AP Scores Impact

Hello, I am a rising Junior and I have a question about AP scores. This year, I took AP Computer Science and I received a 4 on the exam. I would like to major in Computer Science and I was wondering whether this would majorly and adversely impact my chances at schools such as MIT and Stanford. I have numerous Computer Science/Mobile App awards, but I found this one exam a little difficult.

As far as I know, colleges don’t consider your AP scores in the college admissions process. I think they’re only sent to your school once you decide to go there and they need your scores to give you college credit.

I emailed Wake Forest and they said for them it plays a small role in decisions but they’re mainly concerned with how well you did in the class. The reason the 4 wasn’t a 5 could’ve had more to do with material not being covered than actually a lack of understanding.

Pretty much the same for all colleges. AP Scores play little to no role in the admissions process. They are mainly used for credit and/or placement.

Why don’t colleges consider AP scores more in the admissions process? Going with “how well you did in the class” sounds good. But to do that, you rely on grades. How do I know which high schools grade inflate (and which teachers grade inflate at any given school) and in each case by how much? How do I know what an A means in chemistry at ABC school in Ohio compared to what it means at XYC school in California? AP Chemistry exam helps provide at least some evidence of that.

4 rather than 5 may have had more to do with material not being covered than actually a lack of understanding. But also may well have been lack of understanding with material being covered. How do colleges tell the difference?

They rely on letters of recommendation too but those will be subjective especially comparing student A recommended by teacher B to student X recommended by teacher Y.

Not saying that I think AP scores should necessarily be given a lot of weight. But as they are a chance to compare kids across the country from various schools, giving them little to no weight doesn’t make sense to me. Though maybe I am missing something.

AP scores matter in terms of receiving credit from the college, not much in terms of admissions. Don’t stress about the 4. 4 is standard on APs, while a 3 is passing, so you did great!

It’s not a level playing field. Many schools, for budgetary reasons or pedagogical reasons opt not to offer many/any AP’s. Colleges do not want to disadvantage applicants that have no access to them. Colleges will consider a low AP score/high grade as being possible grade inflation, but that’s about it.

FWIW, when we went to the Dartmouth info session, the admin officer running it specifically said that they ignored AP scores unless a student had a “wall of fives”. In that case, it would be a small positive factor. I heard a number of other officers say similar things making it clear that actual AP scores were either a very small factor or irrelevant in the admissions process. My view of the importance of standardized tests in admissions is that SAT/ACT is clearly the most important, SAT II’s are next (and many schools don’t even require them) and AP’s are a distant third.

I’m personally a bit surprised that AP’s are so insignificant to the process, but that’s clearly the way it is.

Duke had said in the past that they consider AP scores in their evaluation matrix. Very few other schools admit to the scores being a factor.

Also you could only count junior year and before APs…senior year AP tests come after you are accepted.
Not everyone has as many APs available to take or is ready to take them before senior year.

There are a whole host of examples of non-level playing fields in the college app process. Some kids have little access to ECs but those are clearly counted. GPAs can easily be inflated (may well be the case its rare that they are not). APs exams get kids on a level playing field. Certainly not all of them but that is true of much of the college app process.

I take most things AOs talk about with a good sized grain of salt.

Congrats on your 4! Be interesting and do some cool / innovative outside of school projects and post your well-written code on your website with yours apps, that, not a 5, will attract MIT and Stanford.

“I was wondering whether this would majorly and adversely impact my chances at schools such as MIT and Stanford”

This 4 alone?

Absolutely not.

However, if you get to Stanford, then you might need to start in CS106A instead of CS106B/X haha.

CS106A is nothing like AP CS and so I don’t know why they waive that class for a AP CS 5. I think a student will learn a lot in CS106A compared to most other CS classes at Stanford.

This is such a bad analogy IMO. Sure, if the school has no money, then equestrian team is not an option. However, not all EC’s need be, or should be, school sponsored. Playing B-ball with the local youth team is an EC. Being part of an activity with the local church is an activity. Work/Volunteering is an EC. All are available to most students, whatever the SES. However, the students does not have the resources to implement/expand an AP program at the school.

Perhaps I’m just less cynical or more naive, but I tend to take the AO’s at their word.

The 4 is fine.

AOs say a lot of different things, for different reasons. Don’t assume any one comment is definitive or absolute in all situations, for all kids,at all colleges.

OP named Stanford and MIT. When you have that level of competition and that quantity of top performing kids, don’t assume AP scores are ignored. They can reflect the grade validity and the student’s motivation. It’s not just about a wall of 5’s. Later, if you do matriculate, you can check into credit.

The 4 is ok, in part because OP took it as a soph. Make sure the rest of the story, after stats and rigor, is what the particular colleges want to see.