Placement into your first English or mathematics course at SC4
If you have questions about English or mathematics placement or course prerequisites, contact an academic advisor.
English composition courses
Placement by exam
Students who have not previously taken an English (ENG) course at SC4 must:
- Submit scores from the Reading and Writing portion of the SAT or ACT admissions exams; or
- Take the WritePlacer exam in the SC4 Testing Center; or
- Provide scores from a WritePlacer exam taken elsewhere.
Incoming transfer students
Transfer students with English credits and high school students with Advanced Placement results that count for ENG credit are not required to take WritePlacer but may continue with the next ENG course in their sequence.
If you took the course at a Michigan college or university, you can check how your previous English courses transfer to SC4 by visiting MITransfer.org. If you took the course outside of the state of Michigan or have questions, please contact an SC4 academic advisor.
Mathematics courses
Placement by exam
Students who have not previously taken a mathematics course at SC4 may:
- Take the Accuplacer mathematics exam in the SC4 Testing Center; or
- Provide scores from an Accuplacer mathematics exam taken elsewhere.
Placement by high school transcript
To use this method, the student must have a final overall high school GPA of 3.0 or greater.
Students may bring their high school transcript and meet with an SC4 academic advisor, admissions representative, or Testing Center staff member, who will assist the student in determining their MTH course placement using the following rubric:
- Using the student’s grade in their final high school math class:
- If the grade is a “B” (3.0) or better, the student may take the next SC4 MTH course in the sequence.
- Otherwise, the student should start by retaking the same course at SC4 or consider using an exam for placement.
HE 101 placement
Health sciences students wishing to place into HE 101 must also use one of the placement methods shown above.
Incoming transfer students
Transfer students with MTH credits, high school students with Advanced Placement results that count for MTH credit, and students who are successful in taking the CLEP College Algebra (MTH 1010), Precalculus (MTH 1130), or Calculus (MTH 1140) exams are not required to take the Next Generation Accuplacer Math exam but may continue with the next MTH course in the sequence.
If you took the course at a Michigan college or university, you can check how your previous math courses transfer to SC4 by visiting MITransfer.org. If you took the course outside of the state of Michigan or have questions, please contact an SC4 academic advisor.
Frequently asked questions
When do I need to take English and math placement tests?
You will need to provide SAT or ACT scores or take WritePlacer and/or Accuplacer as a prerequisite for your first English or math course at SC4. Some other SC4 courses also require that you have placed into or have completed a specific level of English and/or math before being able to register.
New students are not required to take placement tests to register for courses that don’t have ENG or MTH placement testing prerequisites.
Can high school guest students use their transcript for placement in math?
No. All high school guests, including middle college students and dual-enrolled students, are required to take the Next Generation Accuplacer Math exams in order to enroll in a MTH course at SC4. Incoming students must have graduated from high school, obtained their GED, or be about to graduate at the end of their current high school semester to use the transcript option.
Can I use my high school transcript to determine my placement in English?
No. There is no transcript review option for English placement.
Can I use exam scores that I’ve previously submitted or that I’ve taken at SC4?
SAT, ACT, Accuplacer, Compass, and WritePlacer scores that have been previously entered onto a student’s SC4 record may continue to be used.
Is the Accuplacer Reading exam still required?
The Accuplacer Reading exam is not currently being administered at SC4.
Placement charts for ENG and MTH courses
SC4 uses score ranges on various admissions and placement exams to determine what course you should take to get started in English and mathematics.
Accuplacer/Write placer placement guide
SAT/ACT placement guide
If you don’t have your SAT or ACT exam scores handy, you should be able to view them on either the College Board or ACT, Inc. websites if you previously created an account there. If you took Accuplacer, WritePlacer, or COMPASS at SC4, those scores will already have been added to your student account and you can see what course is recommended in your online Student Planner.
