Am I toast because of my TERRIBLE scores?

Test Preparation AP Test Preparation
1

<p>Hopefully somebody on here can help me. My parents have been pushing me to set myself up for AP State Scholar in Hawaii so they tried to get me to take a BUNCH of AP tests my junior year (never taken any before).</p>

<p>I studied really hard and the ones I took as classes I got As in. Now, my parents are making me pay them for all the study books and AP test fees because I let them down. They seem to think I didn't try and just gave up but I am just not as smart as they think I am. </p>

<p>They are telling me I will be lucky to get into a Community College because these tests will scar my standardized testing record and my GPA, because now grade inflation may be suspected. Is there anything I can tell them to convince them otherwise?</p>

<p>After I took the tests I felt fine, not this bad, but not like I got straight 5s like some of you guys on here. I thought I at least PASSED, so I don't know if it would help to ask for a rescore or anything like that. I took 7 tests and only passed 1 of them...with a friggin three too. This is so embarrassing. Everyone in my class is going to destroy me in the fall because they thought I was trying to be a "hotshot" and now didn't even pass the ones I took classes for. </p>

<p>Chinese (self-study): 3 NATIVE SPEAKER?? I thought it was kinda hard but I thought I squeaked out a 5 for sure.</p>

<p>Calculus BC (self-study): 1 My class was only AB so the BC self study was obviously not effective, but I guessed I would squeeze out a 3, 2 at worst (it was pretty hard).</p>

<p>Calculus AB sub: 2 The AB material I thought I had down pat, felt pretty solid (guessed a 4 at worst). Most my friends in the class got 5s on the AB test, the one were supposed to take for the course.</p>

<p>US History: 2 My teacher was really bad, but I read the entire textbook on my own, and felt like I knew all the material pretty well. I thought I definitely rocked the Nixon DBQ, I read over tons of relevant info the night before in Princeton Review. I was guessing on the cusp of a 4 or 5.</p>

<p>US Gov (self-study): 1 I read about so much government in US History I figured I could just do minimal self-study on more targeted areas and pull out an easy 5. I guess I can blame myself for not starting more than a few weeks of study ahead of time. The material was much more comprehensive than US History, in terms of politics. After the test I felt like a pulled off a 3 or 4, but I guess my BS wasn't that good.</p>

<p>Chemistry: 1 I took the class and got an A. The FRQs were brutal but the curve didn't help me out AT ALL. What makes me mad is that this wasn't even a self-study. My teacher will be so shocked, I think she thought I was going to get a 4. I thought this was definitely the hardest test I took, but not 1 worthy.</p>

<p>English Language: 2 WHAT THE ****? This was so easy. My teacher was amazing and I have talked to six people and they have all gotten 5s. She prepared us so well and after the test I told my parents that I got a 5 on English at least for sure. </p>

<p>Computer Science A (self-study): 2 This I expected because I read this forum online that said the test was in C++ (which I already knew) so my parents told me to take the exam. Didn't study at all, and when I got there I realized it was in Java (when I saw the directions). My FRQ syntax was wayyy off, I guess I was able to manage myself enough on the MC to get a 2 at least.</p>

<p>My entire work money this summer is just paying back debt for these tests I didn't want to even take. This is extremely unfair.</p>

2

<p>No don’t worry about it. AP scores aren’t seen unless you submit the scores to the colleges ur applying to, (with a small fee…like $15?) Also, AP scores are mostly used for placement. It’s not even CLOSE to be enough to be the admission or rejection factor. </p>

<p>I mean, don’t take the wrong message that AP tests are useless. if you took the AP class, colleges would LIKE to see that you challenged yourself by taking the AP test (by submitting the scores to your specific schools) but it definitely will NOT make you toast! Just keep good standardized test scores and a high GPA and don’t worry so much about the bad AP scores!</p>

<p>(I AM sorry that your parents are so disappointed and are making you cough up money. Btw, I’m a native Chinese speaker too!!)</p>

3

<p>Don’t worry about it. About your parents… well… they just need to chill.
Get a good ACT/SAT score and you can get into something past community college (seriously… if your parents are overreacting at something this small, they need a reality check; ESPECIALLY since they forced you to take so many), even into an Ivy.</p>

4

<p>Your parents have no idea what they’re talking about…</p>

<p>Here’s a tip- the major things that matter for getting into college are GPA, rank, SAT, ECs, and essays…</p>

<p>AP tests have literally little to no weight on your application, they are simply used to place out of classes or place into higher level classes.</p>

