If you've previously studied a foreign language (Arabic, Latin, Chinese, French, Japanese, Korean, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, Russian/Slavic, Spanish, or Swahili), chemistry, computer science, mathematics, or physics, and you plan to continue your studies at Northwestern, you'll need to determine at what level to begin. Departments teaching these subjects may use your scores on the Advanced Placement (AP) Examination, SAT II, and/or a Northwestern placement exam to help you plan an appropriate academic program.

Carefully read the information on this web site to find out whether you need to take a placement exam in a particular subject. Departments offer placement exams during the summer and Wildcat Welcome: New Student Week. As a rule, online placement exams should be taken as early as possible. If you don't have access to the internet during the summer, you'll be expected to take any required online placement exams on the internet on the computer in your student residence or in a computer lab as soon as you arrive on campus. You cannot pass or fail, but your exam score may exempt you from introductory courses or allow you to satisfy the Weinberg College foreign language proficiency requirement (see below).

Placement Test Subjects

Weinberg College Foreign Language Proficiency Requirement

If you're entering Weinberg College as a freshman or transfer student and have not yet satisfied the college's foreign language requirement in one of the ways described below, you should begin the necessary foreign language study immediately. If you're proficient in a foreign language not taught at Northwestern, you may petition the Council on Language Instruction for testing in that language to satisfy the requirement. Consult with the Council on Language Instruction for a list of approved languages for which there are qualified testers on campus.

If you have a diagnosed and documented disability affecting foreign language acquisition, the Council on Language Instruction (CLI) has established a procedure for which these students may petition. This comprehensive process is designed to appropriately accommodate the disability while maximizing the benefits a student derives from engaging in the study of a foreign language and culture. Petitions are available at the WCAS Office of Undergraduate Studies and Advising or through the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities, and it must be accompanied by recent certification from a qualified physician or specialist. The petition must be submitted to the CLI during your first quarter on campus. The council's Subcommittee on Proficiency will review all petitions quarterly and inform you promptly of its decision so that you'll have ample time to plan for satisfying the Weinberg foreign language proficiency requirement before graduation.

To Do List

Packing List

Shipping Your Belongings

Academic Placement Exams

Essential NU: For the Record (available July 28th)

The Road to the Rock Newsletter (available soon)