<p>Hi, I am currently a rising senior. I just received my AP scores (Biology, English Lang, APUSH) and they were all 4s. I wanted to know if my chances are demolished for an ivy league school. I dont't even have one 5. </p>
<p>I have a 4.0 GPA and solid clubs/leadership and ACT score. On the other hand, I'm asian, which can be a con especially on college apps. </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>It’s my impression that colleges care more about your grades in the class than what you got on the actual test. As long as they see you took a rigorous course load, you will be fine. The actual scores are used more for placement/receiving credit once you actually get to college. AP scores on the common app are self-reported. I believe I opted not to report my scores, but it is entirely up to you. For the record, 4s are not bad. </p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>No. 4’s are fine. The other parts of your application matter much, much more. If you don’t get in, it will not be because you didn’t get any 5’s.</p>
<p>You just have to work harder</p>
<p>the 4s may not but the fact you asked this question may</p>
<p>AP scores carry very little weight in admissions. Whether you get accepted or rejected will not be because you had no 5’s</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for the reassurance! </p>
<p>My understanding is that few, if any, Ivies actually accept the scores for credit, so I doubt they care as much about the scores. </p>
<p>The only thing the AP scores do is affirm that your AP courses were actually rigorous, grades weren’t significantly inflated. Solid 4s or 5s will do that. you are fine, but I do recommend reporting them to avoid questions and guessing as to why you didn’t report.</p>
<p>@Torveaux I believe actually that most if not all of the Ivies accept the scores for credit; you just need to get a 4 or 5 usually to receive credit (depending on the test). The scores can also help place you out of intro classes.</p>
<p>Ranza, I should have been more precise in my language. Compared to other universities, the Ivies give little or no credit. Options are significantly limited and only some courses are eligible. Often scores only allow the opportunity to take a tougher (albeit more interesting) course in lieu of the intro course. Ultimately it really does not save most student much money in terms of tuition.</p>
<p>I agree with sw0206, the big advantage is showing your AP courses actually deserved the name.</p>
<p>@Torveaux oh no it definitely doesn’t save any tuition money (for me, at least, but my school only allowed me to take 3 APs–for the people who took a dozen, it might save them some money). My scores do take care of some distribution requirements though. But anyway, the point of the matter still lies that colleges do not care what your scores are prior to being admitted.</p>
<p>That you are Asian is not the issue but if your application looks a lot like a whole lot of other applications that they are categorized in the same way, and if those picked from that stack also have more 5s on the APs, yes, it can affect your chances if you don’t have anything extra to make your app stand out from them. When a school gets so many apps that the Admissions Dept is more a Denying Dept which is the case for the Ivies and other highly selective college, every little thing can count On the other hand, if there is something about you that distinguishes you, a lot of things like this are of no consequence at all.</p>