Course Placement: Getting into the appropriate course level
As you think about possible courses for your first semester at Wellesley, an important consideration in many cases is placing yourself in the appropriate course level. It’s important to find your way into courses that will engage and challenge you, without overwhelming you. This is the best way to build a strong foundation for future academic success.
You have four years to move from introductory studies to more advanced work, and you should take advantage of all that time, and not rush into advanced courses for which you are not well prepared. At the same time, you don’t want to spend time repeating work that you have already done. Although you will find that courses at Wellesley are generally more demanding than what you have experienced elsewhere, you should remember that you have all done good secondary school work and so you are ready for this next step up! Fortunately, there are a number of ways to think about how to choose the right courses with the right level of difficulty.
What’s a prerequisite?
Some Wellesley courses build on specific previous knowledge, and if that is the case there is a prerequisite noted in the course description in the catalog. If there is a prerequisite, your professors will assume that you have that knowledge. If you are uncertain about whether your previous experience is enough to satisfy the course prerequisite, then consult with the professor during the first days of class and talk about whether this is the right course for you.
As a general rule, 100-level courses have no prerequisites and are open to all students, while many 200-level courses and all 300-level courses have some prerequisites. As you think about courses for your first semester in college, do not limit yourself to 100-level classes. Although these are excellent introductory experiences, you may also be ready to dig more deeply into one or two subjects in a 200-level course, particularly one without a prerequisite, so be sure to explore your options broadly.
APs and other exams in high school, including college-level work
One way that you can be ready for more advanced work as you begin your time at Wellesley is if you have taken college-level work already or have taken Advanced Placement or other advanced work in high school. Scores of 5 on AP exams and grades of 5, 6, and 7 on the IB higher-level exams may let you move directly into upper-level courses, and may also qualify for Wellesley credit. If you have taken such courses, or taken other courses in college while you were finishing high school, and you have enjoyed those studies and want to continue, be sure to examine the full range of available course offerings to select possibilities that are right for you.
Placement exams at Wellesley:
“Placement exams” or “exemption exams,” let you demonstrate the level of your knowledge coming into Wellesley. See Placement exams.
For continued language study: If you have already taken one of the languages offered at Wellesley and would like to continue to study it, you should take the placement exam in order to learn the appropriate entry level for you. If you have studied more than one language, it is sometimes possible to take two placement exams, although a better strategy is to take the exam in the language you are more interested in studying, and leave the second one for another time. Chinese, German, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish are offered during Orientation, while French, Italian, Latin, and Russian are offered online over the summer.
Satisfying the language requirement: If you have received a score of 5 on a language AP exam or a score of 5 or higher on a language higher level IB exam, or a score of 690 or higher on an SAT2 exam, this will satisfy Wellesley's language requirement, and you do not need to take a placement exam for that purpose. However, if you plan to continue your language work at Wellesley, you should take the placement exam, even if you have one of these scores.
For music study: The music theory placement exam is required of students who plan to study music performance at Wellesley. It's available online over the summer, on the Entering Student Checklist.
For physics study: These exams are for placement into upper-level courses, and relatively few students will have the background needed to do that. Read about the physics placement exam for advice. These exams will be offered online this summer, through the Checklist, starting in early July.
Quantitative Reasoning: All new students will take the Quantitative Reasoning skills assessment online over the summer. The study guide is available online, and the assessment will be available in the checklist in mid June.
Getting placement exam results
After August 1 click on the guide to learning the results of placement exams given in 2019.