First-Year Students
Placement Exams
Please Note: Updated information for the Class of 2025 will be available in early June 2021.
General Information
When choosing your courses for the first semester, you will need information about the level at which you should enter a particular field of study. This process is known as "Placement." In areas where you are particularly well prepared, you may be placed into intermediate rather than beginning level courses. Where no placement exam is given, an interview with the department chair can determine your status.
Which placement exams should you take? When an exam is not required, the general rule of thumb is that if you have absolutely no prior experience with a subject, you do not need to take the placement exam. If you have any experience with a subject and are entertaining the possibility that you might take a course in that field at any point in your Haverford career, you should take the placement exam for that subject. You will have no other opportunity to do so. Some departments have specific guidelines that take precedence over this general rule of thumb.
Most placement exams and surveys will be available by June 15, with many available earlier in June, and must be completed by July 15, 2020. Some language placement exams are only available when you arrive at Haverford during Customs Week in August. If you are not able to complete the online tests, please contact your Dean Katrina Glanzer (kglanzer@haverford.edu). Note: You will receive your placement results, and your assigned writing seminar(s), during Customs Week.
Placement and credit are separate issues at the College. High scores on AP, IB or other types of exams can carry transferable credit, which can be used toward fulfilling credit requirements toward graduation. However, high scores on such exams will not automatically assure advanced placement in a particular subject at Haverford. Such placement depends upon judgments made by the appropriate departments based on your placement exams results or interviews with the chair. Advanced placement from Haverford placement exams administered online or during Customs Week will not carry credit.
In order to accurately place you at the level which is best suited to your preparation and potential, you are expected to give your best effort while taking the exam under the principles of the Haverford Honor Code. If possible, we suggest completing the Academic Integrity Tutorial before taking your placement exams.
If you received an extra time accommodation on exams in high school due to a learning difference, and/or a medical, physical or psychological diagnosis and would like to request this accommodation on your placements exams, please contact Sherrie Borowsky, Coordinator of Access and Disability Services (ADS) at hc-ads@haverford.edu or sborowsky@haverford.edu.
Languages
Haverford College requires all of its students to complete two semesters of college-level study of a language other than English by the end of their junior year. This requirement may be satisfied in one of the following two ways:
- One full year of language study in one language at the level in which the student is placed by the appropriate Haverford College language department; or
- language study in a course conducted under Haverford College’s approved International Study Abroad Programs, and as certified in advance by the relevant language department chair at either Haverford or Bryn Mawr, or by the Educational Policy Committee when the language has no counter department at either Haverford or Bryn Mawr.
Language courses may be taken at Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, and with advisor and registrar permission, the University of Pennsylvania. The Haverford department, however, must determine placement. Courses taken to fulfill the language requirement do not meet divisional distribution requirements and may not be taken Pass/Fail at Haverford, CR/NCR at Bryn Mawr or Swarthmore, or P/F at the University of Pennsylvania.
