Math Placement Information
A Message about Math Placement to Students and their Parents
Placement is not about skipping courses. The purpose of math placement assessment is to give an accurate measure of your current mathematical skills, so you will be placed in a math course where you have a greater chance to be successful. It is important that you submit your official AP, SAT or ACT scores, to have access to all of the courses for which you qualify, even if you have opted not to have them used for admissions decisions. Students without SAT/ACT scores will still be evaluated using the remaining data in our system. Submitting any scores you have will not lower your placement score but may raise it.
College courses are vastly different from high school courses. College course have about half the instructional time and will likely cover the material in greater depth and faster pace than the high school class. College students are expected to study and learn more outside of math class than they needed to in high school.
- High School Course: 90 min classes, 5 days per week = 450 minutes of weekly instruction.
vs - College Course: 50-75 min classes, 3-4 days per week = 150-225 minutes of weekly instruction.
We often advise students to take a college math course with the same name as a course they completed in high school.
Our primary goal with math placement at The College of Charleston is to ensure the academic success of our students. When you attempt a course for which you do not have the prerequisite skills it can waste time and money, delay graduation, negatively impact your GPA, endanger your financial aid, and increase your risk of Academic Probation.
We're parents, too. We strive to give our students the same advice we would give our own children.
Resources for New and Returning Students