13. Mathematics Placement
It is important that new freshmen and transfer students with no previous college-level mathematics be placed in mathematics courses appropriate to their mathematics background and level of accomplishment. Seattle University 's Mathematics Department makes this determination based on the student's SAT mathematics or ACT score. If you feel that you should be placed at a higher level than that determined by your SAT or ACT scores, you may choose to take a diagnostic test offered by the Mathematics Department. An SAT score of over 640 or a score of 25-30 with a trigonometry score of 6 or better on the department's test is needed for placement in MATH 134 - Calculus I. Your placement will be based on the better of your two scores. Most engineering students will be placed in MATH 134. Some will be placed in MATH 120 - Pre-calculus: Algebra, MATH 121 - Pre-calculus: Trigonometry or earlier mathematics classes. These courses are not part of the BSCE curriculum, but they provide the background that the Mathematics Department feels the student needs for success in later courses.
The BSCE curriculum assumes that students have had sufficient mathematical preparation for immediate entry into freshman calculus. If this is not the case, and additional courses must be taken, the time required to get your degree could be extended, perhaps considerably.
Placement in mathematics can also be affected by having taken the AP examination following high school. Freshmen who have taken calculus in high school but who have not taken the AP examination may take a special examination from the Mathematics Department to see if they can skip MATH 134 and start with MATH 135. If this is done and MATH 135 is successfully completed with a grade C or better, the student will be granted credit for MATH 134. In other words, the skipped course will not have to be made up in any way. Students interested in this possibility should discuss it with the Chair of the Mathematics Department.