Welcome to the Dartmouth Math placement system.

We designed this system to

▶ allow you to determine the appropriate starting point in mathematics for you, and
▶ allow you to gain credit and advanced placement for mathematics you mastered before coming to Dartmouth.

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First, some general remarks concerning pre-matriculation credit and advanced placement.

While Dartmouth accepts some pre-matriculation preparation for credit and advanced placement, any credit you receive for pre-matriculation work does not count as credit for graduation or as credit towards satisfying distributive requirements, however, it does count to fulfill prerequisite and major/minor requirements.
Good scores on AP, IB, and British A-level exams translate into credit and advanced placement in our mathematics curriculum. This diagram indicates your placement based upon those scores; the pre-matriculation credit you receive is shown on the following pages: AP, IB, A-level. If you are happy with your credit/placement based upon these scores, you need not take any placement tests, though you should continue reading to familiarize yourself with how your preparation fits with our curriculum.
If you are seeking credit and/or advanced placement for calculus (single or multivariable), and have not received it via AP, IB, or A-level exams, you must take one of the online placement tests below to receive credit and advanced placement. This includes the case where you have received credit for a math course taken at another college or university.
If you have completed one or more courses beyond calculus --- e.g., linear algebra, differential equations --- you will need to contact Professor Shemanske (via canvas) to arrange for placement exams during orientation week. You should certainly sort out your placement early in your Dartmouth career.
If you wish to take courses this fall that depend on your previous work, you must resolve your placement before course election at the end of orientation. These courses might include higher level mathematics, or various physics, chemistry, engineering, or economics courses. The following links are for past course web pages for linear algebra (Math 22) and for differential equations (Math 23), which in particular will indicate course syllabi.
Pro tip: Many students decide in later years to add a minor or double major and suddenly find they need credit for Math 3 or 8. Anticipate the potential need by taking necessary placement tests prior to the end of orientation. It costs you very little time, and the potential payback is enormous.

Placement exams will be available after the morning of August 7, 2017. If you are serious about getting advanced placement or credit, be sure to review your course material prior to taking the exam. You get only one chance at the exam; this is non-negotiable.
You must complete exams by 12pm (noon), Thursday September 7, 2017 in order for your results to be posted on Banner Student in time for your meeting with your first-year adviser for course selection on Friday.
All prematriculation credit matters must be in the hands of the Registrar by November 14, 2017 (the last day of classes of the fall term).

Students should complete the following modules:

Module 1. Pre-calculus preparation. Instructors for calculus courses expect students to know a variety of mathematical topics and techniques that you will use regularly in calculus. In our experience, many setbacks for students in calculus courses stem from the need to review some of these topics, most often from algebra and trigonometry. In this module, we provide a few pointers to resources that can help you review relevant techniques.

Module 2. Calculus at Dartmouth. This module will familiarize you with the way we teach Calculus at Dartmouth. You'll learn about the various courses we offer and what they cover.

Module 3. Matching your preparation to Dartmouth's courses. This module discusses some common categories of pre-matriculation mathematics preparation and connects them to our curriculum. The categories include: AP Calculus AB, AP Calculus BC, International Baccalaureate (IB) Higher Level, British A-levels, Calculus at another institution, and pre-Calculus. For each category, we provide recommendations for your next steps.

After reviewing module 3, see the diagram giving an overview of placement.

If it is after the first week in September and you have gained an understanding of Calculus at Dartmouth and how your preparation fits into it, you should check your Banner student record. Take a look at our Accessing And Understanding Your Banner Record page to help you interpret the parts of your Banner record that relate to Mathematics placement. In particular, if you have reported scores for AP AB, AP BC, IB HL, or a British A-level exam, checking banner helps you ensure that the scores have been reported correctly and that the correct placement/credit has been awarded. Please see the diagram giving an overview of the placement options.

Upon completing these first steps, ask yourself the question, "Is my placement correct?" To help with the answer to this question, take a look at this flowchart.

If you are happy with your placement, stop, close this page, and enjoy yourself.

If not, decide which exams to take. All of the exams on this site are governed by Dartmouth's honor principle.

With regard to exams on this site, you are not permitted to give or receive help on any of the exams and must conform to the instructions given at the beginning of each exam. Moreover, you may not copy and/or disseminate in any way the content of any of the exams on this site.

Exams:

On the canvas site, there are four possible exams. You may only take each exam once - there are no second chances!

MATH 1 diagnostic exam: This exam will help students deciding between MATH 1 and MATH 3 determine which course is a better fit for them.

MATH 3 Credit Exam: This exam tests material in first term Calculus course MATH 3, which is roughly equivalent to a Calculus AB AP course. To see what is covered in this course, take a look at the Sample Math 3 Syllabus which also has links to review materials. Doing well on this exam grants credit for MATH 3 and placement into MATH 8.

MATH 8 Credit Exam: This exam tests material from MATH 3 as well as the first half of MATH 8, which is roughly equivalent to a Calculus BC AP course (see the Sample Math 3 Syllabus as well as the Sample Math 8 Syllabus for a list of topics as well as review materials). Doing well on this exam grants credit for MATH 3 and MATH 8 and placement into MATH 11.

Multivariable Calculus Credit Exam: This exam tests material from the second half of MATH 8 and all of MATH 13 (see the Sample Math 8 Syllabus as well as the Sample Math 13 Syllabus for a list of topics as well as review materials). Doing well on this exam grants credit for MATH 13. Note that you will not automatically receive credit for MATH 3 and 8 if you only take this exam.

Review:

To ensure you gain the correct credit and placement, you will definitely want to review material to prepare for one or more of the exams above. The sample syllabi contain three types of review material. First, we provide references to sections in Stewart's Calculus textbook. Second, we provide a number of practice exams. Third, we provide links to Khan Academy videos relevant to the material the exams cover. You can use the Khan Academy material in two ways. The first way to use the material is simply to view the video modules (and associated problems) for specific topics you wish to review. The second way is more comprehensive, where you sign up for a "Mission" within Khan Academy. If you do the latter, you can use their website to more easily track your progress.

Taking the exams and gaining advanced placement:

The Math 1 Diagnostic exam, the Math 3 credit exam, and the Math 8 credit exam are one hour. The Math 13 credit exam is 90 minutes. If you wish to take an exam which is not listed, contact Professor Shemanske, the First Year Adviser for Mathematics (use your canvas inbox!). At the end of the exam, you will immediately see your raw score. The raw scores will be evaluated and awarded credit and placement if appropriate. We transfer this information to Banner in batches so, in particular credit and placement information will not be immediately available on Banner, and will not be available before orientation begins.

If you have trouble during one of the exams or with using this site, again contact Professor Shemanske.