Freshman students will receive an email from the Office of Admissions and Recruitment stating which placement tests they are required to take. Freshman are required to complete an in-person or remotely proctored math placement exam (referred to as Math B) and one of the English tests (UW English or ESLAT), regardless of previous coursework or credit-bearing exams, such as: AP, IB, CAPP, CLEP, A-Levels. Information about which test(s) you need to take is also available in the "Placement Exam Report" tile of your Applicant Homepage.

Transfer students are informed which placement test(s) they are required to take via email by the Office of the Registrar. Information about which test(s) you need to take is also available in the "Transfer Credit Summary" within your Admissions tile of your Applicant Homepage. Students who are required to take a math placement exam must complete an in-person or remotely proctored exam (referred to as Math B).

International students who were required to submit a TOEFL or IELTS will take the English as a Second Language Assessment Test (ESLAT), instead of the UW English placement test.

World Language placement tests: To be eligible to enroll in a world language course above the introductory level at UW–Madison, you must take a placement test for that language. You will be able to register for the UW placement tests (Spanish, French, and German) using the registration link on this page. More information on placement into language courses, including languages other than French, German and Spanish, can be found on the UW-Madison Languages Placement Procedures page.

UW Madison students are required to take Math B.

Math B is the proctored version of the UW Math placement test, while Math A is the non-proctored version of the placement test. UW Madison does not utilize the test results from Math A. The Math B test is offered both in-person as a paper and pencil test, and online via Live Remote Proctoring. Both freshman and transfer students taking the test after March 2023 can select any of the options labeled Math B.

For the best SOAR experience, you should take the Math B test at least 2 weeks before your SOAR session. There are two options for the Math B test:

1. You can schedule an online, remotely proctored Math B test at least 2 weeks before your SOAR session. There is a non-refundable fee of $40 to schedule an appointment via Live Remote Proctoring (LRP). More information about how to schedule a remotely proctored test can be found in the email you receive from candidatesupport@meazurelearning.com in the section labeled Live Remote Proctoring. Some students are eligible for need-based financial assistance to cover the $40 LRP fee.

2. Or, you may schedule a paper-based Math B test in-person at the UW-Madison campus. There is no fee for the in-person option. After you complete the registration form, a list of dates for the in-person Math B test will be available on the registration page. You should select a date that is a minimum of one day before your SOAR advising.

Note that freshman attending a two day SOAR program may take the in-person Math B test in the morning on your first day of SOAR. Transfer students attending a one-day SOAR program may take the in-person Math B test the day before SOAR. In these cases, we will make every effort to ensure your scores are available the following day for advising and course enrollment. You are also welcome to register for any of the earlier test dates if you are able to visit the UW-Madison campus prior to arriving for SOAR.

Remember, only the Math B test is offered at the in-person SOAR testing sessions. All other tests must be completed online a minimum of 2 weeks before your SOAR session.

You must complete your online placement tests at least 2 weeks before your SOAR program.

You are encouraged to have your placement scores submitted two weeks before your SOAR session, however, students who do not wish to test via Live Remote Proctoring can register to take the paper based Math B test in person on the UW-Madison campus up to one business day before advising.

No, you must register for your placement tests and your SOAR program separately.
Students committed to the summer or fall semester will be able to sign up for SOAR on the SOAR website. In the SOAR reservation system, you will confirm that you understand which placement tests you are required to take.

Information on requesting accommodations can be found by following this link:
https://exams.wisc.edu/placement/regionaltesting/specialaccommodations.php

Information on requesting accommodations can be found by following this link:
https://soar.wisc.edu/overview/accommodations-disabilities/

The process for testing in a language other than French, German, or Spanish varies depending on which language you want to test. Additional information about the tests available and how to register for them can be found here: http://languages.wisc.edu/advising/placement

You should have received information from the Office of Admissions and Recruitment regarding whether you should take the "UW English" placement test or the "UW-Madison ESLAT". If you are unsure, please contact the Office of Admissions and Recruitment (onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu). Information about which test(s) you need to take is also available in the "Placement Exam Report" tile of your Applicant Homepage.

Complete information about the ESLAT can be found on the ESL website:
https://esl.wisc.edu/international-students/placement

Students required to take the ESLAT will complete the test in Canvas, the University’s online learning platform. After you pay your enrollment deposit and activate your NetID services, you will see the ESLAT course appear within your UW Canvas dashboard by the following Monday. Instructions on how to complete the ESLAT placement test will be found in the ESLAT Canvas course.
For help accessing the ESLAT Canvas course, contact the SOAR office
For questions about the ESLAT exam, contact the ESL office at askesl@english.wisc.edu

The UW-Madison English as a Second Language Assessment Test (ESLAT) is used to assess students' English language skills required for academic work in a US university classroom and to place the student in the appropriate English course. The ESLAT is required of many new undergraduate students and does not assume that English has not been the student's dominant language. Rather, it assesses what level of English would be best for the student to begin, and in some cases exempts the student from UW-Madison's required academic reading and research course. Those who studied outside the United States will likely be asked to take the ESLAT. There is no practice ESLAT available. More information about the ESLAT can be found on the ESL office website:
https://esl.wisc.edu/international-students/placement/

You will receive information from the Office of Admissions and Recruitment or Office of the Registrar regarding transferring your college-level credit to UW-Madison. If you were instructed to take a placement test by the Office of Admissions and Recruitment (freshman students) or the Office of the Registrar (transfer students) you will need to complete those tests regardless of previous course work or college-level exams.