Who Should Take the Exam
Columbia University students must be fully proficient with written and spoken English. The need to take the Columbia American Language Program (ALP) Essay Exam is determined by the Admissions Committee at the time of acceptance, and enrollment at Columbia University is contingent upon taking the exam. It is important to note the following:
- You should take the exam as soon as possible.
- You are allowed to take the exam, even if you have yet to decide whether or not you will attend Columbia.
- You will not be allowed to meet with an Academic Advisor until you have a result from the ALP exam.
- You are encouraged to attend an Academic Planning Session as soon as possible, regardless of the status of your ALP exam.
- You are only allowed to take the exam once every 6 months
Admitted students who are required to take the ALP Essay Exam will have this requirement noted in their acceptance letters. Any questions related to this requirement should be directed to the GS Office of Admissions; please do not contact the American Language Program or the Dean of Students Office directly.
No exceptions will be granted to the requirement; this includes but is not limited to the fact that you may have taken the TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo, SAT, GSAE, Online GS Admissions Exam, or ACT exams prior to admission, or that you are a US citizen. Coursework completed at any other university or college also cannot be considered as an exception from the need to take the exam.
Exam Description
The Online ALP Essay Exam will be administered online and is designed to measure a test-taker's ability in writing; no speaking portion is included. Students will have 120 minutes to write an essay in response to a short reading prompt.
Exam Results
The Online ALP Essay Exam results will be emailed to students and to their respective department ten business days after the exam date. Results will be used by a student’s academic advisor to determine the appropriate academic plan for the first semester. Students will be required to take additional English language courses if their score on the examination is below level 10. A score below level 8 will require a deferral of the offer of admission to facilitate further, full-time, English language study. All students who earn a level 8 or 9 on the Online ALP Essay Exam are required to take additional coursework through ALP.
More information about scores and score appeals may be found on the American Language Program website which may be accessed at http://sps.columbia.edu/alp/levels-and-testing#placements.
Certification
If you are currently enrolled in the part-time Academic Writing course at the American Language program, you will be excluded from taking the online test. Please do not register to take the online exam.
If you are a deferral student currently enrolled in the American Language Program's Fall or Spring Intensive program, you will be registered for the first online test offered after the end of the semester.
Disability Accommodations
Applicants seeking exam-related accommodations for the ALP Essay Exam must register with Disability Services.
Disability Services reviews accommodation requests and determines an applicant's eligibility for accommodations on the exam. The review process takes approximately three weeks, and does not begin until a student's completed registration form and disability documentation are received. If an applicant does not allow for at least three weeks to complete the review process, the implementation of any approved accommodations cannot be guaranteed.
Contact
Columbia University School of General Studies
Office of Admissions and Educational Financing
[email protected]
