  Math placement is a crucial step between admission and full engagement with
the university for students in STEM majors. Students' placement experiences
influence not only their mathematical entry point on their degree pathway, but
their perceptions of their relationship with the university. Application of
behavioral economics theory, particularly choice architecture, to placement
communication can increase student engagement with the placement process,
reducing enrollment in preparatory courses while maintaining positive outcomes
in more advanced courses. Targeted communication with students facilitates
successful placement and enhances self-efficacy and sense of belonging. Math
placement is a pigeonholing process and inherently involves an array of
sub-instructions and information relevant only to subgroups; optimizing content
flow improves retention of key information and minimizes exposure to
intimidating or alienating information.
