Hey! I just received my AP scores today and I’m scared if these scores might have ruined my chances at the schools I will be applying to next year. I got a 2 on AP World and AP Lang (please don’t say anything negative, I’ve already beaten myself enough over it) and a 4 on APUSH. Here are my other stats:
Hi! I’m currently a junior in high school and is currently thinking about what colleges I should apply to. Here are my stats:
I am Asian from New York.
Rank: N/A
ACT: 30
GPA: 93/100 unweighted (good upwards trend)
APs: AP World (2), APUSH (4), AP English (2), AP Stats, AP Gov, AP Bio
Class Rigor: By the end of high school, I would have taken a total of 4 regular classes (think I won’t get accepted because of this) but the rest is honors and APs.
Senior Course Load:
Common Core Precalc H
AP Stats
AP Bio
AP Gov
Syracuse English
Recommendations: I’m gonna get one from my math teacher (we’re really close) and my APUSH teacher who apparently writes really good recommendations (I was her intern)
Essay:
Major: undecided (leaning towards accounting)
EC:
Red Cross (secretary from 10th-11th, Vice President 12th)
Environmental (Vice President -12th)
National Honor Society
Math Honor Society
English Honor Society
Global Honor Society
Science Honor Society
DECA
Key Club
Writer for school newspaper
Mathletes
Intern for my APUSH teacher
Awards/Honors (not impressive):
Semi-finalist for Stonybrook Japan Essay
Published poem
College list:
Northeastern (EA maybe?) This is my first choice.
Cornell (lol my dad wants to apply… I have two legacies, my dad and sister)
Binghamton
Stonybrook
Colgate
Baruch
Queens
I know AP scores are self reported, but I’m scared if the admissions office will get suspicious if I do not self report any. Are my AP scores worth stressing over?
I have to totally disagree with @1650mile. You’d have to dip to bottom feeder colleges to find colleges that delight in low AP scores so they can charge you tuition to retake them. Courses at decent colleges and universities are usually pitched at a level far higher than the AP classes. In some, content covered by AP’s is covered during the 1st couple of weeks of class. For better schools, a score of 2, especially if accompanied by an end of the semester grade in the same class in the A range, simply means that the high school attended is not very good. 2’s in the presence of As in the class suggest that either a student has trouble with standardized tests or the school is not very strong. So a high GPA from that high school is not considered equal to what it would be if that GPA were earned at a high school where students with As in classes earn scores of 5 on the AP tests. Do you feel that the high school you attend is not very rigorous?
If your dad wants to apply to Cornell he should go ahead and do so. He would be among the oldest to matriculate there I would guess.
Hey man, you’re a legacy kid! Don’t stress out lol, everything else looks fine. I’d be more concerned about extracurriculars, since they look pretty BS-y (looking at honor societies here). I have the same problem tbh.
You cannot deduce the quality of an entire school’s curriculum by one student’s AP score @lostaccount . A discrepancy between grade and test score could signal troubles with testing or grade inflation, sure, but it is ultimately a problem with a student. I don’t care how inept a teacher of an AP subject may seem, it’s up to the student to take it upon themselves to study throughout the year and what they need to do to make sure they get a high score. The internet is a beacon of information, there is no excuse. I think basing a school’s quality on the whole on anedoctal test scores is preposterous.
Dude, like I’ve said on previous posts, more than half the kids who took the AP Lang exam with me drew dick pics on the free response questions. They absolutely are not even remotely concerned with reporting scores.
AP scores generally only help in two scenarios:
To make up for a bad grade. For example, if you had a rough time in a class but pull an amazing score, it can signal to the adcom that perhaps the rigor of the course in your school was very intense but as a student you were well prepared for the exam. My friend, as an example, got a D in AP Chem but a 4 on the exam. As an additional example, I got a B+ in a semester of AP Euro but a 5 on the exam.
To gain college credit so you don't waste time taking courses in subjects you already learned.
Additionally, report the 4 in APUSH since that’s a decent score. I do think that it will look weird if you don’t submit any scores so do submit that one since you did well and should give credit where it’s due.
Sorry, folks. Adcoms at top colleges will look for your AP scores, most especially those related to your possible major. Where does this idea come from that they don’t? Good AP scores will not make up for a bad grade (the bad grade doesn’t disappear from your transcript.)
There’s a fine quote on another thread quoting Cornell directly, that AP scores, while not required, are used in competitive evaluation.
That said, the AP scores will be a lesser issue for some of the rest of your targets. You may decide not to report, but give yourself a chance to think about it.
@lookingforward well my friend got a D…a D…in AP Chem and got into William and Mary. She is by no means a brilliant student or brilliant athlete or legacy. The 4 that she achieved on the exam probably showed colleges that she was well prepared.
If you don’t submit, well, it’s not the end of the world right? Even more so is the fact that sometimes kids don’t submit scores because they don’t need to. or example, my cousin didn’t submit his AP Lit score because he was going into engineering, so he submitted more STEM-related AP scores that showed his aptitude.
Don’t stress!!! You seem like a really smart person, so those AP scores should be forgiveable. Don’t report them, but definitely take the SAT subject tests in english and world history to make up for it. If your score high enough (700 plus) you will be fine!