Exam Subject | Exam Details | Deadlines | Contact | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Arabic | Once you have completed and submitted your exam to Moodle, please email Professor Darwish at mdarwish@brynmawr.edu or mdarwish@haverford.edu. An oral interview will follow the written portion of the exam to ensure most appropriate placement. Moodle |
July 15, 2020 | Manar Darwish (mdarwish@brynmawr.edu) | Required for students who have previously studied Arabic. |
Chemistry | The Chemistry Department asks ALL incoming students (even those with minimal chemistry background) to complete this survey. If you are not interested in taking chemistry at Haverford, you may state this in response to the first survey question, and you will be asked no further questions. If you are expecting to receive a Chemistry AP score for the AP test from spring 2020 and have not yet received it, please do take the Chemistry Placement exam now, and indicate the letter "X" when asked to provide an AP test score. We will collect these from you later as needed. Chemistry Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Casey Londergan (clonderg@haverford.edu) | Required for all students, even if you do not intend to take chemistry. |
Chinese | The Chinese placement exam has three parts—an essay sent to Changchun Zhang (czhang@brynmawr.edu), an online test at moodle.haverford.edu, and an interview with a faculty member of the Chinese Program through zoom. Request Chinese Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Changchun Zhang (czhang@brynmawr.edu) |
All entering students with some background in Chinese who wish to take Chinese, including heritage students who can speak the language with no or limited reading and writing skills, must submit a short essay to Changchun Zhang (czhang@brynmawr.edu), take an online test at moodle.haverford.edu, and have an interview with a faculty member of the Chinese Program through zoom. All this should be completed by July 15, 2020. |
Classics | As a Haverford student, you can choose from a variety of courses exploring the languages and cultures of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and their global reception across time. The Classics questionnaire will help us advise you about which classes might align with your interests and goals this year and in the future. Department of Classics Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Deborah Roberts (droberts@haverford.edu) |
All students are encouraged to fill out the survey. |
Computer Science | This test will help us place you in the correct computer science class, but in some cases, further discussion between student and faculty will cause us to revise this initial placement. CS Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Dave Wonnacott (dwonnaco@haverford.edu) | Required if you wish to place directly into a course higher than CMSC 105: Introduction to Computer Science. |
Dance | Students who are interested in taking intermediate or advanced ballet should contact Mady Cantor (mcantor@brynmawr.edu) by August 1, 2020. Bryn Mawr: Dance Courses and Schedule |
August 1, 2020 | Mady Cantor (mcantor@brynmawr.edu) |
Required for students interested in taking intermediate or advanced ballet. |
Economics | Economics 105 is our standard one semester introduction to economics. This exam will help us decide who is prepared to pass out of Economics 105, and to enroll in courses for which Economics 105 is a prerequisite. Economics Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | David Owens (dowens@haverford.edu) |
Only those who wish to pass out of Econ 105 need to take the test. |
French | The French placement consists of a questionnaire about your language background, a placement test, and a short composition. Placement in French at Haverford takes into account your placement test score, your composition, your background and performance in French classes in high school, and your other experiences and interest in the language. In order to help us place you at the level which is best suited to your preparation and potential, as well as fair to other students, you are expected to give your best effort while taking the test under the principles of the Haverford Honor Code. When you log into Haverford's Moodle site, you will see the placement exam in your course list. Moodle |
July 15, 2020 | Koffi Anyinefa (kanyinef@haverford.edu) |
Required for any student who is interested in and/or who wants to take a course in French at Haverford, and who has had ANY previous experience in French. |
German | We ask all students with previous knowledge of /experience with German to take the German Placement test. The test consists or a listening, grammar and essay section. This test will help you and us to assess your German background. It will enable us to best advise you so that we can place you in the correct German language course.While taking the German placement test you cannot look up anything and must adhere to the principles of the Haverford Honor Code. Moodle |
July 15, 2020 | Imke Brust (ibrust@haverford.edu) |
Required for students with previous knowledge of German. Students who have no previous experience with German, but are interested in Elementary German, do not have to take the test. |
Greek | As a Haverford student, you have access to a full sequence of ancient Greek courses, as well as other courses that explore the languages and cultures of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and their global reception across time. The Classics questionnaire will help us advise you about which classes match your previous experience, interests, and goals. Department of Classics Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Deborah Roberts (droberts@haverford.edu) |
