Guided Self-Placement (GSP)

Guided Self-Placement (GSP) for English and math are guides for reflecting on your experiences with English and math. These are not placement tests, but guides. You will make an informed choice in each guide. Then, meet with your student success coach at your initial advising appointment to make your final choice for your start point in math and English.

Complete English and Math GSP Guides

If you have not completed college-level English or math, please complete both guides using the following links.

Guided Self-Placement for English(est. time 5-10 minutes - best if completed on computer or tablet/iPad)
Guided Self-Placement for Math (est. time 5-10 minutes)

To enjoy the best experience with the guides, please use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox as your web browser. Please clear your browser’s cookies and data cache before you begin the guides.

It is our hope that through the GSP process, you will gain insight about your background and will learn information needed to make an informed decision about your English and math start point.

Please continue reading to learn more about GSP, English and math corequisite, Running Start information, and how we might use your college transcripts for placement. Also, continue reading for student success tips, resources, and contacts.

College Transcripts

If you have college-level (English 101, Math 101, etc.) learning in math and English from other colleges, you may be able to use your official or unofficial transcripts for placement. Credits earned at colleges and universities that are recognized by a regional accreditation association are generally accepted by Pierce College.

Unofficial transcripts may be submitted during your initial advising appointment for review and potential placement. To be considered for transfer of credit, official transcripts must be sent directly to the Evaluations Office at Fort Steilacoom.

What is Corequisite?

After completing guided self-placement, you will be ready to choose college-level math and college-level English with or without corequisite. Corequistes are two-credit instructional support courses included with your college-level class to ensure you receive the additional support and resources needed to complete your college math and English successfully.

How does Guided Self-Placement and Corequisite work?

After completing your GSP for math and English, you will meet with your student success coach to discuss your options. With GSP, we offer guided choice instead of rigid placement requirements. This means you have the opportunity to choose your starting point in math and English. For example, you may feel very confident about your writing skills based on your previous experience and choose Composition I (ENGL& 101) without corequisite. However, you may feel you need a little more support with your math and choose to take Statistics (MATH& 146) with corequisite (MATHC 146).

Our hope for you is that you complete your first college-level math and English in your first collegiate year.

Students in Running Start

If you are participating in Running Start, complete English GSP to be eligible for the Running Start program. To be eligible for Running Start, your English placement options are ENGL& 101 or ENGL& 101 + ENGLC 101.

If you plan to take Intermediate Algebra through your high school next year, it is your choice to complete or skip math GSP. However, GSP for math is required if you plan to complete your Associate Degree once your high school requirements are met.

Tips for success

Please keep in mind, this is not a test. You only need complete the guides once. You will make a choice at the end of the guides and then finalize your choices with your student success coach at your initial advising appointment.
We want you to make an informed decision about your start point in math and English, so please review both guides completely and answer all questions.
Please allow approximately 5-10 minutes for the both guides.
Please enter your ctcLink ID and Date of Birth where prompted so we can ensure your choices are immediately applied to your academic record.
Once you have completed the GSP process, please take note of your choices. For math GSP, you can have a copy of your results sent to your preferred email.