Hello,
I have just received my AP test results and have just a few questions to ask. Are AP tests used in admissions for UC’s or any colleges? If, say, I submit my AP scores after matriculation, does that negatively impact my chances of getting into a school if I submit AP scores before admission? Thanks!
- Colleges do not see AP scores by default when you apply.
- You can send in your AP score report as a supplement to your application.
- Your grades in the actual class are more important than your grades on the AP exam in an admission officer’s POV. So if you got a C in the class and 5s on the exam it may be wise to do so, but if you have As in the classes for the most part there’s really no point.
- One of the best reasons to submit AP scores as a supplement to application is if you self studied.
- If you have 1s, 2s, and 3s on the AP exams the colleges will actually be happy… It just means they can charge you extra tuition.
- Colleges cannot revoke admission based on bad AP scores sent in after you’re accepted. Again, they will just be happy they are low.
Let me know if you have additional questions.
I disagree with this. AO’s will not be impressed if an applicant has self studied an AP.
I guess with an A in AP CS, but a 4 on the AP exam, there’s probably no reason to submit it as part of an application. (Speaking for my DD.)
Really? I would think that for some applicants it could be a fairly big plus. Specifically, I’m thinking of kids whose high schools don’t offer advanced physics or calculus. For those kids, I would have thought that self studying and doing well on the exam would be seen in a very positive light. I can see that it would be effectively meaningless for the kid who is piling it on top of his existing eight or ten school-based APs.
@thshadow, a 4 is a great score. Why so much pessimism?
Let me know if I’m missing something, but I don’t quite follow… why do colleges get to charge more if you submit low scores?
@Otterma I agree with you. I took 2 AP tests this year and got fours. Considering that my school doesn’t offer AP classes, I feel like this would shed a positive light on my application
If you don’t pass the AP exam then you don’t get college credit, and thus have to take the course in college. So you’ll possibly take longer to get a degree and have to pay more tuition.
UC’s do not use AP scores in their admission decisions. They are only used for college credit and anything at 3+ will given credit. You need to check each school’s website, to see which credits are given for each AP test. You do not send your AP scores until after you graduate Senior year only to the school you end up attending.
You can choose to self-report your AP scores on the UC application or not but getting anything less than a 3 will just not give you college credit. Some of the Elite schools will consider your AP scores, but the UC’s are more interested in the grade you received in the AP class vs. test scores.
Nope. Colleges want students to challenge themselves with the curriculum available at their schools. Some schools offer a ton of AP classes, some offer very few. There is no college in the US that expects students to self study AP classes.
When I was going through the admissions process, I went to an Exploring College Options event, which had reps from Harvard, Stanford, Penn, Duke, and Georgetown, among others. During the Q&A, someone asked, “What do you think of applicants who self-study for additional AP’s over and above the AP classes they take?” One rep responded, “Please don’t do that. We’re not impressed by that.” The other reps all nodded.
Now, there are valid reasons to self study AP’s including possible credit in college. But for the admissions process, it will not matter a whit. @Otterma
@suzy100 - well, I don’t really know - and I’m definitely not saying it’s a bad score or anything. She’s thinking about schools like RIT or RPI (as a CS major). Doesn’t an A in an AP class normally correspond to a 4 or a 5? I guess I don’t actually know.
Also, she got a 2 on her APUSH exam (and a B in the class). Should she report both scores, only AP CS (assuming that’s allowed), or neither?
As stated above, you only send AP scores reports to the school you plan to attend. Over summer, after you are admitted.
@VickiSoCal - no, that’s not correct - you can include them on your common app if you’d like. How the colleges use them in admissions is probably up to them.
Little to no impact at most universities. The admissions officers that I’ve met said that omitted AP scores are usually given little thought but a very low score coupled with a very high grade in the class sometimes raises eyebrows but little more.
AP tests are just about placement and credits. IMO, it should be used more stringently in admissions because honestly if you can’t pass in a year-long course, it doesn’t reflect well on your ability to do well in a semester or a quarter of equivalent content. But I digress, admissions don’t actually care that much about your likelihood of success after admission.
Edit and afterthought: Not passing an AP exam is like getting an F on your final exam at a university. It doesn’t matter how well you did on the midterm if you failed your final (and AP scores are a passing grade at usually 45~51% or higher in raw score).