Questionnaire and diagnostic required for students with previous knowledge of ancient Greek. Students who have no previous experience with Greek, but are interested in Elementary Greek, should complete the questionnaire (but will not have to take a diagnostic). |
Hebrew | Students should contact department or program faculty. | N/A | N/A | Required if you plan to take a course in this department. |
Italian | As a Haverford student, you have access to a full sequence of Italian courses in the Bi-Co—offered by the Bryn Mawr Dept. of Italian and Italian Studies both on the BMC and HC campuses. A recommended online placement test is available and should be taken by any student with previous knowledge of Italian by July 12. Students are invited to contact faculty representing this department; or to schedule a meeting with the Italian Language Coordinator (prof. Giammei) in order to determine the most comfortable and stimulating level through an informal conversation in Italian. Recommended Online Test |
July 12, 2020 | Alessandro Giammei (agiammei@brynmawr.edu) |
Required for students with previous knowledge of Italian who plan to take a course in this department. |
Japanese | The Japanese placement consists of an online exam and an oral interview (likely by Zoom). The online exam, provided by the University of Tsukuba (Japan), should be taken by July 15, whereas an interview will be individually scheduled during late July. Please first contact Tetsuya Sato for the instructions. Request Japanese Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 (online exam) | Tetsuya Sato (tsato@haverford.edu) |
Students who have studied Japanese for more than one semester, including heritage language learners if they have taken Japanese in school or speak Japanese at home, must take the test. |
Latin | As a Haverford student, you have access to a full sequence of Latin courses, as well as other courses that explore the languages and cultures of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds and their global reception across time. The Classics questionnaire will help us advise you about which classes match your previous experience, interests, and goals. Department of Classics Placement Exam |
July 15, 2020 | Deborah Roberts (droberts@haverford.edu) |
Questionnaire and diagnostic required for students with previous knowledge of Latin. Students who have no previous experience with Latin, but are interested in Elementary Latin, should complete the questionnaire (but will not have to take a diagnostic). |
Mathematics | All Haverford students are required to take at least one Quantitative or Symbolic Reasoning course before they graduate, and the Math Placement Exam is required for all incoming students. If you are expecting math AP scores, it is preferable to take the Math Placement exam once you are able to report your results. We know that this year our placement deadline is early, so some of you will get your AP scores after the placement test deadline. If you are in this situation, go ahead and take our placement test now and email your AP score to rmanning@haverford.edu once you receive it; we will do our best to incorporate it into our placement process. Mathematics Placement in Moodle |
July 15, 2020 | Robert Manning (rmanning@haverford.edu) | Required for all students, even if you do not intend to take mathematics. |
Musical Interest Survey | In order to buy music and plan the concerts for the coming year, it's helpful for us to have an indication from you of your possible interest in any of the musical organizations. Musical Interest Survey |
August 1, 2020 | Heidi Jacob (hjacob@haverford.edu) and Nathan Zullinger (nzullinger@haverford.edu) | Required for all students. If you have questions about participating in Bi-Co musical activities, either before or after the deadline, please contact Heidi Jacob (instrumental/orchestral) or Nate Zullinger (vocal/choral). |
Physics | Students should wait to complete the placement questionnaire until they have received the results of the AP/IB Physics tests. Physics Placement Questionnaire |
July 28, 2020 | Walter Smith (wsmith@haverford.edu) | Required for all students who are planning to take physics in college. |
Russian | Students should contact department or program faculty. | N/A | Marina Rojavin (mrojavin@brynmawr.edu) | Required if you plan to take a course in this department. |
Spanish | Students planning to register for a Spanish class this coming fall or spring and who have had more than a year of Spanish language instruction are required to take the placement test. (Students with less than a year of Spanish are exempt from the test and can register directly in SPAN 001. Also exempt from the test are students schooled in a Spanish-speaking country, who can register for any 200 level course). The placement ‘test’ is composed of a listening comprehension section, and a grammar and reading comprehension section. Students should take each part without interruption and should make every effort to take both parts of the test within a 24 hour period. Moodle |
July 15, 2020 | Ana Lopez-Sanchez (alopez@haverford.edu) | See exam details. |
Writing Program | The placement is in two parts; both your seminar preferences and your essay should be submitted via the online preference and essay form by the deadline. After assessment by the Director of the Writing Program and writing seminar faculty, you will be automatically registered for your assigned seminar(s) in Bionic for the fall and/or spring semesters. Writing Seminar Placement |
July 15, 2020 | Debora Sherman (dsherman@haverford.edu) |
Required. Will open by June 15, 2020. |