<p>Hi everyone, quick (possibly obvious) question: How much do selective colleges (Ivies and the like) care about AP test scores during admissions? Are those scores just to determine whether you deserve college credit, or do they actually carry weight in the admissions process?</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>Say an applicant has straight A's in all of his AP classes, but recieves mostly 3s and a couple 4s on the AP exams. This shows that his school has grade inflation, which takes away some merit from his 4.0 GPA. </p>
<p>Another applicant has a 3.75 GPA, but she recieved all 5s and one 4 on the AP exams. Her school practices grade deflation, so it was harder for her to maintain a high GPA.</p>
<p>The difficulty level of AP classes from school to school is bound to vary. AP exams are effective in standardizing the level of difficulty nationwide. If adcoms see high GPA/low AP scores, they think, 'grade inflation', and vice versa.</p>
<p>If you have a 4.0 with 3s...better to not report any scores at all....then they wont know...and then give it to them after acceptance for credit..</p>
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Are those scores just to determine whether you deserve college credit, or do they actually carry weight in the admissions process?
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<p>I agree with mj93's analysis.</p>
<p>Admissions offices frequently state that they do not consider AP scores for admissions, but I think an officer would find it difficult to ignore a 97 average coupled with a 2 on the exam or to a slightly lesser extent, a 95 in the class and no corresponding exam score.</p>
<p>AP test scores are only used in assessing if you merit credit for a class. You don't have to send them until/unless you want that to occur. Taking an AP class and having a weighted GPA is a different issue. Many HS don't require you to take the AP test for an AP course.</p>
<p>Have to disagree with above/. If you have scored 5's on numerous AP tests by the end of your Jr. year, it can't hurt to send the scores as part of your application materials. It gives the admissions committees further reason to consider you a strong candidate when compared to others who don't have AP scores reported. The more legitimate information you can provide during the application process, the better..</p>
<p>Yea, we're saying it helps if you get 5s..it dosn't afect admission if you get 4s and anything below hurts...</p>
<p>mj93: that's a terribly black-and-white viewpoint of it. That simply isn't the reality. There could have been numerous other reasons you didn't do well on an AP test -- you didn't have time to study enough, you weren't feeling well that day, you knew almost all the material perfectly and the one thing you didn't know happened to be an essay, etc.</p>
<p>To reiterate another's point, if you have really great scores, it doesn't hurt to send them (or self-report them on the app, if it allows such). But if they aren't too great, don't bother sending them. The college won't know whether they were good or not. Frankly, I don't think the college would care a whole lot even if they were mediocre.</p>
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mj93: that's a terribly black-and-white viewpoint of it. That simply isn't the reality. There could have been numerous other reasons you didn't do well on an AP test -- you didn't have time to study enough, you weren't feeling well that day, you knew almost all the material perfectly and the one thing you didn't know happened to be an essay, etc.
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<p>Sorry, Kyle, but those are some bad excuses.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Didn't have enough time? This excuse can be applied to just about anything. I didn't have enough time to write that application essay. I didn't have enough time to submit my application on time. I didn't have enough time to [insert activity here]. If you allow this to be used to justify a low AP score, then you're opening the door to a stream of abuse.</p></li>
<li><p>Ditto. Do you really think not feeling good is going to make you score lower than, say, a 50 on the AP exam? Depending on the exam, getting half of the all the points is basically a 4, at least a 3.</p></li>
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<p>I acknowledge that it may impede performance, but it won't cause you to mysteriously forget everything you learned and reviewed.</p>
<ol>
<li>If the only thing that did not result in maximum points was one essay, then the score would likely still be a 5. I know this from experience (Biology).</li>
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<p>mj93's analysis takes into account the reality that some schools have very, very, VERY loose grading policies.</p>