You'll take two placement exams as a part of New Student Orientation—or more, if you choose. Your scores will help your academic advisor recommend appropriate courses for your first semester and develop a plan for future coursework.
Learn about required and optional exams
Required Exams
All incoming freshmen and most transfer students are required to take the Math Placement Exam and a Foreign Language Placement Exam (FLPE).
You can take these exams as early as March 1 and are required to complete them prior to your NSO academic advising and course registration meeting. During that meeting, you will meet with an advisor who will interpret your scores and determine your placement levels and course options. Neglecting to take these exams online prior to NSO may disrupt your advising appointment and course registration.
Transfer students who have IU Bloomington credit for certain levels of classes may be exempt from one or both of the required exams. You will want to check your Transfer Credit Report prior to orientation to determine what IU Bloomington credits you have earned with your previous coursework. You can find more information about IU's Credit Transfer Service on the IU Office of Admissions website.
We currently provide testing in Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Hebrew, Russian, and Spanish. You may take more than one language exam, but you cannot take the same one more than once. If the language you need to take is not offered, your advisor can provide information regarding the FLPE, including for American Sign Language (ASL).
International students are not required to take the FLPE.
All incoming freshmen must take the Math Placement Exam online prior to your NSO advising appointment. During your NSO advising appointment, your academic advisor will provide you with information about the interpretation of your score and placement.
The Chemistry Placement Exam is required for students in science majors who will be taking Chemistry courses as well as students in certain health professions programs. This is an online exam, available now, and must be taken before you can enroll in certain introductory chemistry courses.
International students must take the Indiana Academic English Test (IAET) unless they meet the exemptions. Instructions will be provided on your NSO confirmation page if required to take it before your NSO program.
Optional Exams
Certain departments offer placement exams to determine advanced placement or credit at IU Bloomington.
Optional exams are only available on campus. Specific information about these exams will be included in your NSO online confirmation page.
Other exams may be offered at the beginning of the semester, too. IU also awards credit for a variety of College Board Advanced Placement (AP) exams. To be considered for credit, have a copy of your score report sent to the IU Office of Admissions.
For questions related to optional exams, head to Bloomington Evaluation Services and Testing (BEST) for more information.
If you have completed a one-year high school or college calculus course and plan to continue studying calculus at IU, consider taking this exam. Students who pass this exam can earn credit for Math M211. Graphing calculators are not allowed. This exam is not offered in the spring.
Consider taking this exam only if you have received excellent grades in two years of high school biology and plan to continue studying biology at IU. Students who pass this exam can earn credit for introductory biology courses BIOL L111 and/or BIOL L112.
Need Testing Accommodations?
If you have a diagnosed disability that affects your performance on timed tests, and you receive testing modifications at your current school or have received extended time on your SAT or ACT exam, you may request testing modifications for placement exams taken as part of New Student Orientation.
You will have the opportunity to indicate that you require testing modifications or similar support during the academic year from the Office of Disability Services for Students (DSS). We will connect you with DSS to file the proper documentation.