Related Links:
Suggested courses for first-year students
Frequently
asked questions
Obtaining Appropriate Placement and Credit in Mathematics
- Every entering student — whether they intend to take any
mathematics or not — receives a math placement. You
should know your placement, its significance, as well as your
options to change it.
- Obtaining an appropriate math placement concerns not only
those who plan on taking more math or those who want credit for
material already mastered; it is equally important to those who
think they will never need or take any more mathematics.
- Often, students who have taken some calculus in high school
arrive with no plans to take math, and then later decide to add
a minor which has a calculus prerequisite, and because they have
not secured an accurate placement upon matriculation, are forced
to rearrange their crowded academic schedules to accommodate the
requirement.
- While every student receives a default placement, advanced
placement and credit can be achieved in many ways including
standardized AP, IB-HL, and British-based A-level exams, as well
as (locally written) placement exams which you can take online
over the summer.
- Local placement exams are available online to matriculated
students starting in early August, and are taken only by those whose
have either not taken a standardized placement exam, or wish to
improve their current (default) placement. Placements exams must be taken
by noon on September 8, 2021 to ensure correct
placement before enrolling in fall-term classes. You will
receive an email in July/August providing more details.
- Since you are allowed to take a placement exam only once,
you are strongly urged to read the
relevant parts of this and related web pages.
The Dartmouth Mathematics Placement System will:
- allow you to determine the appropriate
starting point in mathematics (should you choose to
take math at Dartmouth),
- allow you to gain credit and/or advanced
placement for mathematics you mastered before coming to
Dartmouth,
- introduce you to the courses at Dartmouth and allow you
to see how your background dovetails with
Dartmouth's courses,
- provide extensive review material to allow you to
prepare for any placement tests you choose to take.
Sneak Peek — What's my default placement?
[Click on either image to magnify/shrink.]
For further explanation, see the links below.
Getting to know Dartmouth ...
- How do Dartmouth course numbers correspond to
my calculus
background? Math 1, 3, 8, 9, 11, 13
- How do Dartmouth course numbers correspond to
my statistics
background? Math 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 70
- I have taken a standardized placement test and know my
score. What is my default placement?
Answers to many common questions
- What placement/credit exams are available to take?
Answer
- I have taken both AB
and BC calculus, but have credit for neither. Which placement/credit exams should I take?
Answer
- I have taken a math course at another college or university.
How can I get credit for these courses?
Answer
- Where and when should I take a math placement/credit
test? Answer
- When and where can I find out my official
placement? Answer
- Is there any risk to my current placement by doing poorly on a
local placement/credit exam? None! You can
never lose placement.
- How can I determine if I should take a math placement/credit
test, and if so which
one? Answer
- I have reported AP/IB/A-level credit information to the
Registrar's office. Now
what? Answer
- I did poorly on my AP exam. Do I have any options?
Answer
- I took calculus and/or statistics before coming to Dartmouth, but did
not take any AP exams. Can I get credit? Answer
- Do these placement credits count towards graduation?
Answer
- I took math courses beyond calculus like linear algebra,
differential equations or number theory. What can I do?
Answer
Resources and Review Material
- Video tutorials for all levels of calculus from Khan Academy are available on the
Core
Calculus Courses web page.
- Practice
exams from Math 3, 8, 11/13 (Multivariable Calclus).
- Precalculus review material.
-
For more advanced courses such as linear algebra (Math 22),
differential equations (Math 23) or elementary number theory
(Math 25), refer to
the archive of course web pages to
see a typical syllabus. In some terms, practice midterms and
finals may have been posted, but generally such resourses are
restricted to students on campus.
Take me to the placement exam site
- You should go to the Canvas exam site only when you are ready
to take the appropriate placement/credit exam, and have the time
available. Math 1, 3, 8 exams are 60 minutes long; Multivariable
Calculus (Math 11/13), Linear Algebra (Math 22), Differential
Equations (Math 23), and Number Theory (Math 25) are 90 minutes long.
- You should also take the exams from a desktop or laptop
computer. A phone or tablet is likely to cause problems.
- You would be wise to use a cross-platform browser like Google
Chrome or Firefox to interact with the exams on Canvas. Safari, in
particular, has been known to cause problems when viewing the exam.
- The exam pages are by Dartmouth class: