<p>Do colleges look at AP scores as a factor in admissions or do they just look at the AP classes you took and what you got on them?</p>
<p>The scores are much more important than the classes.</p>
<p>^I’ve heard that it’s the opposite. Colleges just use scores for placement and credit.</p>
<p>AP tests are not designed as college admissions tests and should not be used as such. The only school that should get your official AP test results is the the one in which you enroll. That being said, some school do ask you to voluntarily report your results. Why would they ask for them if they weren’t interested in the results? However, I don’t think that they play a huge part in admissions. The reason for this is because there are too many students who schools do not have AP at all or only offer a few AP classes. There are also schools that have restrictive policies that make getting into AP classes difficult as well as scheduling conflicts that cause problems for other students. </p>
<p>I think we can safely assume that AP scores are considered if you report them. I don’t think NOT reporting them will cause big problems, although if you took the course and the test, you should report the score. Where the issues may come in will be if you indicate that you want to major in math but only get a 2 on the AP Calc. exam. Otherwise, I think that AP scores are not a major factor in the decision making process.</p>
<p>they’ll glance at your ap scores, of course. b/c it’s a standardized evaluation (ap classes at different schools grade differently). but it won’t be a very big factor. what classes you took is a bigger factor.</p>
<p>The scores themselves can’t be hugely significant, since many AP classes are taken during your senior year (and you don’t get the scores until July).</p>
<p>^That’s certainly not true of my school. People take APs sophomore and junior (and sometimes freshman) year as well, so colleges will see scores. I imagine it’s sort of like the SATs are to GPA–they objectively validate a subjective measurement. Of course, they will have to take into account how well your school prepared you for the test, so if you go to a particularly subpar school, less will be expected of your scores than those from a New England prep schooler. </p>
<p>I also read an article–through a link on CC I believe–about how schools are increasingly relying on SAT II tests over the SAT because it’s less “coachable” and speaks more to a student’s specific skills. I imagine APs are similarly telling.</p>
<p>I disagree with glassesarechic. The AP is highly coachable. That is kind of the point. You take the class and, if the class has been well taught, if it has covered the required material, and the student has learned the material, they should do well on the exam. The problem is, that colleges have no way of knowing if a student scores poorly because the had poor preparation or if they score poorly because they have not mastered the material. Since it is difficult to make this judgement, the don’t place that much emphasis on AP scores. Also, while glasses’s school may offer tons of APs to students all through high school, that is usually not the case. My own kids didn’t take any AP tests until the end of senior year. They got accepted into fine schools.</p>
<p>I have been told by more than one admissions officer that if you have many AP classes in your transcript, you should also take the AP exam. For example, if you have take 7 AP classes up to your junior year, but take only one AP exam, then they want to know why/ If you take it in the senior year it tells them you are taking challenging classes but if you have taken them before, you better have some AP scores to report.</p>