I am a rising high school junior. I have taken 3 AP classes so far and scored 4s on all 3 AP Exams I have taken. The 3 AP’s I have done are AP Human Geo, AP US History, and AP Psychology. Would this look bad for Ivy League admissions? Do I need some or all 5s for Ivy Leagues? Will having all 4s be bad especially with the curves this year?
4’s are just fine. If you can get a few 5’s next year that might also be helpful. For reference, my D20 got into a top 10 college with a mix of 3s, 4s and 5s.
Remember that highly selective colleges have a “holistic” approach when reviewing applications so no one area in your application is going to move the needle one way or the other (unless you are a “hooked” applicant).
Do the best you can on the AP tests and then move on…
I would focus your attention on your ECs junior year and start thinking about how you will “package” yourself and “differentiate” yourself from the other highly accomplished applicants in 2021? What are YOU going to bring to the college campus to make it a better place for all students?
Lastly, I would really research the ivies and only apply to the ones that are the best “fit” (financially, academically, and socially) for you. Examples, Dartmouth is different than Harvard. Columbia is not the same as Brown, etc.
Make sure you have a good mix of Reach, Match, and Safety colleges. Good luck to you!
AP scores are minor inputs to admissions decisions, at best, and a 4 is a fine score.
What does “curves this year” mean? I wasn’t aware that any score distribution had been published.
@RichInPitt Trevor Packer posted this year’s score distributions on twit ter.