First Year Students

     » Placement Exams

Math Placement Exam
All new students are required to take a math placement exam during orientation regardless of AP course completion or choice of major. The results determine your course placement in mathematics. The exam consists of basic math and algebra problems, which we encourage you to review. You will not be permitted to use a calculator during the exam.

Foreign Language Placement Exam
Students who plan to take a foreign language during their freshman year are encouraged to take the foreign language placement exam prior to participating in New Student Orientation. This computerized exam is not timed, but usually takes about 20 minutes. You can access the exam on the my.american.edu web portal. Click on Language Placement Exam in the grey bar on the right side of the screen. Follow the instructions to complete the exam and then either e-mail the results to your advisor or print your score and bring it with you to orientation. If you plan to take an advanced level foreign language other than French, German, Russian, or Spanish, you will need to take a paper exam during your orientation session.

Students who need disability-related accommodations for placement exams during orientation should contact one of the following offices in advance to provide documentation of their disability and request accommodations. Guidelines for documentation are posted on the appropriate Web site:

The Academic Support Center is for students with learning disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorder, 202-885-3360,
fax 202-885-1042, email: <asc@american.edu>, Web site: <www.american.edu/ocl/asc>.

Disability Support Services is for students with physical or psychological disabilities or other access-related concerns,
202-885-3315, fax 202-885-1160, email: <dss@american.edu>, Web site: <www.american.edu/ocl/dss>.