill out this questionnaire?
The Chemistry Department has several offerings available for incoming students whether they have had little high school chemistry, or AP (or other advanced chemistry courses) from high school. We want to help students find the course that is at the right level for them. We realize that for some students with less preparation in Chemistry, many answers will be left blank; that's OK - all we ask is that you do your best to answer what you can.
What questions are there?
The questionnaire asks about your preparation from high school in the areas of math and science, and also includes a few math questions and several chemistry questions to help us gauge how much you remember from your high school math and chemistry (or physical science) courses. We do not recommend any special study before you fill out the questionnaire.
When do I need to fill it out?
You may fill out the questionnaire any time over the summer prior to the Wednesday before classes starts (i.e. the beginning of Custom's Week for incoming first year students); results will be posted on the Thursday or Friday before classes start.
Possible placement recommendations
Your placement recommendation will be for one or two of several courses. Most of you will have had at least one year of high school chemistry and will be placed into Chem 111 (Structure and Bonding) and/or Chem 112 (Chemical Dynamics). These two courses are offered every semester and may be taken in either order. Some of you will be placed into Chem 110 (Fundamentals of Chemistry, offered only in the fall), a one-semester course that does not assume any prior (high school) chemistry background and is designed to prepare students for Chem 111 and Chem 112. Students with strong chemistry preparation (usually meaning a score of 5 in AP Chemistry) will be placed into the half-credit Chem 115 (Chemical Structure Inquiry Lab, offered only in the fall) in place of Chem 111.
Non-majors courses do not require the questionnaire be filled out
Most semesters the Chemistry Department offers one or two courses designed for students not majoring in the natural sciences but who wish to learn more about Chemistry and how it applies to societal and personal decision-making. These courses, which do not have a laboratory component, do not give major credit nor do they help with medical school admissions requirements. Examples of these courses are Chem 151: Case Studies in Chemistry, Chem 152: Chemistry: Its Application to the Everyday World, and Chem 154: Nanotechnology. You do not need to fill out our placement questionnaire to take such courses.
Questions?
If you have questions about Chemistry at Haverford, we encourage you to contact a member of the Chemistry Department by email or phone.