Mostly hypothetically, but does it matter if one has a B in an AP class but gets a 5 on the exam? Or vice versa? Would that have any impact on admissions at selective schools, like swaying it either way? (Assuming they have good gpa’s, tests, ECs, etc.) I’m mostly curious, but it might be applicable to me come the end of the year
Getting a B in an AP class will probably hurt a lot more than getting a 4.
Well, it says a few things about you as a student and the school itself.
Getting less than a 5 but an A in the class would probably hint that your school has some kind of grade inflation to it, which might be look down upon. Either this, or you may have had a sucky teacher who just joined the squad, but colleges can’t just assume this.
Getting a 5 but a non-A in the class would show one of two things. You probably didn’t perform to the best of your potential, but you’re naturally good at test-taking. Or, it could show that the class was very, very rigorous and focused more on preparing you for the exam than helping you earn a good grade (like an ideal AP course).
Don’t take these suggestions objectively. Obviously a 4 is a great score, regardless of whether or not it awards you credit, but at top schools it will be looked at in perspective, not as an individual score itself.
lol getting a 4 isn’t bad. Getting a 4 and an A does NOT show grade inflation and plus for most schools you send ap scores after acceptance. Overall getting a higher grade in the class is more important than the exam grade unless you plan on getting ap credit
Getting an A in an AP class and scoring less than a 5 does NOT show grade inflation. Some people are just naturally bad test takers, or some classes don’t teach toward the test at all. For example, I didn’t learn how to write any of the essays in AP World History last year. Obviously, that killed me during the test. You also have to remember that colleges don’t/hardly consider AP scores in terms of admissions. They look at AP for class rigor.