5

<p>Thanks, guys…should I even bother for a rescore?</p>

<p>Like the AB subscore and US History I KNOW I scored better, but I don’t know if you have any experience with that…
Edit: I would also like to add bloody English to that list.</p>

<p>I might just forget it and try to move on and focus on SAT/ACT for college entrance.
Plus hopefully my ECs will make up for it. I am just mostly nervous about the kids at school and my teachers who are going to probably make fun of me. It is one think to fail an AP test, it is another to try and be some stud and take 7 and end up failing 6 (plus the ******* AB subscore). Some much for being the “Math Genius.” I thought a 5 in BC as a junior would help solidify that role but instead I get a ****** 1. Plus a 1 in Chem, my science class. And 1s in all my self studies except Chinese and Comp sci. Chinese doesn’t count because I am a native and Comp Sci should have been a 1.</p>

<p>@KaiLun Did you get screwed over on the AP Chinese test too?</p>

6

<p>Rescoring…? Meh. Unless you’re ready to cough up another $25 dollars per test, I’d say just forget about it. Only a small fraction of scores that are challenged ever gets changed anyways. </p>

<p>And yup. Don’t listen to your parents. You self report AP scores anyways, so no one ever needs to see them.</p>

7

<p>I have read many posts that say that AP’s don’t count in the application process because they are self-reported and used for placement only.</p>

<p>However, on the common app they ask for your AP and subject test scores. Even though they are not “official scores”, they ask you to list them (same as they ask you to self report your ACT’s and SAT’s.)</p>

<p>I would imagine that not listing AP scores for tests taken in junior year will give colleges the impression that you did not bother to take the AP test at all (not good) or that your scores were poor and would hurt your application (also not good.)</p>

<p>Now I can see that if you self study for an exam and never took a class and it won’t be on your high school transcript, then you can get away without reporting an AP score. But if you took an AP class, you’d better report the score.</p>

<p>Is this right?</p>

8

<p>Haha no I chickened out of taking it! I’m fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin but reading/writing is a bit of an issue :[ so I didn’t take it. I just took AP English, APUSH, and AP Environmental Science. (my parents went bleh when they knew I was only taking 3!! Lol >_< )</p>

<p>But really, I wouldn’t worry about it. Don’t you have to pay a fee to Rescore? Unless you’re CERTAIN they probably made a mistake, I wouldn’t go for it because colleges don’t make that big of a deal out of AP scores! it’s the ec’s and the essays and the sats and that transcript that weighs most! </p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

9

<p>Next year I would recommend giving up on the ap state scholar, and just studying a lot harder for the classes you do take… Don’t rely on just reading all the material, actually test yourself to see if you know it well. Also, overconfidence might be an issue? AP Tests are supposed to be college level, so don’t underestimate them.</p>

10

<p>Um… your parents are overreacting way too much. You would be lucky to get into community college?! *** is that BS. </p>

<p>Ok maybe you might not get into Ivies or whatever, but you’d qualify for at least 2nd or 3rd tier colleges… with your As. </p>

<p>Don’t forget that unless you cancel your score, the college that chooses you eventually does see all your scores. So if you’re half n’ half to an Ivy, you probably won’t make it.</p>

<p>As for rescoring, I suggest you do rescore. Who knows? Maybe there was just some terrible mistake. Or maybe your classes were just too easy and didn’t prepare you well enough.</p>

<p>As for AP State Scholar, its not everything. </p>

<p>And I’m a native Chinese speaker, I’m taking AP Chinese next year. And people tell me not to underestimate the Chinese exam, even though about 3/4 of the people get 5s :/</p>

11

<p>If I were you, I would tell my parents to **** off because I’d be so mad! I’m so mad at your parents after reading this! But don’t say that to your parents, they probably won’t pay for your college after that :P</p>

12

<p>Keep in mind that on a rescore, they only check the multiple choice portion, not the essays. Is it possible that you used pen when you should have used pencil or some other “error”? Did you check to make sure you bubbled the scantron correctly?</p>

<p>I think it is wrong of your parents to request repayment as it was not part of the original “agreement”. They wanted you to take the tests so they bought the resources for you, they didn’t tell you that you had to pay if you didn’t pass. Tell them that you did your best and you are sorry for disappointing them (and yourself), but that they had unrealistic expectations of you. </p>

<p>Hope next year goes better for you!</p>

13

<p>Compscigeek…</p>

<p>Colleges do not see all your scores. They only see the scores you send them. It is against privacy laws for them to access scores or even whether you sat for a particular exam. College Board cannot release that information. Colleges may request that you send them all test scores, but they cannot control whether a student does.</p>