<p>Do you ever hear people go "oh whatever screw grades as long as i get a 5 on the test it's fine" and then there's the A+++ people that mess up the actual exam. so which is more important? thoughts?</p>
<p>Well, an A+++ student wouldn't <em>really</em> mess up unless the course is easy. A number of things are considered; I know that my school gives reports on the gradespread + test scores to determine the difficulty of the course. That's more helpful to colleges than a straight up AP score vs test grade.</p>
<p>But all in all, the first thing colleges look at (and single most important aspect of your application) is your grades.</p>