About the math placement exam
If you must take the math placement exam, do so online at least two days before your orientation program.
The math placement exam is used as a placement tool: It is designed to place you into the proper math class according to your existing knowledge and skills, and you can only take it once. Regardless of your results, you will receive no course credit nor fulfill any math requirements for your chosen major by taking the exam. Still, we recommend reviewing sample problems and exam topics before taking the exam.
Determining your exam requirements
Generally, you are required to take the math placement exam unless you received a score of three or higher on an AP calculus exam or you received sufficient college math credit, per your Transfer Credit Report.
You are not required to take the math placement exam if:
- You received transfer credit for a specific Ohio State math course (such as Math 1151).
- Your college math credit was designated General (G000) or Deferred/Unknown (D000) and was evaluated by a math counselor as sufficient to exempt you from the exam. (Find instructions for having credit evaluated on your Transfer Credit Report.)
- You received a score of three or higher on an AP calculus exam and Undergraduate Admissions received an official copy of your scores before your orientation program.
You are required to take the math placement exam if:
- You have no college math credit that will transfer to Ohio State.
- Your college math credit was designated as Special (S000), Technical (T000) or Undefined Technical (Und Tech.).
- Your college math credit was designated General (G000) or Deferred/Unknown (D000) and was not evaluated by a math counselor before your orientation session. (Find instructions for having credit evaluated on your Transfer Credit Report.)
- You have not received your Transfer Credit Report at least two days before your orientation session (if you submitted college transcripts).
- Undergraduate Admissions has not received an official copy of AP calculus exam scores that would exempt you from the test at least two days before your orientation session.
- You are enrolled in the College of Engineering. All incoming engineering students must take the math placement exam at least one week before their orientation program, irrespective of any credits already received.
Notes on Advanced Placement scores
- If you take the math exam and receive your AP scores before your orientation session, bring a copy of the scores with you to orientation — those results will be used in determining your appropriate math placement level.
- If you have not had your AP scores sent to Undergraduate Admissions, please bring a copy of them with you to orientation and have official scores sent as soon as possible (recipient code #1592).
Taking the math placement exam
If you have a disability and need extended time, a scribe, a reader or other support services for the math placement exam, contact Disability Services at 614-292-3307 to make arrangements. You'll likely need to provide documentation before accommodations can be authorized.
There are two versions of the math placement exam: Test B and Test D.
You'll take test B if you:
- did not submit ACT/SAT scores to the university for admission (depending on your results on test B, you may then be eligible to take test D)
- officially submitted an ACT math score of 24 or lower
- officially submitted an SAT math score of 580 or lower
You'll take test D if you:
- officially submitted an ACT math score of 25 or higher
- officially submitted an SAT math score of 590 or higher
- are an international student
Note: Self-reported standardized test scores and high school grades are not considered for placement in the D test.
Before the exam begins, you'll be asked to specify which math courses you completed in high school and the grade you received for each. Be sure to have this information available when you start the exam.
Taking the exam step-by-step
- Log in with your Ohio State username (name.#) and password.
- Read the instructions thoroughly. Specifically, note:
- You may use scratch paper, a pencil, and a scientific or graphing calculator. Do not use a calculator with computer symbolic algebra or a QWERTY keyboard.
- The exam has a 75 minute time limit. Your time remaining will be updated after you answer each question.
- The exam is entirely multiple-choice and each question has only one correct answer. No partial credit is awarded.