Writing Placement

How do Transfer Students find out whether or not they are required to take any of the Writing Program’s courses?

If you are a transfer student and your transcript has been evaluated by your admitting college, then you may have already received credit for a particular writing course. Your college will inform you whether or not you will need to take any writing courses and, if necessary, what level you should register for.

If you are a transfer student who has NOT been given transfer credit for a writing course, you will need to take the Transfer Placement Test. This test presents you with a passage to read and a question that asks you to respond to ideas in that passage. You have two hours to generate your response. Booklets are provided at the testing site.

If you’ve only received elective credit for whatever writing course you took at your original institution, you will need to arrange to take the Transfer Placement Test and enroll in the appropriate level writing course.

To learn more about the placement test, read the FAQs below.

What is the Writing Placement Test and when is it offered?

The writing placement test presents you with a passage to read and a question that asks you to respond to ideas in that passage. You have two hours to generate your response. Booklets are provided at the testing site. You should contact the Dean or Transfer Dean at the college to which you’ve been admitted to find out when the next Transfer Placement Test is being offered. (For contact numbers, see the Academic Advising phone listing.)

What should I do after I learn my placement?

If you are a transfer student, you will need to register for an open section of the course that you have placed into. You will find a list of all courses available in the Rutgers Undergraduate Schedule of Classes for the Fall 2004 semester. You should register for a section that fits your schedule and is “open,” which indicates there are still available spaces in that class. To learn more about how to register, go to Online Registration.

If I did not do well on the English placement test, can I take the test again?

No, you cannot, but you do have some options. If you believe your writing placement is incorrect, you must attend the first day of your assigned writing course. The instructor may adjust your placement based on your first-day writing sample. You should be aware, however, that placement adjustments in either math or writing are rare.

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