<p>this wasn't getting answered in the other thread so i thought i'd start a new one. thanks in advance
what if you took AP classes because those were the hardest courses offered but did not take the AP tests, would that hurt your chances? and say if accepted, would you be required to take the AP tests for the AP courses you are enrolled in during senior year as a condition for matriculation?</p>
<p>If you do not take the AP tests, the admissions officers will have no way to compare you to other applicants. Regardless of what grade you receive in the class, there will be no way to distinguish whether or not the course was actually "college-level" without an AP test result. The AP test result also gives insight into the difficulty of the course and can compensate for lower grades. For example, my AP Chem class last year had no As in a class of 16; however, only two people scored below four on the AP exam and there were several 5s. The high AP grade shows that the course was "college-level" and can make up for a B or B+. Not taking the AP tests also implies that you did not master the course.</p>
<p>But shouldn't they take into the cost of writing exams into consideration. For example, I'm currently taking 6 APs in my senior year, and I actually plan to do another AP exam for which I'm not taking a course at school. Writing 7 exams in May is just a bit too much - both in terms of energy, time, and $$$$$.</p>